Introduction

You can use vendor selection rules to send job offers in so-called cascades. Each cascade includes vendors who match the criteria of the selected rule. In a vendor selection rule, you can configure the following settings:

• Number of vendors included in a cascade.

• Number of cascades.

• The time interval between the cascades.

• How will the vendors be sorted within a cascade.

Create a Smart vendor selection rule

1. Go to the Configuration menu > Projects and Quotes > Vendor Selection Rules (Smart).
   

   

2. Click the Add Rule button. You will be directed to the Add Rule page.
   

   

   1. Enter a name for the new rule.

   2. Click the Add Rule button. You will be directed to the newly created rule page.

3. In the Main Data card:
   

   

   1. Decide whether this rule should be an Active one and thus selectable.

   2. Decide whether this rule should be marked as a Preferred Item and thus appear at the top of the dropdown lists.

4. In the Filters card, use the filters to decide how vendors should be assigned to cascades. For details, see the Vendor selection rule filters expand below.
   XTRF automatically filters active vendors to match the required job type, specialization, source and target languages. XTRF also automatically compares the job's planned start date and deadline with the vendor's planned holidays. If the vendor's absence coincides entirely with the job's schedule, such a vendor will be excluded from the list of job offer recipients.
   

   

   1. To add a filter, click the Add Filter button in the top right-hand corner of the card or click the icon.

   2. Select the required filters.

   3. Set the default values for each filter.

5. In the Cascades card, you can:
   

   

   1. Enter the Number of Cascades for this rule.

   2. Enter the Number of Vendors per cascade.

   3. Select an Interval between cascades.

6. In the Sorting card, you can decide how vendors should be sorted in cascades: by estimated cost, overall vendor evaluation, or specific vendor evaluation. You can use one criterion or create a sequence of two or three sorting criteria.
   

   

   
   To add a criterion:

   1. Click the Add Sorting button or the icon.

   2. Select the criterion from the dropdown menu.

Vendor selection rule filters

 Vendor selection rule filters

In the Filters card of the vendor selection rule page, you can use one or several built-in filters:

1. CAT Tool – to include vendors that use a specific CAT tool.

2. Category – to include vendors with specific categories assigned.

3. Individual – to include either freelancers or companies.

4. InHouse – to include either in-house or external vendors.

5. Not excluded by Client – to avoid including vendors that are not accepted by relevant clients.

6. Overall Evaluation – to set a threshold for vendor overall evaluation score.

7. Preferred by Client – to include vendors selected as preferred by relevant clients.

8. Specific Evaluation – to set a threshold for vendor evaluation score for a specific job.

9. Vendors on holiday – to include or exclude vendors that are on holiday when the job offer is sent.

10. Worked for this Client – to include vendors that have already performed jobs for relevant clients.

To create a custom filter, add a vendor-related custom field (see the Add a custom field guide). All custom filters will be grouped in the Custom Fields section.