FS-DOC-03Operations
Process Runbook / SOP
Vendor Performance Tracking
[YourCompany.com] · Operations Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]
This runbook is the day-to-day operating guide for the Vendor Performance Tracking automation. It tells your ops team exactly what the system does on its own, where a human decision is required, how to handle anything that goes wrong, and who to call when it does. FullSpec has built and configured everything described here. Your team's role is to act on alerts, approve vendor communications, and keep the contact and threshold information current.
01Process overview
Vendor Performance Tracking automatically collects invoice and delivery data from Xero each time a purchase order is received or an invoice is logged, scores every vendor against agreed thresholds, updates the Airtable record and Google Sheets scorecard in real time, and alerts the ops manager via Slack whenever a vendor crosses a performance boundary. If the ops manager approves escalation, a pre-drafted improvement email is sent to the vendor via Gmail. On the last business day of every month, the system compiles a full summary report directly into Google Sheets, ready for the review meeting. Roughly 40 vendor events are processed each month, and the only action your team needs to take is the approval decision when a vendor is flagged.
Process name
Vendor Performance Tracking
Trigger
A purchase order is marked as received in Xero, or a new invoice is logged in Xero
Final output
Updated Airtable vendor record, flagged Google Sheets scorecard row, Slack alert to ops manager (if threshold breached), vendor email sent via Gmail (if approved), and a monthly summary report appended to Google Sheets
Agents running
Vendor Data Collection Agent, Performance Scoring Agent, Escalation and Reporting Agent
Tools involved
Xero, Airtable, Google Sheets, Slack, Gmail
Weekly volume
Approximately 40 vendor events per month (roughly 10 per week)
Human checkpoint
Ops Manager approves or dismisses the draft vendor email in Slack before anything is sent
Process owner
[Your name] — Ops Manager
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02Step-by-step: what happens and who acts
What you actually need to do: There is one human step in this entire process. When a vendor is flagged and you receive a Slack alert, you review the vendor's current score and the draft email prepared by the system, then click Approve or Dismiss directly in Slack. That single decision takes approximately five minutes. Everything else runs without you.
Step
What happens
Who acts
Type
1
A new invoice is recorded in Xero or a purchase order is marked as received. This event triggers the automation immediately, with no manual action needed to start the process.
System (Xero)
Automated
2
The Vendor Data Collection Agent queries Xero to retrieve the invoice details, including billed amount, line items, and expected delivery date, then cross-references the linked purchase order to identify any discrepancy between what was ordered and what was billed.
Vendor Data Collection Agent
Automated
3
The Performance Scoring Agent takes the extracted event data and applies the agreed scoring model, evaluating delivery timeliness, invoice accuracy, and any previously logged quality flags. It produces a numeric score and a plain-English summary of the vendor's current standing.
Performance Scoring Agent
Automated
4
The new score, event details, and performance summary are written to the vendor's existing record in Airtable, appending to the full performance history log so every event is traceable over time.
Performance Scoring Agent
Automated
5
The master Google Sheets scorecard is updated to reflect the latest score. If the vendor's rolling score has fallen below the defined threshold, their scorecard row is flagged automatically so it is visible at a glance.
Performance Scoring Agent
Automated
6
If a flag has been raised, the Escalation and Reporting Agent sends a Slack alert to the ops channel. The message names the vendor, states the current score, and describes the specific event that triggered the flag. A draft vendor improvement email is attached for review.
Escalation and Reporting Agent
Automated
7
You read the Slack alert, review the vendor's score and the pre-drafted email, and decide whether to approve or dismiss the escalation. Approving sends the email via Gmail. Dismissing closes the alert and logs your decision in Airtable. This step takes approximately five minutes.
Ops Manager
Human
8
If you approved escalation, the pre-approved improvement email is sent to the vendor via Gmail, requesting a written response within five business days. The send event and timestamp are logged automatically in Airtable against the vendor record.
Escalation and Reporting Agent
Automated
9
On the last business day of each month, the Escalation and Reporting Agent compiles score trends, flagged events, escalation outcomes, and resolution statuses from Airtable into a structured monthly summary report. The report is appended directly to Google Sheets and is ready for your review meeting without any manual preparation.
Escalation and Reporting Agent
Automated
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03Handling exceptions
Situation
What the system does
What you do
Missing or incomplete data from Xero (for example, a PO with no delivery date or a line item with a blank amount)
The Vendor Data Collection Agent logs the event as incomplete in Airtable, marks the record with a data-quality flag, and skips scoring for that event. No score is written and no alert is sent until data is complete.
Check the flagged Airtable record, correct or complete the missing fields in Xero, and save. The automation will retry the event within the next scheduled poll cycle, normally within 30 minutes.
Duplicate invoice or PO event received (the same invoice number triggers the automation twice)
The system checks the Airtable event log for a matching invoice reference before writing. If a duplicate is detected, the second event is discarded and a note is added to the existing Airtable record confirming the duplicate was suppressed.
No action is needed. If you notice a vendor score seems lower than expected, check the Airtable event log to confirm only one instance of each event was counted.
Vendor record not found in Airtable (an invoice arrives for a supplier who has no existing record)
The Vendor Data Collection Agent creates a placeholder record in Airtable with the vendor name and invoice details, marks it as unverified, and sends a Slack notification to the ops channel asking the team to review and complete the record.
Open the new Airtable placeholder record, fill in the vendor details such as category, contract status, and contact email, and mark it as active. Scoring will begin on the next event for that vendor.
Ops Manager does not respond to the Slack escalation alert within 48 hours
The system sends a follow-up Slack reminder at the 48-hour mark. If there is still no response after a further 24 hours, the alert is escalated by email to the ops manager's Gmail address, and the draft vendor email remains unsent.
Approve or dismiss the escalation in Slack or reply to the follow-up email with your decision. If you expect to be unavailable, reassign the Slack alert to a colleague using the delegate option in the Slack message.
Vendor does not respond to the improvement email within five business days
The system logs the non-response against the vendor record in Airtable and sets a follow-up flag on day six. A Slack reminder is sent to the ops channel noting the vendor name, the original email date, and the absence of a reply.
Decide whether to send a manual follow-up, escalate the matter, or note it as resolved. Update the Airtable record with the outcome so the history is complete for the monthly report.
A connected tool is temporarily unavailable, for example Xero or Slack has an outage
The automation platform retries the failed step up to three times with a five-minute gap between attempts. If all retries fail, the event is queued and the ops coordinator receives an email alert at support@gofullspec.com is copied to confirm the failure. Queued events are processed automatically once the tool comes back online.
Check the Airtable event log for any events marked as queued or failed after an outage. Confirm the queue has cleared once the tool is restored. If events remain stuck after two hours, contact FullSpec support at support@gofullspec.com.
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04Who to contact and when
Fill in once your team is confirmed. Add the name and preferred contact method for each internal role before go-live so the right person can be reached quickly when an exception or escalation arises.
Role
Name
How to reach them
Process owner (Ops Manager)
[Your name]
[Rep email] or Slack handle
Day-to-day operator (Ops Coordinator)
[Your name]
[Rep email] or Slack handle
Backup approver (covers Ops Manager absence)
[Your name]
[Rep email] or Slack handle
Xero account administrator
[Your name]
[Rep email]
Airtable workspace admin
[Your name]
[Rep email]
FullSpec builder
FullSpec team
support@gofullspec.com — for any change to automation logic, threshold updates, or agent reconfiguration
FullSpec support
FullSpec support
support@gofullspec.com — for errors, outages, unexpected behaviour, or billing questions
For any change to scoring thresholds, escalation rules, or email templates, contact FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com rather than editing the automation platform directly. Changes made without FullSpec's involvement may break the flow or produce inaccurate scores.
05Ongoing maintenance
Whenever a new vendor is added or removed
Ensure the vendor has a complete, active record in Airtable before their first invoice or PO lands in Xero. For removed vendors, mark their Airtable record as inactive so they no longer appear in scoring or reports.
Ops Coordinator
Whenever email templates need updating (for example, tone, content, or contact details change)
Send the revised template text to FullSpec at support@gofullspec.com. FullSpec will update the template in the automation and confirm the change within one business day.
Ops Manager requests, FullSpec implements
Monthly, after the review meeting
Spot-check three to five Airtable vendor records to confirm scores align with your own knowledge of those suppliers. If any score looks wrong, compare it against the event log and raise a query with FullSpec if the discrepancy cannot be explained.
Ops Coordinator or Ops Manager
Weekly, on Monday morning
Review the automation error log in Airtable for any events flagged as incomplete, queued, or failed in the previous seven days. Resolve missing data issues in Xero and clear any stuck queue items.
Ops Coordinator
Whenever a team member joins, leaves, or changes role
Update the contact table in this document, adjust Slack channel membership so alerts reach the right person, and notify FullSpec if the approver Slack handle or Gmail address needs to change in the automation.
Ops Manager or administrator
Quarterly, at each supplier contract review
Review whether scoring thresholds and weighting still reflect business priorities. If delivery timeliness has become more or less important, or if the vendor portfolio has grown significantly beyond 40 events per month, contact FullSpec to discuss a threshold or capacity adjustment.
Ops Manager, with FullSpec if changes are needed
The most common maintenance issue for this process is mismatched PO numbering in Xero. If purchase orders are created with inconsistent reference formats, the Vendor Data Collection Agent cannot reliably cross-reference invoices against orders, which leads to incomplete event records and missed scoring. Before go-live, ensure all PO references follow a single consistent format in Xero, and brief anyone who raises POs on the importance of maintaining that format.
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