Within the ZDHC Gateway, brands, vendors and suppliers can connect with each other, in order to give brands access to detailed performance data of their supply chains. This guide will show you how to connect with your supply chain partner, publish a connection on DETOX.Live and disconnect if needed. 

Important note: only Account Admins have the ability to perform any actions on the connections.

Let’s get started!

01/ Sending Connection Requests in Bulk

This function allows brands to connect with a large number of suppliers at once. Brands can send connection requests to up to 500 suppliers simultaneously.

Follow the steps below to send bulk connection requests:

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation bar, select Suppliers and then the CONNECTION REQUESTS tab. Click the Bulk Connection button.
2. If you are a first-time user, click DOWNLOAD to save the bulk connection request template. If you already have the template, click SKIP HERE to continue using an existing file.
3. Fill out the template (find instructions for each column by hovering over every column title in the file). Then click UPLOAD, choose file and UPLOAD again.
4. After the data upload, a new window will pop up showing if any of the template fields were filled out incorrectly. The preview shows some of the supplier data with errors listed under MESSAGE. To see the full list of Suppliers’ data with errors, click SEE FULL LIST OF MESSAGE PER ORGANISATION. Click OK to proceed.
5. In this step, you can review an uploaded list of suppliers to take action on. Under FINDINGS, there are 4 options that influence your next steps:

   - For Connection - The exact Supplier match was found on the Gateway. Click to CONNECT NOW or later in bulk.

   - For Validation - Similar matches were found, validate which Supplier is the correct one by clicking and selecting them from the list. Click CONNECT NOW or later in bulk.

   - For Invitation - No match was found, click and TAG AS INVITE to include the Supplier in bulk invite later.

   - Missing Email - No match was found, click to add the Supplier’s email and TAG AS INVITE to include them in bulk invite later.

   While reviewing the matching results, there is also an option to remove a Supplier from the list by clicking .

   
6. After reviewing the list, click the CONNECT button and select either to send connection requests to matched organisations shown on the currently open page only, or to all matched organisations on your list. Click PROCEED to send the connection requests.
7. All unmatched suppliers are now listed under the INVITE step. By clicking the INVITE button, choose to either send the invites without an attachment right away or download an Excel file prepared for the bulk invite function (found under INVITES on the left navigation bar) to send later with an attachment. After making your choice, click PROCEED. Alternatively, click CLEAR to erase the list of unmatched suppliers.

02/ Issuing a Single Connection Request

1. Click SEARCH on the left navigation.

   Find the organisation you would like to connect with. You may want to use Browse by Organisation Type or use the search bar  to narrow your search.

2. In the overview, check the symbols next to the organisation's name to understand your connection status concerning them. A black chain means that you are not connected, a yellow chain means that the connection request still has to be accepted by the other party and a green chain means that your organisation is already connected to the organisation. To make a new connection request, simply click on the chain  symbol. Note: The bookmark symbol is black when you have not bookmarked an organisation and blue if you have bookmarked it already.
3. Click YES.
    

03/ Managing Connection Requests

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation.
2. Select Supplier or Vendor.
3. Select the Connection Requests tab.
4. Next to each connection request, on the right-hand side, you'll find possible actions. Here, you can Accept or Decline a connection request by clicking the relevant button. In case a connection request is Pending or Declined, you may remove it from the overview by clicking on the Delete button. You may also click on the Resend Email button next to a Pending connection to re-send a connection request email.
   

   

5. After selecting an action, you will see a pop-up message asking to confirm your selection. Click Yes to proceed.

04/ Disconnecting and Reconnecting

Once a connection is established, it is no longer possible to delete. If you stopped working with a given supply chain partner, you can simply disconnect.

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation. Select Supplier or Vendor.
2. Under the My Connections tab, find the supply chain partner you would like to disconnect from. Utilise the Search bar to help you find the right organisation.
3. On the right-hand side of the connection, click the Disconnect button.
4. The pop-up window will ask you to confirm the disconnection. Click YES.

The disconnected organisation will now appear under the Connection Requests tab. If you would like to re-establish the connection, simply follow the steps:

1. Under the Connection Requests tab, click on the Reconnect button on the right-hand side of the organisation you would like to reconnect with.
2. Confirm your selection by clicking YES on the pop-up window.

The re-connection request is now pending your supply chain partner's acceptance. Once accepted, the connection will be re-established, along with any previously selected Transparency settings (e.g. CAP & CI sharing). 

05/ Publishing & Unpublishing Connections on DETOX.Live

In order to showcase your connection to a supplier on DETOX.Live, it first needs to be published on the ZDHC Gateway. To publish a single connection:

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation and select Suppliers.
2. Under the My Connections tab, find the connection you wish to publish. 
3. Under the Publish column, click the toggle button.
4. Confirm your selection by clicking YES on the pop-up window.
5. The connection is now published.

If you would like to unpublish a single connection from the DETOX.Live map, please follow the steps below:

1.  Under My Connections, find the connection you would like to unpublish.
2. Under the Publish column, click the toggle button.
3. Confirm your selection by clicking YES on the pop-up window.
4. The connection is now unpublished.

It is also possible to bulk publish multiple or all connections simultaneously:

1. Under My Connections, select multiple suppliers or all by clicking the check-box next to My Organisation.
2. At the top of the list you will the amount of connections you seleted. Adjust as needed.
3. Click on the Publish button next to the Transparency button and select Publish (Public View).
4. Confirm your selection by clicking YES on the pop-up window.

Your selected connections are now published. 

In order to bulk unpublish multiple or all connections simultaneously, follow the steps 1-2 as described above (bulk publishing) and select Unpublish (Private View) instead after clicking the Publish button next to the Transparency button.