Overview
The Supplier Portal is the dedicated workspace for suppliers collaborating with brand customers on 3 Clicks Cloud. It gives you a single place to view shared orders, styles, costings, claims, and compliance records; submit quotes; download tech packs; and communicate with your customer's team — without needing access to their internal Production Portal.
Your customer controls which records and applications you can see through the Supplier Portal role assigned on you. Creating a supplier account is free, and once connected you can immediately work on any data your customer has shared with you.
Quick Check - Before You Start
- Confirm you have accepted your customer's invitation and can log in to the correct Supplier Portal account.
- Check the Dashboard to verify your customer's connection is active and shared record counts are visible.
- If a module or record is missing, ask your customer's instance user to confirm your Supplier Portal role and sharing settings.
How the Supplier Portal Works
The Supplier Portal and your customer's Production Portal are two sides of the same platform. Instance users — internal staff at your customer's organisation — create styles, raise orders, request quotes, and manage production. You work in the Supplier Portal, where only the records and tasks shared with your supplier account are visible.
| You do in the Supplier Portal | Instance users do in the Production Portal |
|---|---|
| View orders, styles, costings, claims, and compliance shared with you | Create records and assign your supplier as the factory or agent |
| Enter quote prices and sample costs | Review submitted quotes and approve or award costings |
| Download tech packs and manuals from Drive | Upload files and share them to your supplier connection |
| Reply to comments and send Chat messages | Post comments, mention your team, and message you directly |
| Review Activity for status changes and updates | Change statuses, upload files, and trigger notifications you receive |
View-Only Access by Default
Most Supplier Portal applications are view-only. If you need access to an area that is not visible, contact your customer's administrator or the instance user who manages your account.
Key Application Areas
The Dashboard is your home page. From there you can open the main application areas your customer has shared with you:
| Application | Description |
|---|---|
| Orders | View purchase orders, samples, tests, and related activity shared by your customer. |
| Styles | Access style records, sample requirements, and development details assigned to your supplier account. |
| Costings | Review cost sheets and enter buy prices and quantities in the Quotes workspace. |
| Claims | View and respond to product quality or delivery claims. |
| Compliance | Stay updated with customer compliance requirements and disclosures. |
| Drive | Download documentation, tech packs, and manuals shared by your customer. |
Multilingual Support
The portal interface supports English and Simplified Chinese, making it accessible to a broader range of supplier users globally.
Portal Navigation and Tools
Beyond the main application areas, the left navigation menu and profile menu give you access to collaboration and account tools:
| Area | Description | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | Personalised home page with recently viewed records, application counts, and recent updates. | Dashboard |
| Activity | Running feed of comments, file uploads, status changes, and notifications from customers and teammates. | Activity |
| Chat | Direct 1:1 and group messaging with instance users, separate from record comments. | Chat |
| Favourite Searches | Saved search views across portal applications for quick access to filtered lists. | Favourite Searches |
| Active Instance | View your current supplier connection and submit Modern Slavery Disclosure statements. | Active Instance |
| Settings | Manage company details, monthly capacity, manufacturing items, and staff (administrators only). | Settings |
| Profile | Update personal details, preferences, notification settings, password, and MFA. | Profile |
| Support | Raise support tickets with the 3 Clicks team for help, defects, or feature requests. | Support |
| Drive | Browse and download documentation, tech packs, and manuals shared at the customer connection level. | Drive |
| Guides | Step-by-step workflows for the most common supplier tasks and how they connect to instance users. | Guides |
Common Supplier Workflows
The documentation includes dedicated pages for the tasks suppliers use most often:
- Quotes — Enter buy prices and quantities on costings shared by your customer, and use Show completed styles to focus on outstanding items.
- Invite Staff — Add team members to your supplier organisation so they can access shared records and collaborate with customers.
- Settings — Keep company details, logo, monthly capacity, and staff accounts current so instance users can plan production effectively.
- Profile — Control how you appear in the portal, which notifications you receive, and how your account is secured.
For end-to-end walkthroughs that explain both your steps and what instance users do on their side, start with Guides.
Keeping Your Supplier Profile Up to Date
Accurate supplier information helps your customers plan production, evaluate capacity, and reach the right contacts. Details you maintain in Settings and Profile flow back to your customer's supplier record.
| Information | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Company details | Instance users use your name, address, and contact details to identify and reach your organisation. |
| Logo and profile | Helps customers recognise your company on shared records and in the supplier directory. |
| Monthly loading capacity | Supports production planning against your stated volume limits. |
| Staff accounts | Ensures the right people on your team can log in and respond to shared work. |
| Notification preferences | Controls which email and browser alerts you receive for orders, costings, claims, and comments. |
Related Actions
- Dashboard
- Activity
- Quotes
- Chat
- Settings
- Profile
- Invite Staff
- Active Instance
- Favourite Searches
- Support
- Guides
Avoid Spaces in Identifier Fields
Key identifier fields such as order numbers and product codes should not contain spaces. Spaces in these fields can cause inconsistent search results and make filtering less reliable. Use a hyphen (-) or underscore (_) as a separator instead (e.g., ORD-001 rather than ORD 001).
Troubleshooting
Why can I not see any orders or costings after logging in?
Your account may be connected, but instance users still need to share specific records with your supplier and assign the correct Supplier Portal role.
Steps to resolve:
- Confirm you accepted the invitation and are logged in to the correct Supplier Portal account.
- Check the Dashboard — if all counts are zero, no records have been shared yet.
- Contact your customer's instance user and ask them to verify your Supplier Portal role in Site Settings › Company › Suppliers and confirm the relevant records are assigned to your supplier.
Why is a module missing from my navigation menu?
Module visibility is controlled by the Supplier Portal role assigned on your supplier record. If your role does not include View access for an application, it will not appear in the menu.
Steps to resolve:
- Ask your customer's administrator which modules you should have access to.
- Request that they update your Supplier Portal role in Site Settings › Company › Suppliers.
- Log out and back in, then confirm the module appears in the left navigation menu.
How do I know which customer connection I am working with?
If you collaborate with more than one brand, confirm the active supplier connection before submitting compliance information or responding to shared records.
Steps to resolve:
- Open Active Instance from the left navigation menu.
- Review the supplier name and contact details shown on the page.
- Switch connections if needed before working on orders, disclosures, or other customer-specific tasks.