Series Request Automation

Automate recurring sourcing and keep pricing under control.

Series Requests let buyers set up recurring sourcing events — monthly, quarterly, annual — with incumbent and/or new suppliers. Ideal for regular price updates, formula-based agreements, and ongoing competitiveness. SAP updates flow automatically.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC RECURRING MONTHLY SELF-REPEATING
Deviation threshold
−1%Auto-approve+1%
SAP sync · live
Outline agreements updated
The old way

Monthly price updates live in Excel and re-keyed into SAP.

Manual monthly RFQ chase
Every month buyers rebuild the same tender, resend the same email, chase the same suppliers for the same items.
Price updates typed into SAP by hand
10,000 rows a month means weeks of admin — and errors, since outline agreements are edited contract by contract.
No threshold, no benchmark
Every deviation gets the same attention — or none at all. Nothing tells the buyer which quote actually needs a look.
The PINPOOLS way

One self-repeating event that owns the cycle — and the SAP push.

A Series is set up in three steps — General Settings, Item List, Suppliers — and then runs on its own. Suppliers submit updates on the defined frequency, an acceptable-deviation rule auto-approves the ones inside the range, and PINPOOLS pushes the accepted prices into SAP outline agreements. Buyers only step in for the flags.
3 steps
to set up a Series
±1%
auto-approval threshold
SAP push
outline agreements updated
Benefits

What procurement teams get out of it.

Outcomes reported by buyers running recurring tenders on PINPOOLS.

Reduce manual ERP and Excel work

Outline agreements are maintained by the platform, not by copy-paste. Manual admin drops sharply.

Keep pricing competitive over time

Every cycle is a fresh check against the market. Formulas, indices, and benchmarks are embedded in the Series.

Transparent supplier performance

Track how each supplier responds across cycles — deviations, response rate, deltas vs benchmark.

Stable contracts, dynamic re-bidding

Ideal for tail spend, distribution, and category spend — the same engine handles both stable and competitive cycles.

Key capabilities

Automation on top of every RFX capability.

Series inherit the full RFX engine — second rounds, scenarios, formulas — and layer scheduling, thresholds, and SAP automation on top.

CADENCEMONTHLYQUARTERLYANNUALJanMarMayJulautomatic re-issue on each tick

Automated recurring RFQs

Monthly, quarterly, or annual — set the cadence once and let the Series re-issue itself.

−1%±1%+1%inside → auto-approve · outside → flag

Acceptable-deviation rules

Set a threshold — inside the range the update auto-approves; outside, PINPOOLS flags it for buyer review.

PINPOOLSSeriesauto pushOutline agreementInfo RecordPO structurenative SAP outline-agreement updates

Full SAP integration

Accepted updates push into SAP outline agreements automatically — no re-keying, no export scripts.

FORMULA · UNIT PRICEbase×idx(Ni)+dutymalusApplied everycycleAuto-recalcon

Formula-based pricing

Link items to indices, benchmarks, or should-cost models — every cycle recalculates from source data.

R1R2AWARD2nd roundscenarioSupp A · 60%Supp B · 30%Supp C · 10%

Second round & scenario awarding

Series inherit the full RFX engine — extra rounds and split-award scenarios are one click away.

Cycle open · reminder sentSupplier submitted quoteDeviation flagged for reviewRESPONSE92%tracked per cyclesupplier notifications & response tracking

Notifications & response tracking

Automatic invites and reminders. Every supplier's response history is tracked across all cycles.

How it works

Five steps. Then it runs on its own.

Three setup steps and two operating rules — that's the whole Series.

Step 01

Set up General Settings

Define the frequency — monthly, quarterly, annual — and the rules of the cycle. A few minutes, once per Series.

01
General settings
FrequencyMONTHLY
Auto-approve within±1.0%
Push to SAPON APPROVAL
Items · 10,240 rows LINKED
ItemLinkRef
1,3-Butanediol2.11 €
1,4-Butanediol2.93 €
1,6-Hexanediol2.18 €
+ 10,237 more
02
Step 02

Upload the item list

Link items to indices, benchmarks, or should-cost models where needed. One Series can hold 10,000+ rows.

Step 03

Invite suppliers

Incumbents from prior awarding, new participants, or both. Suppliers who prefer email can still submit via Email-to-Quote.

03
Suppliers
4 incumbents · + new invited
Dickens-FriesenIncumbent · monthly cycle
Ziemann-KuhicIncumbent
AAL Chem (offline)Email-to-Quote
Hahn-BartonIncumbent
Acceptable deviation
±1%
−5%auto-approve+5%
Deviation +2.4% → flagged for buyer
04
Step 04

Define acceptable price deviation

Set the threshold — e.g. ±1%. Anything inside auto-approves; anything outside is flagged for buyer review.

Step 05

Let the system run

Suppliers submit updates. PINPOOLS auto-updates SAP outline agreements when within threshold, or flags for buyer review when exceeded.

05
Cycle · Nov 25
9,721 updates within ±1%SAP · SYNCED
519 flagged for reviewBUYER · TODO
Business case

A global distributor automated its full distribution spend.

A global distributor managing 10,000+ monthly price updates automated its full distribution spend process using Series Requests. After awarding through large-scale RFX, 180+ Series were launched to ensure suppliers submitted monthly updates.

PINPOOLS automatically updated outline agreements in SAP unless deviations exceeded +1%. Benchmarks were embedded into the Series for real-time market comparison. Buyers only intervened when thresholds were exceeded, significantly reducing admin time.
Average savings
12%
across distribution spend
Awarding cycle
95%
faster
Auto-awarded items
70%
across the portfolio
ERP integration
Full SAP
global multi-category
Extended case · Regular price updates

Managing 10,000+ monthly price updates became effortless.

Managing 10,000+ monthly price updates became effortless for a global distributor by combining RFX, Series, and SAP automation. After initial awardings via complex RFQs, awarded suppliers were moved into Series Requests with defined update frequencies.

Acceptable-deviation rules automated 95% of updates; others were flagged. Benchmarks let buyers challenge deviations with real data. This drastically reduced effort and ensured pricing remained competitive and contractually compliant.
Price updates handled
10K+
every month
Auto-updated in SAP
95%
of all prices
Buyer alerts
critical only
for critical deviations
Manual admin
−90%
cut across the team
Outline agreements maintained automatically
Updates traceable and benchmarked · distribution spend fully under control.
Trusted by industry leaders

Procurement teams in chemicals, pharma, and coatings
run their recurring tenders on PINPOOLS.

Frequently asked

Series Request Automation questions, answered.

How is a Series Request created?

Series setup has three steps: General Settings, Item List upload, Suppliers invitation. Each takes a few minutes.

How do I analyse Series Request results?

Results are analysed inside the request itself, including tracking supplier performance across cycles.

Can I set up a pricing formula?

Yes. Formula-based pricing with indices is supported natively.

How does the auto-update in SAP work?

When supplier prices come in within the acceptable-deviation range, PINPOOLS updates the SAP outline agreement automatically. Deviations above threshold are flagged.

Can I run Series with both incumbents and new suppliers?

Yes — Series Requests support incumbent suppliers alongside new invitations.

Can Series be combined with Email-to-Quote?

Yes. Suppliers who prefer email can still submit updates via Email-to-Quote when it is enabled.

Set the cadence once. Watch it run itself.

Three setup steps, one threshold — then SAP outline agreements maintain themselves.

SAP-connected · Formula-based · Onboarding in days