The Authentise MES Service Provider Module is a powerful feature that enables a Source Bureau to create a private network of 3D printing suppliers and easily manage outsourced production, from quoting to shipping. This guide is to walk you through how to use the Service Provider Module to do just that. If you are a Service Provider that is looking for help fulfilling an order within Authentise, please see this guide.

Adding a New Service Provider 

To add a new Service Provider, navigate to "Manage" > "Service Providers".   

Click the "Add Service Provider" button. Service Provider details include:

Name: The name that will be used to identify the Service Provider organization.

Address: The address of the Service Provider.

Email: The primary contact email for the Service Provider. All notifications will be sent to this email address.

Website: A website URL for the Service Provider.

Phone Number: The primary phone number for contacting the Service Provider.

To save the Service Provider details, click the "Save & email Authentise Intro Material" button. As the button suggests, once the new Service Provider has been saved, an Authentise email invitation will automatically be sent to the Service Provider's email address provided during setup.  

Creating a bid request

Once a CAD file line item has been successfully added to an Order, you can now easily request bids from your service providers. 

Click the Request Bid button for the Service Provider to send a bid request.

The Source Bureau(s) you have requested a bid from will automatically receive a New Order Request email notification via info@authentise.com. 

Modifying a bid request

Once a bid request has been sent to a Service Provider, there are several options to modify the request before the Service Provider has responded, including:

Cost: a total price for all quantities requested for the line item. For example, if a line item specifies 10 pieces and the cost to produce is $5 per piece, the cost is to be recorded as $50. 

Due Date: The Source Bureau can indicate a due date for the Order, which can help the Service Provider prioritize, provide an accurate quote, and/or determine if they will respond to the bid or decline.

To update the bid information with the changes, click "Submit Update". A bid can also be canceled anytime by clicking the "Cancel Bid" button.

Keeping Track of Changes with Bid Notes

Each Bid request submitted to a Service Provider includes a "Notes" section. This is a simple way for both the Source Bureau (Requester) and Service Provider (Responder) to keep track of updates and changes to the order.

NOTE: Notes can ONLY be shared between the Source Bureau and Service Provider when a bid has been offered to the Service Provider AND the Service Provider has updated the bid status from "Bid Negotiated" to "In-Progress".

For example: If a Source Bureau user had updated the bid information with a cost value and due date, the user would see the following message in the notes area.  

Bid Negotiation and Acceptance 

If a Service Provider responds to the bid request with a quote, the Source Bureau can either 1) accept the offer or 2) provide a counteroffer to enter into negotiations over the requested cost.

Making a Counteroffer: If the Source Bureau is NOT satisfied with the bid response provided by the Service Provider and makes modifications to the Cost and/or Due Date, the Source Bureau user can now click the "Make a Counteroffer" button effectively re-submitting a New Order Request with a counteroffer cost and/or date of delivery. 

Offering the Job: If the Source Bureau is satisfied with the bid response provided by the Service Provider and has not made any modifications to the cost and/or due date fields, clicking the "Offer Job" button will successfully assign the job to the Service Provider bureau.

When the Source Bureau awards the job to the Service Provider, the Bureau cost field for the line item will automatically update to the new Bureau cost as provided by the Service Provider.  

The line item "Status" will also automatically update to Confirmed.

Completing an Order

When an Order has been successfully produced and shipped, the Service Provider will update the Order status for the line item to "Shipping". When the Source Bureau receives the shipped order of 3D printed parts, the Source Bureau can now update the line item status to "Completed".

NOTE: When prints in the line item have been marked as completed, they will show up in print statistics.

Once a line item order has been Completed, the Service Provider will no longer have access to the Job details. In the event that a Service Provider requires access to the job details for reasons such as a job dispute resulting in rework, a new order request will need to be generated by the Source Bureau.   

Canceling an Order

An Order for a line item, placed with a Service Provider, can be canceled at any time up to the point of shipping. Once the line item reaches the "Shipping" status, the Order can no longer be canceled. Note that the terms of cancelation are determined between Source Bureaus and their Service Providers.