🗣️ This article is intended for Buyers. If you are a Supplier, please refer to our Supplier hub content.
To allow Suppliers to participate in Pre-qualification questionnaires, Requests, or Contracts, they need to be added to DeepStream. While Suppliers can sign up themselves, it’s usually better to send them an invitation. This makes the account creation process easier, faster (2–3 minutes), and free.
You only need the supplier’s company name and email address.
The main place to invite Supplier contacts to DeepStream is the Network module.
Within the Network module, you’ll find two sections:
Your company network: This includes suppliers you’ve already invited and interacted with on DeepStream.
DeepStream’s network: This contains all supplier companies that already have a registered profile on the platform, ready to be invited into your sourcing events.
Send an introductory email to let suppliers know you're inviting them to DeepStream
Before sending out the official invitation from DeepStream, it is helpful to send them a short introductory email. This ensures they understand DeepStream’s role in your sourcing activities and follow the necessary steps to receive emails from the DeepStream domain. Doing so reduces the chances of missed invitations and helps suppliers onboard smoothly.
Below is a message you can share with suppliers before inviting them to DeepStream:
Dear Supplier,
Our company uses DeepStream’s strategic sourcing software to manage our RFx processes. You will shortly receive an invitation from DeepStream to sign up.
Signing up is free for suppliers and takes only a few minutes - all you need is an internet connection and an up-to-date browser. Once registered, you can also invite colleagues from your team to collaborate on any RFx you are invited to participate in.
To help you get started, please see the Quick-Start Guide for Suppliers, which provides a step-by-step introduction to sign up, team management, and communication.
Important to note:
If your company has strict email filters, please ensure that 'support@deepstreamtech.com' is whitelisted. Email notifications are essential, as they alert you to invitations, messages, and updates to requests.For any questions, you can reach out to DeepStream’s Customer Success team via support@deepstreamtech.com or by clicking the help chat button in the bottom-right corner of the platform.
We look forward to receiving your bids through DeepStream.
Kind regards,
Inviting a Supplier via the Network module
Navigate to the Network module and click Send an invite.
Enter the supplier contact’s email address in the required field.
Optionally add their first and last name.
In the Select a company dropdown, type the company’s name:
If the company already has a DeepStream profile, select it from the dropdown.
✏️ Important to note: If you invite a new contact to an already existing company, the supplier company’s Super user (admin) must approve their request to join. To do this, the Super User should navigate to Manage team settings from the main menu in the top-right corner of the platform, then review and accept the request under Requests to join.
If not, enter the full company name and click the + button under Create new company to add it.
To invite multiple contacts at once, click + Add person and repeat the process.
When all contact information is added, click Continue.
Customise the invitation message (optional). Each contact will receive this email with a unique, secure link to create their DeepStream account.
Click Continue again.
Review your invite(s). Make sure the correct number of contacts and companies are included.
Click Send invite.
Reviewing sent invites
Go to the Network module.
Click the … menu next to the Send an invite button.
Select View sent invites to see details of previously sent invitations.
You can also invite new suppliers directly from a Pre-qualification questionnaire or a Request.
Inviting Suppliers from a Pre-qualification questionnaire
Navigate to the Pre-qualification module and click Send questionnaire.
In the Suppliers section, either:
Search for an existing supplier, or
Click Send an invite if the supplier doesn’t yet have a profile.
Follow the same invitation steps as described in the Network module section.
Inviting Suppliers from a draft Request
Navigate to the Requests module and start drafting a Request (from scratch or a template).
Go to the Suppliers tab.
Search for an existing supplier by company name or email, or click Send an invite if they don’t yet have a profile.
If inviting, follow the same steps as described earlier.
Adding Suppliers to a live Request
If you already have a live Request but want to add more supplier companies:
Open the specific Request.
On the Suppliers tab, click + Add suppliers.
From there, either select existing suppliers or send invitations to new ones.
Adding a new contact to an already invited Supplier in a live Request
If a supplier company is already part of your live Request but you’d like to invite an additional contact from that company, follow these steps.
✏️ Important to note: You cannot add new users to a supplier team once the supplier has responded to the request. If you would still like to add a new contact to an already invited supplier, you will need to coordinate directly with the supplier. They are responsible for performing this action. To assist them, you can share the following detailed guide - Collaborating in DeepStream as a Supplier: Adding and Managing Team Members.
Open the specific Request.
Go to the Suppliers tab.
Click on the name of the supplier company where you want to add the new contact.
In the supplier’s menu, navigate to the Team section.
Click Add User.
If the contact already exists in DeepStream, select them from the dropdown list.
If the contact is new, click Invite new user and complete the invitation details.
This way, you can manage multiple supplier contacts under the same company within your Request, without needing to re-invite the company itself.
Got a question or need clarification? Send us a message by clicking the Help chat button in the bottom right - our AI assistant, FIN, will help you right away, and connect you to our team if needed.