Summary
Specification Management is much more than simply creating specification documents for your internal use - with TraceGains Network, it allows you to directly collaborate with your Supplier companies. This way, you are guaranteed to receive exactly what you need for your formula/recipe. You do this by eNotifying your Supplier(s) that you have created a new Primary Spec for one of their Items, and that you'd like to get data and commentary from them about providing this new Item, and finally, approval of a set of parameters for it.
Set Up Collaboration Methods
Steps
Step 1: Set up an eNotification Profile. See the article Email Notifications.
Step 2: Hopefully, nearly all of your suppliers are connected into your system through TraceGains Network. But a few have probably chosen not to connect. If this is the case, there are TWO ways you will need to use to collaborate with them on your Specs:
- TGN-Connected Suppliers - When you create shared specs (see below), your supplier will immediately receive an eNotification and will see a "Specification Requests" entry in their "My Company / Customer Management" list. When they go to that page and click one of the Spec Request rows, the Shared Spec for that Request will open for review and editing.
- Non-Connected Suppliers - When you create shared specs, one option will always be check marked - the one that creates a "Shared" (limited) version of your Item Primary as a PDF, and attaches it to the eNotification that Create Shared will send to these Suppliers. You can also do this manually. On your Spec Management tab, find and open the Item Primary Spec you want. Use "Export" from the hamburger menu at upper right to create the Shared PDF. Then email it to your supplier contact for editing and approval.
Create a Shared Spec Template
Item Primary Specs almost always have some proprietary data such as timelines, internal sign offs, marketing data, QA reviews, internal comments, linked documents, and quite often some missing attribute data that only the supplier can provide. Because of these factors, you'll need to make a Shared Specification Template from your Primary Spec Template and edit it down to the attributes you want the supplier to add or review.
Steps
Step 1: Go to Configuration > TraceStations, and open the Enterprise - Specification - Raw Materials Primary Spec Template that you created in the Step 2 - Primary Specifications Template article.
Step 2: Click 'Copy' at upper right to start a new template with layout and attributes from the primary.
Step 3: Change the Name, View Name, and Description. You can use any name you like, but for clarity and consistency, "Supplier - Specification - Raw Materials" (imitating your Primary Template) is recommended. The View Name you pick should be "Supplier Specification". If this Tab View doesn't yet exist, see article Configuring Tab Views.
Step 4: When you click 'Next' in the creation panel you'll get a view like this. Don't forget to mark the "Copy these Attributes..." checkbox.
Step 5: Walk through the Manage TraceStation page slowly, with the questions, "What do I NOT want my Suppliers to see?", "What data do I NEED my Supplier to provide?", and "What fields should be EDITABLE by my Supplier?" to inform your decisions.
You can set editability on each attribute in the two columns shown below. "Editable" sets that ability for your own Users. "Editable When Locked" sets it for the Suppliers to whom you will send any Shared Specs made from this Template. This allows your suppliers to make changes in those fields. When settings have been configured, save your Shared Template.
Create Shared Specifications
At this point, you should be ready to create your shared specs. This action will eNotify your supplier(s) to review the new Item Specification you've created.
Steps
Step 1: Go to your Supplier Management tab, find and open your "CONC. CHICKEN STOCK #1021" Spec. Click the link contained in the blue bar.
Step 2: Since the whole purpose of this exercise is to start collaborating with your suppliers over Item Specs, thereby improving both your item quality and your suppliers', be sure to mark the "Allow Supplier..." checkbox. Click 'Next'.
Step 3: Choose an Email Group. Make the appropriate recipient selections and click 'Share.'
Here is an example of a TraceGains Network Shared Spec your supplier would see in their supplier group:
Here is an example of the same Shared Spec in the PDF format that one of your internal stakeholders or a Non-Connected Supplier would see. Note that the header and footer in the PDF have been placed in their proper positions:
Next Step: Supplier Collaboration