Email composer with quick messages and response templates in Source-to-Pay Workspace

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Email composer with quick messages and response templates in Source-to-Pay Workspace

    The email composer in Source-to-Pay Workspace enables users to send emails directly from procurement objects such as purchase requisitions, sourcing requests, negotiations, cases, and tasks. It streamlines communication by allowing insertion of predefined quick messages and reusable response templates into email drafts, improving efficiency and consistency in correspondence.

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    Key Features

    • Email Client Access: Open the email client by selecting Compose Email from the More Actions menu on a procurement object. Draft emails are pre-populated with relevant recipient, subject, and body content.
    • Quick Messages: Users can insert predefined quick messages into the email body without overwriting existing content unless explicitly replaced. Quick messages support rich content including icons, logos, images, HTML, hyperlinks, and variables. Business managers with the emailclientquickmessageauthor role can create and manage these messages.
    • Response Templates: Designed for faster case resolution, response templates are reusable messages linked to specific procurement-related tables. Users can copy template content into emails, maintaining or replacing existing text as needed. Default templates cover standard procurement objects with common messages like policy instructions and contact details. Roles control access: response template readers can view, while writers can create and modify templates.
    • Activity Log Integration: Sent emails appear in the Activity section of procurement records, allowing users to track communications and continue interactions by replying or forwarding directly from the activity log.
    • Configuration Requirements: To enable full functionality, ensure sent emails are marked “Received” to appear in activity streams, apply appropriate email formatting, assign the email client attribute to procurement object types, and grant users the emailcomposer role (contained in fulfiller or agent roles) and response template reader role for template access.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enhances communication efficiency by leveraging reusable email content tailored for procurement workflows.
    • Maintains consistent messaging across teams with centrally managed quick messages and response templates.
    • Improves traceability of email communications by automatically logging messages within procurement object activities.
    • Supports rich content in emails, allowing professional and informative correspondence.
    • Role-based access ensures appropriate permissions for creating and using templates, preserving content integrity and governance.

    Insert predefined content into the message body of emails that you send from the email client in Source-to-Pay Workspace.

    You can use this feature to send emails for all procurement objects, which include purchase requisitions, sourcing requests, negotiations, negotiation events, procurement cases, and tasks. To open the email client, select Compose Email from the More Actions icon on the procurement object. A draft email appears with pre-populated data in the To, Subject, and email body fields.

    Using quick messages

    In the email client, you can select a quick message to fill the email body with the content that is specified in the quick message. After you define one or more quick messages, the Quick Messages contextual pane appears in the email client so that you can draft an email with a quick message of your choice. For Sourcing and Procurement Operations, Disclaimer is the only default quick message provided.

    On selecting Insert, the quick message content is inserted at the place of the cursor. It doesn't replace the content that you created before selecting the quick message. To replace existing content with a quick message, highlight the text to replace and then select a quick message.

    Creating quick message content

    Define quick messages by creating records in the Email Client Canned Messages [sys_email_canned_message] table.

    When you define a quick message, you can add any of the following types of content into the message body:
    • Icons
    • Logos
    • Images
    • Rich-text HTML
    • Hyperlinks
    • Variables
    • Any other HTML constructs

    Assign the email_client_quick_message_author role to business managers so that they can create quick messages for users in their group.

    For more information on how to create a quick message, see Define a quick message.

    Using response templates

    Resolve cases faster and more efficiently with response templates. Response templates are reusable messages that can be copied to draft emails to provide quick and consistent messages to users. Each template is associated with a table that is an extension of the Task [task] or Interaction [interaction] table. Response templates include a short name for specifying a shortcut that can be used to identify the message.

    Open the response template that you want to use for your email and select Copy to clipboard. You can now paste the contents of this template at the place of the cursor. It doesn't replace the content that you created before selecting the response template. To replace existing content with a response template content, highlight the text to replace and then select a response template.

    By default, the following response templates are provided for these standard procurement objects:
    • Procurement case: Standard closure response, procurement contacts, policy instructions, and additional information.
    • Purchase requisition: Placing of purchase order is in process, procurement contacts, and policy instructions.
    • Sourcing request: Placing of purchase order is in process, procurement contacts, and policy instructions.
    • Negotiation: Procurement contacts, and policy instructions.
    • Negotiation event: Procurement contacts, and policy instructions.
    • Task: Procurement contacts, and policy instructions.

    While users with the response template reader [sn_templated_snip.template_snippet_reader] role can only read response template content, those with the response template writer [sn_templated_snip.template_snippet_writer] role can read, create, update, and delete response template content.

    For more information on how to work with response templates, see Create or modify a response template.

    Emailed message in activity log

    After your email is composed, sent, and most importantly received by the intended recipient, you can see the email message in the Activity section of the procurement object record. You can continue to work with this email from the activity log by replying to or forwarding the email as required.

    Email composer setup configurations

    To view email composer and all its associated features, which include viewing your emailed message in the activity log, verify that you have the following configurations in place:
    • Sent email should be in Received state, for the email log to show up in the activity stream of the procurement object.
    • The formatter update of the activity stream of the procurement objects should have the Emails - autogenerated and Emails - correspondence formats applied.
    • The Email client attribute should be updated to the procurement object type, for the email composer feature to be enabled for that object.
    • The email_composer role should be added as a contained role for the base fulfiller or agent [sn_spend_sdc.agent] role, for the user to view the email composer feature.
    • The response template reader [sn_templated_snip.template_snippet_reader] role should be added for the user to view the response template feature.