STANDARD PROCEDURE

New Supplier Onboarding

The end-to-end procedure Procurement follows to vet, approve, and activate a new supplier in the vendor master — from intake request through first purchase order.

DepartmentProcurement — Supplier Management

SOP IDSOP-PRC-009 · Version 2.0

ClassificationInternal · Procurement Controlled

Document OwnerLina Okada — Procurement Ops Lead

Overview

Purpose
Standardise how Ashford vets and activates a new supplier — intake, due-diligence, contract execution, and vendor-master setup.

In scope
All new suppliers above $5,000 annual spend, across all business units and regions.

When to use
Triggered when a Supplier Intake Request in Coupa does not match an existing vendor-master record.

Out of scope
One-time purchases under $5,000, employee reimbursements, and suppliers already active in the vendor master.

Roles and Responsibilities

This RACI matrix defines ownership for the process covered by this procedure. Exactly one role is Accountable for each outcome; Responsible roles execute the tasks listed. Step-level role tags in the procedure below map to the roles listed in this table.

Role	R	A	C	I	Responsibility
Procurement Analyst	●	○	○	○	Executes intake, due-diligence, and vendor-master setup.
Procurement Ops Lead	○	●	○	○	Reviews risk tier and signs off on activation.
Legal / Compliance	○	○	●	○	Consulted on contract redlines and sanctions screening.
Requesting Business Unit	○	○	○	●	Informed when the supplier is active and ready for PO.

R = Responsible A = Accountable C = Consulted I = Informed

SECTION 01

Intake & risk triage

Open the shared Coupa queue, assign a risk tier, then complete due diligence before any contract is sent.

In this section

Triage the intake request and assign risk
Complete the due-diligence checklist

STEP 01

Procurement Analyst · R

Triage the intake request and assign a risk tier.

coupa.acme.com / Supplier Intake / New Requests

Request	Requestor	Category	Est. spend	Risk
1INT-2201	Warehouse Ops	Packaging	42,000	2Low
INT-2202	IT	SaaS	180,000	Medium
INT-2203	Priya Mehta	Services	9,500	—
INT-2204	Marketing	Creative	28,000	Low

Fig 1 — Select INT-2201 (1), then set Risk (2).

Tip: Bookmark the shared intake queue URL so every analyst lands on the same filtered view.

Open Coupa → Supplier Intake → New Requests and select the highlighted intake row.
Review spend/category, then assign a Risk tier before routing to due diligence.

STEP 02

Procurement Analyst · R

Complete due-diligence checklist for the selected supplier.

coupa.acme.com / Supplier Intake / INT-2201

Sanctions / denied-party screen
W-9 / tax ID on file
1Insurance certificate (COI)
Banking details verified
Primary contact confirmed

Fig 2 — Mark the COI checklist item complete (1).

Note: Medium- and high-risk suppliers require Legal review before contract send.

Open the intake record and run the standard diligence pack; upload the COI and mark insurance complete.
If any item fails, stop and escalate to Procurement Ops Lead.

SECTION 02

Contract & activation

Send the MSA for signature, create the vendor-master record, then confirm the supplier is ready for the first PO.

In this section

Send the MSA for e-signature
Create the vendor-master record
Confirm activation with the requestor

STEP 03

Procurement Analyst · R

Send the master service agreement for e-signature.

docusign.acme.com / Envelopes / New

Field	Value
1Document	Ashford MSA v4.2.pdf
Signer	Jordan Hale — Vendor Ops
2CC	legal-contracts@acme.com
Due	5 business days

Fig 3 — Attach MSA v4.2 (1), then CC Legal (2).

Tip: Use the saved “New Supplier MSA” template so routing and reminders stay consistent.

Attach Ashford MSA v4.2 and set the primary signer from the intake record.
CC Legal Contracts on every medium- or high-risk send; click Send only after diligence is fully green.

STEP 04

Procurement Analyst · R

Create the vendor-master record after the MSA is signed.

erp.acme.com / Vendor Master / New

Field	Value
1Legal name	Northline Packaging LLC
Vendor ID	VND-44821
Payment terms	Net 45
2Status	Pending activation

Fig 4 — Enter legal name (1); leave status Pending (2).

Note: Duplicate-check by tax ID before saving. If a match exists, reopen the existing vendor instead.

Create the vendor from the signed MSA and W-9 — do not invent a legal name.
Set payment terms from the contract schedule, and leave status as Pending activation until Ops Lead approval.

STEP 05

Procurement Ops Lead · A

Activate the vendor and notify the requesting business unit.

erp.acme.com / Vendor Master / VND-44821

Ops Lead approval recorded
Status set to Active
2Requestor notified
First PO guidance attached

Fig 5 — Confirm Active (1), then notify the requestor (2).

Tip: Include VND-44821 in the subject line so Finance can match the first invoice quickly.

Confirm Ops Lead approval is logged, then flip vendor status to Active.
Send the standard activation note to the requestor with vendor ID and first-PO guidance.

STEP 06

Requesting Business Unit · I

Create the first purchase order against the new vendor.

coupa.acme.com / Purchase Orders / New

Field	Value
1Vendor	VND-44821 · Northline Packaging
2Ship-to	DC-West · Dock 3
Line 1	Corrugated trays · Qty 2,000
Total	$8,400.00

Fig 6 — Select vendor by ID (1), then confirm ship-to (2).

Note: If the vendor does not appear in Coupa within 15 minutes of activation, refresh the supplier sync or contact Procurement Ops.

Search by vendor ID VND-44821, not free-text name.
Confirm ship-to and GL coding with the requestor, then submit for approval.

Escalations & related documents

Escalate immediately when
Sanctions screening fails, the MSA is rejected with material redlines, or a duplicate tax ID is found after a draft vendor was created.

Related documents
SOP-PRC-004 Supplier Risk Tiers · POL-LEG-012 Contract Authority · FORM-PRC-018 Diligence Pack Checklist