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

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 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 feature in Source-to-Pay Workspace enables users to insert predefined content such as quick messages and response templates into emails sent directly from procurement objects. This capability supports communication for various procurement processes including purchase requisitions, sourcing requests, negotiations, sourcing events, procurement cases, and tasks. It streamlines email creation, promotes consistent messaging, and enhances case resolution efficiency.

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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 have pre-populated recipient, subject, and body fields.
    • Quick Messages: Quick messages are predefined snippets that can be inserted into email bodies without overwriting existing content unless text is highlighted. Business managers with the emailclientquickmessageauthor role can create these messages using rich content types including images, HTML, and variables.
    • Response Templates: Reusable templates linked to specific procurement-related tables (extensions of Task or Interaction) help send consistent replies quickly. Templates can be copied and pasted into email drafts and support replacing selected text. Default templates are provided for common procurement objects, such as procurement cases and purchase requisitions. Role-based permissions control template creation and editing.
    • Activity Log Integration: Sent emails are recorded in the Activity section of the related procurement object, enabling ongoing interaction such as replying or forwarding directly from the record.

    Setup and Configuration

    • Ensure sent emails are marked as Received to appear in the procurement object’s activity stream.
    • Apply the required formatter updates for activity stream email display formats.
    • Configure the Email client attribute for relevant procurement object types to enable the composer feature.
    • Assign the emailcomposer role to users (typically as part of the base fulfiller or agent role) to access the email composer.
    • Assign the responsetemplatereader role to grant users access to view response templates.

    Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    This feature empowers procurement teams to efficiently manage communication within Source-to-Pay Workspace by standardizing email content with quick messages and response templates. It reduces manual typing, ensures message consistency, and accelerates case resolution. The integration with the activity log maintains a clear audit trail of communications related to procurement objects, facilitating transparency and collaboration.

    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, sourcing 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.
    • Sourcing 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.