The email thread is buried somewhere in Sarah's inbox. Or was it Michael's? The attachment with the insurance certificate was definitely sent—we think—maybe three weeks ago. The bank details are in an email from the supplier, or possibly a spreadsheet someone created. The approval? That was verbal, in a meeting that nobody took notes from.

This is how many organisations onboard suppliers. Email chains, scattered attachments, informal approvals, and collective memory as the only audit trail. It works, after a fashion, until it doesn't.

The Email Trap

Email is seductive for supplier onboarding because it's already there. No new systems to learn, no processes to design, no technology to implement. Just send some emails, get some replies, and call it done.

The problems emerge over time. Information scatters across multiple mailboxes, impossible to consolidate. Attachments disappear or become unfindable. Version control is non-existent—which is the current bank account, the one from June or the one from September? Handoffs between people lose context and momentum.

When something goes wrong—a payment to the wrong account, a supplier without valid insurance, an approval that nobody remembers—the email trail is either absent or requires archaeological excavation to reconstruct. The "process" that seemed adequate reveals itself as barely controlled chaos.

The Risks of Unstructured Onboarding

Informal onboarding creates risks that structured approaches avoid.

Compliance gaps emerge when nobody tracks what documentation is required versus what has been collected. Insurance certificates never obtained. Right-to-work checks never performed. Certifications never verified. The gaps are invisible until audit, incident, or enforcement reveals them.

Fraud exposure increases without verification discipline. The email requesting bank details might not be from the real supplier. The company claiming specific certifications might not actually hold them. Email-based onboarding relies on good faith that may not exist.

Delays compound when approvals and chases happen informally. An email sits in someone's inbox while they're on leave. A request for additional information gets lost in the noise. The supplier waits weeks for a process that should take days, then takes their business elsewhere.

Knowledge leaves with people. When the person who managed the onboarding moves on, the history goes with them. New colleagues can't find the documentation, understand the decisions, or continue incomplete processes.

What Structured Onboarding Looks Like

Structured onboarding replaces scattered communication with defined process. The difference is fundamental, not cosmetic.

A single system of record captures all supplier information. Not emails across mailboxes, but a central repository where anyone with appropriate access can find what they need. Documentation is stored consistently, versions are tracked, and history is preserved.

Defined workflows route tasks to appropriate people. Instead of hoping emails reach the right inbox and get attention, tasks are assigned, deadlines are set, and progress is tracked. When someone completes their step, the next step triggers automatically.

Checklists ensure completeness. Rather than relying on memory for what documentation is required, the system presents the requirements and tracks status against them. Nothing proceeds until requirements are met.

Audit trails record what happened when. Every document submission, every approval, every status change is logged with timestamp and actor. When questions arise later, the record exists.

The Portal Approach

Supplier self-service portals take structure further by putting suppliers in control of their own data.

Instead of chasing suppliers by email for information, you invite them to register on a portal. They enter their own company details, upload their own documents, and answer your qualification questionnaire directly. The data entry burden shifts from your team to the supplier.

This inversion has multiple benefits. Suppliers enter information once, accurately, in their own time. Your team reviews and approves rather than transcribing and chasing. Suppliers can see the status of their registration and know what's still required. The experience is professional rather than chaotic.

Portals also enable ongoing relationship management beyond initial onboarding. Suppliers update their own details when things change. Document renewals are tracked and suppliers are prompted when certificates are expiring. The relationship is managed continuously, not just at initial setup.

Verification Integration

Modern onboarding systems can integrate with external verification sources, confirming information rather than just collecting it.

Companies House integration verifies that the supplier is a registered company, with correct details and current standing. This catches fictitious entities and ensures basic information is accurate.

Credit reference integration provides financial stability assessment without requiring suppliers to submit sensitive financial data. The system pulls the relevant data and applies scoring automatically.

Insurance verification can confirm that policies exist and are current, rather than relying on potentially outdated certificates. Some systems integrate directly with insurer databases for real-time validation.

These integrations reduce both the burden on suppliers and the risk of fraudulent or outdated information. Verification replaces trust; automation replaces manual checking.

The Transition Challenge

Moving from email-based to structured onboarding requires change management, not just technology implementation.

Old habits die hard. People who have always onboarded suppliers via email will find the new process unfamiliar and potentially annoying. They need to understand why the change matters and how to navigate the new approach.

Existing supplier data needs migration. You can't pretend the past didn't happen. Historical supplier records—scattered though they may be—need consolidation into the new system. This is tedious but necessary work.

Stakeholder alignment ensures everyone uses the new system. If some people continue using email while others use the system, you've created parallel processes rather than improved process. Consistent adoption requires clear communication and enforcement.

Phased implementation may ease the transition. Start with new suppliers, who have no historical expectations. Then migrate existing suppliers in batches. The full transition takes time, but the direction should be clear from the start.

The Business Case

Structured onboarding requires investment in systems and change. What justifies this investment?

Time savings from automation and self-service are usually substantial. The hours currently spent on email chasing, data entry, and searching for documents are largely eliminated. Onboarding that took weeks can happen in days.

Risk reduction has measurable value. Compliance gaps that lead to regulatory penalties or operational incidents cost money. Fraud that structured processes would have caught costs money. Better onboarding reduces these risks.

Supplier experience improvement affects the quality of suppliers you can attract. Professional organisations with professional suppliers find email-based chaos frustrating. Structured, efficient onboarding signals that you're a professional organisation worth working with.

Audit and compliance satisfaction comes with complete documentation and clear trails. Instead of scrambling before audits, you have evidence readily available. The stress reduction alone may justify the investment.

The Standard Today

Email-based supplier onboarding is no longer acceptable practice for organisations that take procurement seriously. It was the default when alternatives didn't exist. Now alternatives exist, work well, and are readily accessible.

The organisations still onboarding suppliers via email are accepting unnecessary risk, creating unnecessary inefficiency, and providing unnecessarily poor experience to their suppliers. The case for change is clear; the only question is when to make it.