🗣️ 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 user’s company name and email address.
The main place to invite Supplier contacts to DeepStream is the Network module.
For buyer companies, the Network module (also known as the Private Supplier Network) provides each buyer with a dedicated supplier network within DeepStream. This allows buyers to manage supplier records, supplier users, access permissions, and buyer-specific activity in a buyer-controlled environment. Within their private network, buyers can:
Invite supplier users
Manage supplier user roles
Remove supplier user access
Control supplier access to their own buyer network
This gives buyers greater control over supplier participation while reducing reliance on supplier-side administrators.
Within the Network module, you’ll find two sections:
Your company network: This includes suppliers you've already invited or interacted with on DeepStream, as well as suppliers you've added from the shared DeepStream network for future collaboration.
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.
✏️ Important to note: The DeepStream network is the shared supplier network.
It can contain shared supplier profiles that are not specific to one buyer. These profiles are useful for supplier discovery and shared supplier information. Buyer-specific activity is not shown on the DeepStream network supplier profile.
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,
Adding Suppliers to DeepStream via the Network module
Buyers can add suppliers to their private network before they have participated in a request or other activity. This supports cases where a buyer wants to prepare a supplier record first, then add users later when needed, helping them prepare and manage their supplier base earlier.
Log in to DeepStream.
Navigate to the Network module.
Ensure you are viewing [Your company] Network tab, not the DeepStream Network.
Click + Add supplier in the top-right corner, next to the search bar.
Enter the supplier's company name. You can also optionally enter their website URL and a general company email address, then click Next.
If potential matches are found in either [Your Company] Network or the DeepStream Network, review them before creating a new supplier:
If the correct supplier is already in your Network, click Open supplier to view and manage the existing record.
If the correct supplier is found in the DeepStream Network, click Add to network to add them to your private network.
If none of the matches are correct, click Create new supplier company anyway.
If you choose to create a new supplier, select the country where the supplier is located, then click Add supplier to create the supplier record.
✏️ Important to note: 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.