How suppliers normally respond
Leverage's main workflow is email based and requires no login:
Your supplier receives an automated email from Leverage with the PO details.
They click a button in the email (such as "Provide Acknowledgment") to open the Supplier Response Page.
They confirm or adjust promise dates, quantities, and unit costs, then submit.
No account, no software, and no IT setup on their end. Suppliers can register for the portal if they want proactive features, but it is completely optional.
This works for the large majority of suppliers. The rest of this article covers what to do when it does not.
When a supplier resists the standard workflow
Some suppliers may push back. Maybe they do not want to click a link, they prefer their own paperwork, or they have an internal process they will not change. That is okay. You have two ways to still bring their responses into Leverage.
Option 1: Open Order Reports
What it is: A scheduled email that sends the supplier a spreadsheet (CSV) of their open, unacknowledged PO lines.
How the supplier responds: They can either
reply to the email with the updated spreadsheet (adjusting date, unit cost, or quantity), or
click the button in the email to open the response page.
Why it helps: The supplier works in a familiar format (a spreadsheet) on a schedule you set, for example every Monday. Their updates flow back into Leverage instead of getting lost in a one-off email thread.
Good to know:
You control the cadence, the columns included, and which suppliers receive the report.
If you select no suppliers when setting it up, the report goes to all suppliers, so be intentional.
Option 2: Acknowledgment Parsing
What it is: Leverage accepts a document from the supplier (PDF, Excel, CSV, or email), reads the data automatically, and matches it to the correct PO lines in your system.
How the supplier responds: They send their acknowledgment in whatever format they already use, to a dedicated inbox that our team sets up for that supplier. Leverage parses it and pulls the data in.
Why it helps: The supplier changes nothing about how they work. You still get structured, tracked acknowledgments in Leverage rather than a PDF sitting in someone's inbox.
Good to know:
Parsing requires a quick setup per supplier so the system learns that supplier's document format.
Anything the system cannot confidently match lands in Needs Review, where your team can map it manually. Nothing is lost.
To get parsing set up, submit a Parsing Request through the Help Center or reach out to support.
Leverage will display the email attachment for your review:
Why this matters
The goal of both options is the same: keep communication logged and tracked inside Leverage, even when a supplier will not engage with the platform directly. You still get:
A record of what was acknowledged and when
Updated promise dates, quantities, and costs on your PO lines
One source of truth instead of scattered email threads
A difficult supplier does not have to mean a blind spot.
Want to see it in action?
If you would like a walkthrough or a demo of Open Order Reports or Acknowledgment Parsing, email support@tryleverage.ai and we will set it up.
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