This template is part of the supplier onboarding exceptions guide. Use the blank version below in a short call with the supplier operations head, then compare it with the completed example.
Before you fill anything in
The brief works because it is limited. An executive reading it should understand in a minute what history exists and why now, and a compliance lead reading it should find nothing that worries them.
Keep three habits:
- Ask about records, never for them. "Roughly how many requests a year are paused?" is a good question. "Can you send me a few examples?" is not.
- Let each owner speak for their system. Screening answers come from compliance and TIN answers from AP, even if supplier operations relays them.
- Write the gaps down. "Screening before 2020 linked by name only" is useful. A blank or a guess is not.
The client opportunity brief generator can help draft the covering note once the fields are settled.
The fill-in template
Copy the table and replace each prompt with the owner's answer.
| Field | Prompt | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Sector, full-time headcount at peak (contractors excluded), country | To fill |
| Business task | One sentence on how paused onboarding requests are resolved and recorded | To fill |
| Record classes | Which exist: requests, duplicate-check results, screening dispositions, document requests, TIN check results, bank verification notes, acceptance notes | To fill |
| Systems and start years | Supplier portal, screening or GRC tool, tax or AP tool, ERP vendor master | To fill |
| Paused cases | About how many requests a year are paused, and the top reasons | To fill |
| Reconstruction count | Of ten older paused cases, how many trace by ID, how many by name, how many lack a reason | To fill |
| Record owner | Who runs supplier setup day to day | To fill |
| Authorized contact | The executive who can approve a licensing discussion | To fill |
| Consulted | Compliance, tax, counsel, a sponsor | To fill |
| Access deadline | A dated portal contract end, tool retirement or ERP change | To fill |
| Open question | The one thing nobody yet knows about the history | To fill |
| Not shared | Confirm: no supplier names, tax forms, screening results, exports or logins | To fill |
The reconstruction count is the field most briefs skip, and it says more about the history than any other line. The system map for onboarding records explains how to ask for it.
The completed brief (Illustrative)
The distributor below is fictional, and every figure is invented to show useful precision.
| Field | Answer |
|---|---|
| Company | Medical and surgical supply distributor, about 780 full-time employees at peak, Canada and the United States |
| Business task | Resolving onboarding requests paused for likely duplicates, screening hits or missing documents, and recording why each was accepted or rejected |
| Record classes | Requests, duplicate-check results, screening dispositions, document requests, TIN check results, bank verification notes, acceptance notes |
| Systems and start years | Supplier portal since 2018; screening tool since 2020; ERP vendor master since 2011 |
| Paused cases | About 300 a year; most often near-duplicate names, then missing tax forms, then screening hits |
| Reconstruction count | Of ten cases from 2021, eight traced by ID and two needed a name match; one of the ten had no recorded reason |
| Record owner | Director of supplier operations |
| Authorized contact | CEO |
| Consulted | Compliance lead and AP tax manager |
| Access deadline | Portal contract ends when the replacement goes live, scheduled in the contract for next spring |
| Open question | Whether screening dispositions from before 2020 were kept when the previous tool was retired |
| Not shared | Confirmed: no supplier names, tax forms, screening results, exports or logins |
Notice what makes it work. The reconstruction count shows which years join cleanly, the deadline comes from a contract rather than a project plan, and the open question is stated instead of hidden. Why near-duplicate names make the hardest cases is shown in the worked exception example.
Why these fields and not others
Each field answers a question SourceX asks early. The duplicate-check row matters because portals differ in what they check: SAP's Ariba documentation says approvers see existing suppliers that match a request so they can deny duplicates, but no duplicate checks run against deactivated suppliers. The screening row matters because OFAC's Sanctions List Search treats scores below 100 as potential matches and leaves thresholds to each user, so every company's dispositions reflect its own judgment. The TIN row matters because IRS TIN Matching returns a result code, and a stored code is stronger evidence than a ticked box.
SAPFields not on the template, such as supplier counts by category or spend, can wait. They rarely change whether an introduction makes sense.
Sending it, and what the reward depends on
Hand the finished brief to the supplier operations head to forward; do not send it to the executive yourself unless asked. For tone, see the warm introduction brief for a business owner. The licensing authority decision tree helps confirm the signer. Related record sets are covered under procurement and vendor workflows and supplier expediting.
The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Unknown until SourceX reviews it: which records can be licensed after compliance and tax review, how supplier identities would be de-identified, buyer interest and any offer.
Your reward is calculated on what SourceX actually pays the company and funded separately, never deducted from the company's payment. Illustrative only: a $120,000 Actual Supplier Payout would mean a $30,000 reward. See how rewards work; more sectors are on the industries hub.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
When the brief has a named signer, a reconstruction count and a dated deadline, register as a partner, check the company against who qualifies and read the program terms before you submit it.