Organization Settings
For users with sufficient privileges, some organization-wide settings, like custom fields and tags, can be changed from the Organization Settings page (also accessible by clicking the organization logo while on the User Profile page).
Email Settings
Users can specify a "From Email on Requests," which determines the email address within your organization that all requests are sent from instead of the user's email. This can be helpful if your team manages a shared/team inbox to field responses to RFQs.
Custom Field Options
Currently, custom fields must be added by a Silkline administrator. Once added, the set of options available fort a custom field can be modified on the Organization Settings page.
Important note: Currently, Custom Field Options acts as data validation:
Changing or removing an option does not automatically modify or remove existing data
When editing an existing value that is no longer valid, the validation is enforced and the user must update the value to a valid option
Tags
Tags help users to categorize and organize data within Silkline. Users with sufficient privileges can add, edit, or delete tags from the organization settings page.
There are currently three types of tags in Silkline:
Request
Supplier
Contact
Important note: Deleting a tag will remove that tag from all items where that tag is applied. Similarly, modifying a tag will update that tag everywhere it is used.
Approvals
Silkline offers a fast and flexible purchase approval workflow based on team structure and approval thresholds.
The approval settings section allows you to define a team structure (or org chart) and approval limits for each user:
The team structure is used to determine the default routing and sequence for approvals
The dollar threshold determines when an approval is sufficient to release a PO
By default, purchase approvals will progress from the requester up their reporting structure until an approver's approval limit is above the PO value. Users with sufficient privileges can modify this default routing as needed for any given PO when requesting approval by adding, removing, and re-ordering approvers.
Modifying your organization's approval settings only affects approval requests going forward. Pending or completed approvals are not changed.
Order Workflows
Order Workflows in Silkline allow tracking key milestones for a Purchase Order. An organization can have several workflows for different types of orders. For example:
For machined parts, you might want to track detailed operations like outside processing and inspection
For COTS orders, you might only want to track when the order is placed, shipped, and received
Each organization has a default workflow that applied to all orders unless another rule overrides that. Currently, the prioritization of rulesets is:
If a default workflow is specified for a supplier, that is applied
Otherwise, the organization's default workflow is applied
Quality Clauses
This section displays all quality clauses for an organization. Depending on your organization's integrations, these values may be controlled by an external system.
If your Quality Clauses are managed in Silkline, users with sufficient privileges can add and edit quality clauses.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) helps you manage what different users can do within your Silkline organization. By assigning specific roles, you can control permissions for actions like creating, updating, deleting, or sending various resources, ensuring team members have the access appropriate for their responsibilities.
This allows for better security and ensures that users only interact with the parts of the Silkline platform relevant to their specific job functions.
Available Roles
Silkline currently offers the following predefined roles:
Viewer
Collaborator
Buyer
Role Permissions Explained
Here's a breakdown of what users assigned to each role can do:
Viewer
Purpose: Provides read-only access to Silkline.
Permissions: Users with the Viewer role can see information like requests, quotes, orders, and suppliers within Silkline, but they cannot create, edit, delete, or send anything.
Ideal Use Case: Suitable for stakeholders, managers, or team members who need visibility into procurement activities but don't actively participate in the workflows.
Collaborator
Purpose: Designed for users primarily involved in the sourcing process (e.g., engineers, requesters).
Permissions: Collaborators can actively work on sourcing tasks. They can:
Create and edit Requests (RFQs).
Create, edit, and delete Quotes received from suppliers.
Limitations: Collaborators cannot manage or send purchase orders, send requests/check-ins, or manage supplier information.
Ideal Use Case: Team members who define requirements, create RFQs, and evaluate supplier quotes but do not handle the final purchasing or supplier management.
Buyer
Purpose: Offers comprehensive access to manage end-to-end procurement workflows.
Permissions: Users with the Buyer role have the broadest access. They inherit all Collaborator permissions and can also:
Create, edit, and send Purchase Orders.
Send Requests (RFQs) and Check-ins to suppliers.
Create and manage Supplier profiles and related information (including tags).
Create and manage Parts within Silkline.
Define and manage Quality Clauses.
Manage Request Tags.
Configure certain Organization Settings, Custom Fields, and the Organization Chart.
Ideal Use Case: Procurement professionals, purchasing managers, or administrators responsible for the full procurement lifecycle, from sourcing and ordering to supplier relationship management and system configuration.
Viewing Your Role
If RBAC is enabled in your organization, you can see your role on the Account Page. It is displayed below your user name and email.
Assigning Users to Roles
Currently, only the Silkline team can manage user roles. Organizations can have a default role that all new users will be assigned to, and any users existing users will have the Viewer role by default. Please reach out to us for help with role assignment!
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