What's in this page?
Overview
Services can be ordered from vendors on the majority of Service-related screens in the Equus Platform. On a Service-related screen, click the [Add Service Order] button to create a new Service Order and start the process of ordering services from the vendor.
They can also be ordered on the Assignment/Relocation Service Orders screen at the Assignment Level.
When ordering services / creating a service order from the Assignment/Relocation Service Orders screen at the Assignment Level populate the required fields. Note the fields displayed are dependent upon the Service Order Settings configured for the Service Order Type selected.
When selecting a Service Order Type from the drop down list, only vendors allocated to that service type will appear in the service results. If the vendor is not defaulted once the Service Order Type is selected, click the down arrow to select a vendor.
A new Vendor Selector screen opens. Search for the vendor using the search parameters and when the search is completed, select the vendor to return to the Service Order Details screen. Default Vendor Contact details will automatically be selected. Select a different Vendor Contact from the drop down list if required.
When a Service Order Type is selected, any policy fields that is tied to the selected Service Order appears in the Policy Section.
When saved, a Service Order Number is assigned to the record.
The Policy tab on the Policy Benefits/Exceptions screen displays the Assignment Policy Field summary. When a Policy Field is configured and is tied to a Service Order Type, Service Orders with the same Service Order Type is displayed in the Assignment Policy Field summary.
Vendor Defaulting on Service Orders
The Vendor can be automatically selected on the Service Order. The Vendor that is automatically selected for the Service Order is the Vendor that has the Service Order’s Service Type identified as <Preferred>, and no other Vendor (at system or Company level) has that Service Type identified as <Preferred>.
Configuration for this is done:
at the system level on the Vendor Details screen by setting the Preference to <Preferred> for a given Service Type for a Vendor’s Services Provided.
as a Company override using the Preferred Vendors for [Company] screen, located under the Company Configuration menu group, Vendor Preference menu item. Select the Vendor, then set the Preference for the desired Service Type.
Note/Communication Detail
After a new Service Order is created, click [New Communication] or [Add Communication] as available. This opens the Note/Communication Detail screen, which allows entry of instructions on how to perform the service to be sent to the vendor.
Select an Order Type.
<Order>: When the communication is successfully sent or saved, the service order is updated with a status of <Ordered>.
<Follow-up>: Use this to record that additional information was provided to the vendor; while this does not change the Service Order Status.
<Cancellation>: When the communication is successfully sent or saved, the service order is updated with a status of <Cancelled>.
If the vendor is configured for integration, an information message will display at the top of the Note/Communication Detail screen informing the user that a data set will be sent to the integrated vendor. Please contact your Equus representative for additional details.
Email communication
Select Type = <Email> to send the vendor an email containing the details about the service.
Email templates are available for Note/Communications of Type <Email>. Use the Email Template choice list to change the template to be used for the email. This list is governed by the selections made in the Service Order Settings screen. If configured, the Subject and Body of the email may be defaulted based on these settings. The default email information can include merge tags (ex. Charlene Blackmon is the employee name and Premier Corporate Housing is the vendor name). Please see the Email Templates and Merge Documents for details on setting up Email Templates.
Enter the To, Cc, and Bcc information as needed.
If available, the merged and static documents can be previewed prior to sending the email to the vendor. See the Figure 6 for a sample merge document.
When the order is ready to send, click [Save & Send]. The Email will be sent to the vendor. If the vendor is an integrated vendor, the data will also be sent to the vendor according to the data identified in the Data Package or Push Script (depending on the type of integration). To save the communication without sending, click [Save].
Equus Platform provides the status of the order in the Note/Communications grid. If the vendor is an integrated vendor, the status indicates the status of the integration. If not, the statuses indicates the status of the email.
<Sending>: The data set or email is currently being sent.
<Success>: The data set or email was successfully sent to the vendor.
<Failure>: The data set or email failed to send. Create a new Note/Communication to try sending again.
Figure 6: Sample merge document.
Note or Verbal communication
Select Type = <Note> or <Verbal> to record that a vendor was notified about the service.
When the order is ready to send, click [Save & Send]. If the vendor is integrated, this will also send a data set to the vendor. To save the communication without sending, click [Save].
A status will display only if the vendor is integrated, and it will display according to the statuses outlined in the previous section.
Data Feed communication
Select Type = <Data Feed> to send a data feed to the vendor.
When the order is ready to send, click [Save & Send]. The data feed will be sent to the vendor. If the vendor is integrated, this will also send a data set to the vendor. To save the communication without sending, click [Save].
If the vendor is an integrated vendor, the status indicates the status of the integration, as previously described. If not, the status indicates the status of the data feed.
Screens with Special Logic
Two screens have special Referral fee logic associated them: Property Listing and Destination Buyer.
Receiving Data from a Vendor
Vendors have the ability to update the Service Order and other service information in one of two ways:
Vendor Portal: In this case, users from the vendor are set up in the Equus Platform and can update various screens throughout the system. Please see section “Vendor Portal” for details.
Vendor integration: Data is shared between the client and the vendor without data having to be manually keyed in by the user. Please contact your Equus representative who can provide more details on this.
The Vendor Status field displays the vendor’s status for the service, provided it is enabled in the Service Order Settings screen for that Service Type. By default, this field is read-only but can be enabled through data dictionary metadata override.