Submitting a Request

Describe It Once, However You Have It

The portal opens on a single box: "Describe what you need, or attach a parts list or spec…" There's no form to fill in, no required fields, no dropdown taxonomy to guess your way through. Write it the way you'd write an email:

"Need 400 of the M8 shoulder bolts we bought in March, plus 50 of the matching washers. Needed by the 20th if possible."

That's a complete request. So is a one-line message with a spreadsheet attached, or a photo of a part with "can you get these?"

Attaching Documents

Use Attach drawings / spec sheets for anything that carries the detail — a PDF spec, a CAD drawing, an Excel parts list, a scan, a photo, a quote someone else sent you.

Attachments aren't just filed away. The portal reads them: it pulls out line items — part numbers, descriptions, quantities — and uses them to build the structured summary of your request. Uploading takes a few seconds while that happens; the portal tells you it's reading the files.

This is why attaching the document you already have is usually faster and more accurate than retyping its contents into the box.

The Assistant's Questions

Once your request is in, the company's assistant reads it and asks about whatever's genuinely missing — a quantity, a material, a needed-by date, which variant you meant. Answer in the same chat.

Two things worth knowing:

It knows what this company actually sells. If your request includes something outside their range, the assistant says so rather than passing it through and leaving you to find out days later.

It steps aside for a person. The moment someone from the team replies, the assistant stops answering so you aren't being handled by two voices at once. You'll see a note that a team member is handling the conversation. Nothing is lost in the handover — they can see everything you've already said.

If the assistant can't respond for some reason, you're told plainly, and you can still add details and send. A quiet assistant never blocks your request.

Your Request Document

Beside the conversation sits the structured version of what you've asked for — items with SKU, description and quantity, plus your needed-by date. It updates as details firm up, so at any point you can see what the company has actually understood you to be asking for.

On a phone the document sits behind a button rather than beside the chat; the conversation gets the screen.

If the automatic title doesn't match how you think about the job, use Rename this request — the company sees your name for it alongside their own reference.

Sending: The Step That Matters

Submitting the composer does not put your request on anyone's desk. Until you press Send request, it's a draft that only you can see — deliberately, so you can gather details, answer questions and attach the missing drawing without a half-finished request being worked on.

When it's ready, press Send request. That's the moment the team is notified, and what reaches them is a clean, formatted request rather than a raw one-liner.

A draft you haven't sent shows as Draft — not sent in your request list, with Finish and send → on it. If you started something and got pulled away, that's where to pick it up.

Nobody is nudged, and nothing is auto-sent on your behalf. An unsent draft simply waits.

After You've Sent

You can keep writing in the conversation — corrections, extra quantities, a drawing you forgot. Use Attach files in the conversation to add documents at any point. Each message notifies the team directly.

When a request is completed, its conversation closes and the portal offers to start a new one. Past requests stay readable; the discussion just doesn't continue on a finished job.

Next Steps

• Tracking Requests & Quotes — where your request goes and how the quote reaches you
• Signing In to Your Portal — codes, accounts, and language