Within the Gateway, Vendors can connect with Brands and Suppliers in order to access and share performance data with the supply chain. This guide will show you how to send connection requests, review requests, accept connections and set transparency levels.

Note that only Account Admins have the ability to request, accept and publish connections.

Let’s get started!

01/ 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 symbol  next to the Brand or Supplier 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 this Brand or Supplier.
3. To make a new connection request simply click on the chain symbol.
4. Click YES.
   

02/ Checking connection status

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation panel. Choose if you wish to view your Brand or Supplier connections.
2. All Accepted connections are visible under My Connections tab.
3. All Pending or Declined connections are visible under the Connection Requests tab.
4. Under the ACTION column, there are two options:
   

    - Resending a connection request (only available for Pending connection requests)
   

    - Removing the connection (available for Accepted, Declined and Pending connections)

03/ Reviewing and accepting/declining a connection request

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation. Choose if you wish to work on your Brand or Supplier connections. 
2. Click the Connection Requests tab on the top where you can find all connection requests send from Brands or Suppliers.
3. Under the ACTION column click ACCEPT or DECLINE to accept or decline a connection request.
   

   

04/ Removing a connection

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation. Choose if you wish to work on your Brand or Supplier connections. 
2. Click on My Connections to find an overview of all your connections and pending connection requests.
3. Under the ACTION column click to remove a connection.
4. Click YES.
   

05/ Managing transparency levels with Brands

As a Vendor on the ZDHC Gateway, you have the possibility to manage supply chain transparency with each of your connected Brand partners.  

To view which Transparency Level you have with a Brand you are connected to:

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation panel.
2. Choose Brand.
3. You can view transparency details in the My Connections tab under the TRANSPARENCY LEVEL and STATUS columns.

Note: that after you establish a connection with a Brand, you will have Transparency Level 1 by default. 

There are 3 possible Transparency Levels. You can read more about them here or by clicking next to the TRANSPARENCY LEVEL column. The number on the icon indicates which Transparency Level it corresponds to.

• If the icon under TRANSPARENCY LEVEL is green , it means the level is accepted. 
• If the icon is yellow , the level is pending your approval. 
• The red icon indicates that you declined the Brand’s request for the corresponding level.
• The black icon  means there was no action taken yet on this level.

To grant the next Transparency Level:

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation panel and select Brand.
2. In the My Connections tab, find the Brand you would like to grant a new Transparency Level.
3. Under the TRANSPARENCY LEVEL column click on the black icon corresponding to the level you wish to grant.
4. In the pop-up window choose GRANT. The corresponding icon is now green. You have granted the new Transparency Level!

To remove a granted Transparency level:

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation panel and select Brand.
2. In the My Connections tab, find the Brand you would like to remove a Transparency Level from. 
3. Under the TRANSPARENCY LEVEL column click on the green icon corresponding to the level you wish to remove.
4. In the pop-up window choose YES. The corresponding icon is now black. You have successfully removed a Transparency Level.

To approve or decline a pending Transparency Level request:

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation panel and select Brand.
2. In the My Connections tab, find the Brand you would like to approve or decline a Transparency Level request from.
3. Under the TRANSPARENCY LEVEL column click on the yellow icon corresponding to the level request you wish to approve/decline.
4. Choose DECLINE or ACCEPT in the pop-up window. The colour of the icon will change depending on your choice.

Note: you can undo your choice by clicking on the same Transparency Level icon.

06/ Managing Supplier-Brand relationships

The ZDHC Gateway enables Vendors to specify which Supplier is related to which Brand and manage their supply chain visibility.

To manage your Supplier-Brand relationships, follow the steps below.

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation panel and choose Brand or Supplier (either option leads to the same result).
2. Click the MANAGE button under the My Connections tab.
3. Click on the Select Brand dropdown and choose the Brand you would like to activate your Suppliers for.Once chosen, you will be able to view the Brand’s information in the top half of the screen and its Supplier relationships under ACTIVE column in the bottom half of the screen.
4. Click on the grey toggle next to each Supplier you would like to enable for a given Brand. The toggle then turns green , which means the Brand’s relationship with the given Supplier is activated on the ZDHC Gateway. The grey toggle icon means it is deactivated.

If you would like to see the status overview of each of your Supplier-Brand relationships:

1. Click CONNECTIONS on the left navigation panel and choose Brand or Supplier (either option leads to the same result).
2. Click the MANAGE button under the My Connections tab.
3. Click the EXPORT TO EXCEL button and click Download.
4. The Excel overview of all your Supplier-Brand relationships will be downloaded.