KIBO’s Dropship capability allows operators to expand their product assortment by routing customer orders directly to third-party vendors who ship to the end customer — without the operator ever holding the inventory. Because Dropship is built natively into the KIBO platform, those vendor locations participate in the same order routing engine, inventory service, and fulfillment workflows as any operator-owned warehouse or store. There is no separate system to integrate, no parallel process to reconcile, and no change to the customer experience.In this video, we’ll walk through the Vendor Management module inside the KIBO Admin — the operator-facing hub for the entire vendor relationship. We’ll cover how to navigate to the module, how to read the vendor listing, how to search and filter vendors by status, and how to send a vendor invitation. We’ll then follow that invitation through to the Vendor Portal so we can see exactly what the vendor experiences when they accept it. KIBO’s Dropship capability allows operators to expand their product assortment by routing customer orders directly to third-party vendors who ship to the end customer — without the operator ever holding the inventory. Because Dropship is built natively into the KIBO platform, those vendor locations participate in the same order routing engine, inventory service, and fulfillment workflows as any operator-owned warehouse or store. There is no separate system to integrate, no parallel process to reconcile, and no change to the customer experience. In this video, we’ll walk through the Vendor Management module inside the KIBO Admin — the operator-facing hub for the entire vendor relationship. We’ll cover how to navigate to the module, how to read the vendor listing, how to search and filter vendors by status, and how to send a vendor invitation. We’ll then follow that invitation through to the Vendor Portal so we can see exactly what the vendor experiences when they accept it. This is the KIBO Admin UI home screen. This is the KIBO Admin UI home screen. In the left-hand menu navigation, on the “MAIN” tab, we’ll scroll down to find the “Vendor” module. Note that this module only appears on tenants where KIBO’s Dropship feature has been enabled — if we don’t see it, then we’ll need to check with KIBO Support on getting it enabled within our tenant. In the left-hand menu navigation, on the “MAIN” tab, we’ll scroll down to find the “Vendor” module. Note that this module only appears on tenants where KIBO’s Dropship feature has been enabled — if we don’t see it, then we’ll need to check with KIBO Support on getting it enabled within our tenant. Inside the “Vendor” menu item, there are two options: “Vendor Management” and “Vendor Analytics”. We’ll start with “Vendor Management”, which is the primary hub for all operator-side vendor activity. Inside the “Vendor” menu item, there are two options: “Vendor Management” and “Vendor Analytics”. We’ll start with “Vendor Management”, which is the primary hub for all operator-side vendor activity. This is the “Vendor Management” page, which is the central view and management hub for all vendors registered to this tenant. Let’s walk through each column. This is the “Vendor Management” page, which is the central view and management hub for all vendors registered to this tenant. Let’s walk through each column. “Name” is the vendor’s display name as it was entered when the Vendor Invitation was created. “Name” is the vendor’s display name as it was entered when the Vendor Invitation was created. “Status” tells us where each vendor is in their lifecycle — a vendor can be “Active”, “Onboarding”, or “Inactive”. “Status” tells us where each vendor is in their lifecycle — a vendor can be “Active”, “Onboarding”, or “Inactive”. The “Type” column will display “DropShip” for all vendors, as Dropship is the only supported vendor “Type” at this time. The “Type” column will display “DropShip” for all vendors, as Dropship is the only supported vendor “Type” at this time. The “Performance Category” and “Performance Score” columns are how we track vendor execution quality over time — these are driven by fulfilled order data, and we’ll cover them in detail in the Vendor Analytics video. The “Performance Category” and “Performance Score” columns are how we track vendor execution quality over time — these are driven by fulfilled order data, and we’ll cover them in detail in the Vendor Analytics video. At the top of the page, we can use the “Search vendors” field to quickly find a specific vendor by name. Here we’ll type “demo”, and the listing instantly filters to show only vendors whose names contain that string. This works whether we have a handful of vendors or hundreds. At the top of the page, we can use the “Search vendors” field to quickly find a specific vendor by name. Here we’ll type “demo”, and the listing instantly filters to show only vendors whose names contain that string. This works whether we have a handful of vendors or hundreds. Next, let’s look at the status filter. The “All Statuses” dropdown in the top right lets us narrow the listing to a specific vendor state. We can see the three options: “Active”, “Onboarding In Progress”, and “Inactive”. If we select “Active”, the listing immediately updates to show only vendors that are live and eligible to receive routed orders. This is a quick way to see exactly who is operational at any given time. Next, let’s look at the status filter. The “All Statuses” dropdown in the top right lets us narrow the listing to a specific vendor state. We can see the three options: “Active”, “Onboarding In Progress”, and “Inactive”. If we select “Active”, the listing immediately updates to show only vendors that are live and eligible to receive routed orders. This is a quick way to see exactly who is operational at any given time. To add a new vendor to the platform, we’ll click the “Invite” button in the top-right corner. To add a new vendor to the platform, we’ll click the “Invite” button in the top-right corner. corner. This opens the “Invite New Vendor” popup, which has three fields. This opens the “Invite New Vendor” popup, which has three fields. First, “Vendor Name” — this is how the vendor will appear across both portals, so it should match how the business is known. The name must be unique; attempting to use a name that already exists in the system will throw an error before the invitation is sent. First, “Vendor Name” — this is how the vendor will appear across both portals, so it should match how the business is known. The name must be unique; attempting to use a name that already exists in the system will throw an error before the invitation is sent. Second, “Vendor Type”, which is set to “Dropship”, and is currently the only available option. Second, “Vendor Type”, which is set to “Dropship”, and is currently the only available option. Third, “User Email to Invite” — this is the email address that will receive the invitation link, and it becomes the vendor’s primary admin login upon registration. This email must also be unique. Third, “User Email to Invite” — this is the email address that will receive the invitation link, and it becomes the vendor’s primary admin login upon registration. This email must also be unique. With all three fields complete, we’ll click “Send Invite” to send an invitation email. With all three fields complete, we’ll click “Send Invite” to send an invitation email. After clicking “Send Invite”, the popup closes and “Mystic Sports” now appears in the listing with the status of “Onboarding”. This happens immediately — the vendor is registered in the system when the invitation is sent, even before they’ve accepted it or created their account. After clicking “Send Invite”, the popup closes and “Mystic Sports” now appears in the listing with the status of “Onboarding”. This happens immediately — the vendor is registered in the system when the invitation is sent, even before they’ve accepted it or created their account. Here we’re looking at the inbox of the user that was invited. The invitation email has arrived from KIBO with the subject “Welcome to Kibo Vendor Portal!”. The email carries KIBO branding and includes the tenant name the vendor has been invited to. It explains that the vendor has been invited to join and includes the “Join Kibo Now” button to begin registration. The email also provides contact information for KIBO Support if the vendor has questions. Here we’re looking at the inbox of the user that was invited. The invitation email has arrived from KIBO with the subject “Welcome to Kibo Vendor Portal!”. The email carries KIBO branding and includes the tenant name the vendor has been invited to. It explains that the vendor has been invited to join and includes the “Join Kibo Now” button to begin registration. The email also provides contact information for KIBO Support if the vendor has questions. Clicking the “Join Kibo Now” button will redirect the User to the Vendor Portal, which is a separate interface outside of the KIBO Admin. Clicking the “Join Kibo Now” button will redirect the User to the Vendor Portal, which is a separate interface outside of the KIBO Admin. This is the Vendor Portal registration screen. On the top right, the Vendor Name is listed. To confirm the invitation, the vendor completes their “First Name” and “Last Name” fields. The email address is pre-populated from the invitation and is locked; it cannot be changed here. This is the Vendor Portal registration screen. On the top right, the Vendor Name is listed. To confirm the invitation, the vendor completes their “First Name” and “Last Name” fields. The email address is pre-populated from the invitation and is locked; it cannot be changed here. Below that, the vendor will set their password. The system enforces specific requirements: at least 8 characters, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and one special character. As those requirements are met, each line turns green to confirm.When the vendor has filled in their name and created a compliant password, they’ll click “Create”. Below that, the vendor will set their password. The system enforces specific requirements: at least 8 characters, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and one special character. As those requirements are met, each line turns green to confirm. When the vendor has filled in their name and created a compliant password, they’ll click “Create”. After registering, the vendor lands on the Vendor Portal for the first time. Let’s orient to what we’re seeing on this page. After registering, the vendor lands on the Vendor Portal for the first time. Let’s orient to what we’re seeing on this page. In the top-left, we can see the vendor name — in our example, “Mystic Sports” — confirming which vendor account they’re operating in. In the top-left, we can see the vendor name — in our example, “Mystic Sports” — confirming which vendor account they’re operating in. Next to it is a yellow “Under Review” chip, which reflects the vendor’s current status. The vendor cannot receive orders until this status changes to “Active”, which happens on the operator side after onboarding is complete. Next to it is a yellow “Under Review” chip, which reflects the vendor’s current status. The vendor cannot receive orders until this status changes to “Active”, which happens on the operator side after onboarding is complete. In the top-right corner, we can see the logged-in user’s name — “Jordan Romero” — along with their role, “Vendor Admin”. This is the highest level of access within the Vendor Portal, with full permissions across all modules. We’ll cover the difference between Vendor Admin and Vendor User roles in a separate video. In the top-right corner, we can see the logged-in user’s name — “Jordan Romero” — along with their role, “Vendor Admin”. This is the highest level of access within the Vendor Portal, with full permissions across all modules. We’ll cover the difference between Vendor Admin and Vendor User roles in a separate video. The left-hand navigation gives the vendor access to all four modules available in the portal: “Locations”, “Orders”, “Inventory”, and “Onboarding”. We can also see a “Collapse” option at the top of the nav to minimize the sidebar when more screen space is needed. All of these modules are accessible immediately — the vendor does not need to finish onboarding before exploring “Locations”, for example. The left-hand navigation gives the vendor access to all four modules available in the portal: “Locations”, “Orders”, “Inventory”, and “Onboarding”. We can also see a “Collapse” option at the top of the nav to minimize the sidebar when more screen space is needed. All of these modules are accessible immediately — the vendor does not need to finish onboarding before exploring “Locations”, for example. The new vendor will automatically land in the “Onboarding” module, which presents a four-step guided journey in the left rail under “Your Onboarding Progress”. We can see the four steps: “Basic Corporate Information”, “Add Users”, “Business Verification”, and “Integration Setup”. All four are marked “Required”, and the progress indicator shows “0 of 4 steps completed”. This is where the vendor will complete their profile and prepare their account for activation. We’ll walk through each of these steps in detail in the next video. The new vendor will automatically land in the “Onboarding” module, which presents a four-step guided journey in the left rail under “Your Onboarding Progress”. We can see the four steps: “Basic Corporate Information”, “Add Users”, “Business Verification”, and “Integration Setup”. All four are marked “Required”, and the progress indicator shows “0 of 4 steps completed”. This is where the vendor will complete their profile and prepare their account for activation. We’ll walk through each of these steps in detail in the next video.
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