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Request templates

Request templates let you author reusable, versioned questionnaires once and reuse them across many supplier data requests. Instead of hand-picking the same set of DPP fields every time you send a request to a supplier, you define the field set once as a template, publish it, and then select it when creating a data request. This keeps the data you ask suppliers for consistent, saves time on repetitive requests, and gives you a clean version history of what you asked and when.

Open Suppliers > Request Templates to manage your templates. This page is part of the Suppliers (supply chain) area of the company portal — the same module that governs suppliers and data requests. If your plan does not include supply chain access, you will see an upgrade prompt instead of the template library.

What a request template is​

A request template is a named, versioned questionnaire — a defined list of the fields you want a supplier to fill in. Each template records:

  • A version label — a human-readable name, for example "Battery Reg Annex XIII — Due Diligence v1".
  • A regulation code — an UPPER_SNAKE_CASE code that groups related versions together, for example BATTERY_REG_ANNEX_XIII. Every new template you create for the same regulation code is automatically assigned the next version number.
  • A default SLA — the default number of days you expect a supplier to take to respond (1–365, defaulting to 30).
  • A list of fields — each field has an id, a label shown to the supplier, a type (text, long text, number, yes/no, date, single-select, or file upload), and a flag marking whether it is required.

Because a template is reused across data requests, defining it well once pays off every time you send it. A supplier who receives requests built from a consistent template always sees the same fields, labelled the same way.

The template lifecycle​

Every template moves through three states: Draft → Active → Deprecated. The current state controls whether the template can be edited and whether it can be selected when you create a supplier data request.

StatusEditable?Selectable in a data request?Meaning
DraftYesNoWork in progress. You can still refine the field set, labels, and default SLA. A draft is not yet available to attach to a data request — publish it first, or discard it.
ActiveNo (field schema frozen)YesPublished and live. When you publish a draft, the platform takes an immutable snapshot of the field schema. An Active template is the version you select when creating a supplier data request. From here it can only be deprecated.
DeprecatedNoNoRetired. The template is kept for history so that past data requests built from it remain interpretable, but it is no longer offered when you create new requests. This state is terminal — to bring the questionnaire back, author a new version.

The status of each template is shown as a badge in the template library table, alongside its regulation code and version (for example BATTERY_REG_ANNEX_XIII v2) and its field count.

Creating a template​

  1. Open Suppliers > Request Templates.

  2. Click New template.

  3. Fill in the template details:

    • Version label — the descriptive name for this version.
    • Regulation code — an UPPER_SNAKE_CASE code. If you have created a template for this code before, the new one becomes the next version automatically.
    • Default SLA (days) — how many days suppliers are expected to take to respond (defaults to 30).

  4. Add the fields the supplier should complete. For each field, enter:

    • An id — alphanumeric, using only letters, digits, _, ., and -.
    • A label — the wording the supplier will see for this field.
    • A type — text, textarea, number, boolean, date, select, or file.
    • Tick the box to mark the field required.

    Use Add field to add more rows. You need at least one field with both an id and a label.

  5. Click Create draft.

The new template is created in Draft status and appears in Your template library. Creating it does not send anything to a supplier — a draft is private to your account until you publish it and select it in a data request.

Editing a draft​

Draft is the only editable state. While a template is a draft you can revise its version label, default SLA, and field set before committing to it.

Once a template is published (Active), its field schema is frozen — this is deliberate, so that data requests already built from it keep a stable, interpretable set of fields. If you need to change a published template, you do not edit it in place; you author a new version instead (see Versioning below).

Publishing a template​

Publishing moves a template from Draft to Active and makes it available to select when creating a data request.

  1. In Your template library, find the draft you want to publish.
  2. Click Publish on that row.

When you publish, the platform snapshots the current field schema into an immutable record and marks the template Active. From this point the fields are locked. If you later decide the questionnaire was not ready, you cannot edit it back into a draft — deprecate it and author a new version.

Discarding a draft​

If a draft is no longer needed and was never published, click Discard on its row. Discarding retires the draft by moving it straight to Deprecated. It is kept for history rather than permanently deleted, and it will not be offered when you create new data requests.

Deprecating a template​

Deprecating retires an Active template. Use this when a questionnaire version is superseded or no longer relevant.

  1. In Your template library, find the Active template you want to retire.
  2. Click Deprecate on that row.

After deprecation:

  • The template moves to Deprecated and is no longer selectable when creating new data requests.
  • Data requests that were already created from that template are unaffected — they keep the field schema that was snapshotted when the template was published, so historical requests remain complete and interpretable.
  • Deprecated is terminal. A retired template cannot be reactivated. To reintroduce the questionnaire, author a new version.

Versioning​

Templates are versioned per regulation code. The first template you create for a given code is version 1; each subsequent template you create for the same code is assigned the next version number automatically.

Because an Active template's fields are frozen, the way to change a published questionnaire is to create a new template with the same regulation code, adjust its fields while it is a draft, and publish it as the next version. Older versions can be deprecated once the new version is live. This gives you a clean audit trail of exactly which version of a questionnaire each supplier was asked to complete.

Global (platform-provided) templates​

Alongside the templates you author, your library may include Global templates — questionnaires provided by the platform, marked with a Global badge. These are read-only to you:

  • You can select an Active global template when creating a supplier data request, just like your own.
  • You cannot edit, publish, or deprecate a global template. Its Actions column shows Read-only.
  • Only Active global templates appear in your library; platform drafts and retired global templates are not shown.

Global templates give you a ready-made starting point for common regulatory questionnaires without having to build the field set yourself.

Using a template in a data request​

Request templates plug into the standard data-request flow. When you create a supplier data request, you can select one of your Active templates (or an Active global template) to supply the questionnaire, rather than choosing DPP fields one at a time. Only Active templates are offered — drafts and deprecated templates never appear in the picker.

For the full step-by-step of creating, sending, tracking, and reviewing a supplier data request, see Send data requests. Authoring your templates in advance means that step becomes a single selection instead of a manual field-by-field build every time.