Skip to main content
All CollectionsSupplier Surveys
Step by Step: Creating a Supplier Survey
Step by Step: Creating a Supplier Survey

Using 3E Exchange templates, you'll be able to send a supply survey faster than ever!

Evelyn Ritter avatar
Written by Evelyn Ritter
Updated over a week ago

We know that collecting supplier data can be highly time consuming, especially when you are deciding what to ask! We have simplified that complex process with our 3E Exchange Starter Template that is available to all users. In this article we will walk you through two ways you can select the materials you would like to survey, then guide you through how to send a material-specific supplier survey (Open BOM and supplier-level surveys will be simpler, but will have some overlapping features)!

Prerequisites for creating a supplier survey: 

Select your Materials

Option 1: Surveying a Single Material

Navigate to the BOM (Bill of Materials) for the product you are wanting to survey. Once in your product, first select the checkbox next to the material you would like to survey. Next, click the "Supply Chain" and select "Send a Supplier Survey".  

OR

Option 2: Surveying Multiple Materials

Navigate to the Supply Chain tab and select "My Suppliers". Once you're in your list of suppliers, click on the supplier you intend to survey. Then, click the checkbox next to the materials you would like to send a survey about. Once you have chosen the materials, select "Create Survey" at the top of the page.

Option 1 and Option 2 will both direct you to the same page pictured below. The only difference will be the number of products/materials in section 3.  

On the next page, you will need to select the products/materials you would like to survey for each of the selected Suppliers. You can also add All Suppliers' Surveys. Once you're happy with your selection, click "Done".

This next page will prompt you to choose which products/ materials you want surveyed. This list will only show the products/ materials in your library that are associated with the supplier. If you don't see what you're looking for, go back to the 'My Products' or 'My Materials' tab on the left-hand bar and make sure the supplier is linked in the general information tab of the product.

If the product you selected exists on the Product Passport Library, this means that your supplier has already published the data you are looking for as a Material Passport. Depending on what access level the supplier published the passport in, you can copy the data directly into your library or you can request access. The purpose of the Exchange is to decrease the number of surveys that need to be sent by pre-emptively storing the data.

If you don't see your product, click 'continue to survey'.

Customize and Send your Survey

Now that you've selected the materials you will be sending a survey on, it's time to start preparing your survey to send. In this section, you are given the task to instruct 3E Exchange how and what you will survey the supplier about. 

Within 3E Exchange you can customize supplier-level and BOM-level questionnaires. In this case, we will use the 3E Exchange Starter Template that is automatically available to you. If you'd like to learn more about customizing questionnaires visit the following help article: Questionnaires

To apply a specific Template, click on the selected template and chose from the drop-down menu.

From here you can select your desired template which will then be applied to the survey view, or you can click on Edit Template to enter the template and review/edit the sections before sending.

Once you click on the Edit option, there are 4 steps to the survey set-up, you can see them in the toolbar on the left.

In the 1st section, 'Materials' you will see your survey name, supplier's name and contact.

In the 2nd section, you can choose what data to ask for. You can choose different fields that are grouped into 6 categories. Click on the category then 'add to survey' to include it. You can see a preview of how your supplier will view the questions at the bottom of the page.

For the Material Disclosure category, choose what fields you want your supplier to fill out in the BOM. You can make some fields required or optional by clicking the drop-down next to 'required'.

If you're using the 3E Exchange Starter Template (or one of your own survey templates), the supplier level questionnaire will auto-populate. Otherwise, you can add/delete questionnaires here.

In the 3rd section, you can create reminders. Reminders are emails that will be sent to your supplier on whatever date you program in.

In the 4th section, you have the opportunity to personalize the survey email that your suppliers will receive. Note, in order to ensure that this e-mail comes directly from you, you will need to Verify your Email with 3E Exchange. Visit the following article for instructions on how to do that: About Supplier Surveys.

Once you've completed each section, you can press 'Send Survey' or "Save as Draft" if you'd like to revisit it later. 

My Surveys View

To view past surveys, check on the status of a survey, or view survey stats you can navigate to the "My Surveys" view. 

Here you can also add tags to your surveys to better manage surveys within your team. To view the full survey and any supplier responses, click anywhere over the survey row to be directed to the full survey page. 

Congratulations! You've completed creating a Supplier Survey! Do you have any more questions about surveys? Read more about them here in our library. Feel free to reach out using the chat function in the bottom right-hand side of the screen.

Getting Help

If you have questions about using 3E Exchange or the material covered in this help article, reach out in chat in the bottom right-hand corner or email support@3eco.com.


Did this answer your question?