Supplier Contract Management Setup Needs

Depending on how you plan the implementation of PeopleSoft Supplier Contract Management and how your organization plans to use the application, the next level implementation such as setting up clause libraries, configurators, Microsoft Word templates, and so on are areas that require more thought and planning. This process varies from customer to customer, so the related setup varies. In addition to the information provided in this topic, you should review the Understanding PeopleSoft Supplier Contract Management Setup topic.

This list provides information about setting up PeopleSoft Supplier Contract Management:

• Secure File transfer protocol (SFTP) server.

  Supplier Contract Management enables you to store documents within the database or using an SFTP server. If you decide to use the SFTP server, you can generally verify that it is working correctly by uploading a Microsoft Word template. If the upload fails, it indicates that the SFTP server is not setup correctly. A way to verify that the SFTP server is setup correctly is to log onto an application server and verify that you can manually login to SFTP files outside of the PeopleSoft application.

  Common issues with using SFTP servers include:

  • The application server not having network access to the SFTP server.

  • The SFTP user does not have write authority to the SFTP server.

  • The SFTP user password is not correct.

    See Setting Up Servers and Directories.

• Setting up secure file transfer protocol servers when you are already using database server attachments for other applications.

  If an organization uses only the database setup, not file transfer protocol, for documents or attachments for applications other than PeopleSoft Supplier Contract Management, such as PeopleSoft eProcurement, and you do not want to switch those applications to a specific SFTP for use with PeopleSoft Supplier Contract Management, you can use the Override Attachment Server ID field on the Installation Options page to override the attachment server ID. You use the field to enter the active SFTP server for Supplier Contract Management document authoring.

  Note:

  You also have the option to configure the system to store all Supplier Contract Management attachments in the database instead of the SFTP server. In this case you should leave the Override Attachment Server ID setting on Installation Options page blank.

  Note:

  Overriding the attachment server does not control contract entry, purchase order, or requisition attachments. These attachments still go into the default server and database specified in the File Attachments component.

  Note:

  When you use both a database and SFTP server, you must remove the CS_CONTRACT_ENTRY row in the components grid on the Administer File Attachments page. This row should not be present because it only applies to the SFTP server, and when you are running both database and SFTP servers, the component writes to the database server. Leaving the row in place can cause problems with attachments in the Contract Entry component.

• Microsoft Word Template.

  You need to have a Microsoft Word template loaded into the system. Anytime you change or add a SFTP server, the system needs to use the Document Template and Styles page to verify that there is a template name listed. You can click the View button to make sure the system can locate it. If a template is not listed, or you receive an error, you need to upload a new template file. You use the Microsoft Word template as an essential starting point for creating and previewing clauses, sections, and configurators, and the template is a requirement for authoring documents.

  See Understanding Document Templates.

• Document format and options for new SetIDs.

  PeopleSoft Supplier Contract Management provides a SetID (SHARE) that contains sample data for document default values and Microsoft Word paragraph styles that contain outline numbering styles. The paragraph styles listed in the sample data should match those in your template, because you can use the sample data setup when formatting and numbering content in authored documents. When you create a new SetID, you also need to set up the formatting options.

  See Setting Up Document Formats and Options.

• Installation options/server processing, document comparisons and rendering, and digital signatures.

  You use the Installation Options page to set up and enable a variety of document authoring capabilities. This includes defining servers for comparing Microsoft Word documents, rendering .doc or .pdf files, and preparing files for digital signatures (.pdf or .docx). The server defined here must be a Microsoft Windows server configured with a dedicated application server that can service volume requirements. In addition, when this server is a 64-bit server, it might require that you start the Oracle Process Manager on the Microsoft Windows server using the local system account instead of a user account. This ensures that the application server has the proper authority to run the server-side processes, reducing errors such as having type mismatches.

• User preferences.

  When you set up new users, you need to make sure that they have the correct user preferences. You use the User Preferences page to define security and permissions for document administrators and librarians and to delegate permissions among administrators, such as proxy users. Most other collaborators and interested parties do not need to have these user preferences defined, but for administrators the preferences are required.

  See Understanding User Preferences.

  See Understanding Supplier Contract Sample Permission Lists, Roles, and Users.

• Research task pane setup.

  You use PeopleSoft Integration Broker to set up service operations and specify operation types that determine how the operation is to be processed, synchronously or asynchronously. The CS_SEARCH_BINDS and CS_SEARCH_CLAUSES operations used with the Research task pane are processed synchronously. After you set up the service operations and the integration gateway, you install and configure Microsoft Word for use with task panes, including the Research task pane for bind and clause searches.

  In addition, depending on the machine setup, you might be using different versions of Microsoft Word . The configuration file for the setup.exe file contains a line that specifies which version of Microsoft Word is being used on the client. When using Oracle, Db2 Unix, Db2 OS390, and SqlServer platforms, you can search the full text in addition to the description and title. Using Informix and Sybase platforms, you can search only the clause description and title.

  To view steps for setting up service operations and configuring workstations, see Setting Up PeopleSoft Integration Broker for Microsoft Word.