How to build a vendor evaluation workflow with rating system

Turn vendor reviews into reliable performance insights

In this guide, you’ll build a vendor evaluation workflow that lets your team rate suppliers across quality, delivery, cost, and communication, then calculates overall performance scores automatically. You’ll also set up dashboards and notifications to keep procurement data transparent and actionable.
📘 Learn more: Create your first form, app, or portal in a flash

Step 1 — Create your vendor evaluation form

Start from your workspace and click + New → Form. You can start from scratch or select a Event vendor registration from the Template gallery.

Or use Magic Create, describe what you need:

“A vendor evaluation form that scores suppliers across quality, cost, and reliability, with automatic rating logic.”

Why this matters: having a consistent evaluation structure helps you compare vendors objectively.
📘 Learn more: How to create any form using Magic Create in Formaloo

Step 2 — Add vendor and reviewer details

Start your form with fields that capture evaluation context:

• Vendor name
  
  
• Vendor category or service type (e.g., logistics, raw materials, IT)
  
  
• Evaluation period (month, quarter, or project name)
  
  
• Evaluator name and department
  
  
• Date of evaluation
  
  

💡 Tip: Use dropdowns for consistent vendor and category naming across evaluations.
📘 Learn more: Form editor and field types

Step 3 — Add rating criteria

Create 1–5 or 1–10 rating fields for each key criterion:

• Product / Service quality
  
  
• On-time delivery
  
  
• Pricing and cost competitiveness
  
  
• Communication and responsiveness
  
  
• Compliance and documentation accuracy
  
  
• Overall satisfaction
  
  

💡 Pro tip: keep scales consistent so variable calculations remain accurate.
📘 Learn more: How to customize text field and long text field

Step 4 — Add variable fields to calculate total and weighted scores

Use variable fields to calculate the overall vendor performance score automatically.

Example setup:

@quality = @quality_rating * 0.4  

@delivery = @delivery_rating * 0.3  

@pricing = @pricing_rating * 0.2  

@communication = @communication_rating * 0.1  

@total_score = @quality + @delivery + @pricing + @communication

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Display the score dynamically:

“Vendor’s total performance score: @total_score / 5.”
📘 Learn more: How to add and calculate scores using variable fields

Step 5 — Add logic to categorize vendor performance

Go to Settings → Advanced logic to define rating categories automatically:

• If total_score ≥ 4.5 → Label = Excellent supplier
  
  
• If total_score ≥ 3.5 and < 4.5 → Label = Reliable supplier
  
  
• If total_score ≥ 2.5 and < 3.5 → Label = Needs improvement
  
  
• If total_score < 2.5 → Label = Poor performance
  
  

💡 Tip: Use conditional display logic to show tailored messages or next steps after submission.
📘 Learn more: How to add advanced logic to your form

Step 6 — Automate review notifications

In Settings → Advanced logic or Notify tab, send automated emails to relevant stakeholders:

• To Procurement Manager: a summary of vendor scores and comments.
  
  
• To Vendor (optional): a tailored message with performance feedback.
  
  
• To Team Leads: alerts when a vendor falls below a threshold (e.g., total_score < 3).
  
  

Include field IDs like @vendor_name, @total_score, @evaluation_period, and @comments.
📘 Learn more: How to create and send custom email templates

Step 7 — Generate evaluation PDFs automatically

Create a custom PDF template that stores each vendor’s evaluation summary:

• Vendor info
  
  
• Evaluator name and date
  
  
• All scores and calculated total
  
  
• Comments and recommendations
  
  
• Final rating label (Excellent / Reliable / Needs improvement)
  
  

Attach these PDFs to HR or procurement notifications automatically.
📘 Learn more: How to generate custom PDFs using templates

Step 8 — Build your vendor performance dashboard

Open Results → Responses to visualize vendor evaluations:

• Table view: filter by vendor, category, or quarter.
  
  
• Charts: average score per vendor or performance category.
  
  
• Kanban view: group vendors by performance label (Excellent, Reliable, etc.).
  📘 Learn more: How to showcase charts based on form responses
  
  

Step 9 — Create a procurement portal for ongoing tracking

From your project, build a Vendor Evaluation Portal.

Add pages like:

• Vendor performance dashboard
  
  
• Quarterly evaluation summaries
  
  
• Underperforming vendors (alerts)
  
  
• New evaluation submission form
  
  

Set access roles so procurement sees all evaluations while vendors only view their own feedback.
📘 Learn more: How to create a portal and manage users’ access

Step 10 — Analyze trends with AI

Enable AI Analyze to generate automatic performance insights, such as:

• “Average vendor score by category.”
  
  
• “Top 3 performing suppliers this quarter.”
  
  
• “Common weaknesses across all vendors.”
  📘 Learn more: Uncover insights and trends in your data with AI Analyze
  
  

Pro tips

• Use linked rows to connect vendor evaluation results to your Supplier Onboarding Form or Purchase Order System.
  
  
• Add a status field for tracking vendor improvement plans.
  
  
• Duplicate this workflow for annual reviews or project-specific vendor evaluations.
  📘 Learn more: What are linked rows and how to use them
  
  

Example scenario

Your team evaluates Alpha Logistics across quality, delivery, and pricing. The system calculates a total score of 4.3 and labels it “Reliable supplier.” Procurement receives a PDF summary, and the vendor dashboard updates automatically. Over time, AI Analyze identifies consistent issues in “Delivery speed” across multiple vendors.
📘 Learn more: Build personalized and time-saving flows with logic, automations, and AI

FAQ

1. Can vendors see their own performance reports?
   Absolutely, give vendors access via a secure portal with filtered visibility.

Your vendor evaluation system is live, build stronger supplier partnerships

You’ve built a complete workflow for vendor evaluation with scoring, automation, and dashboards. Keep refining it with AI analytics and linked portals to continuously improve supplier quality and accountability.
📘 Learn more: How to personalize ending pages and email notifications with AI

Last updated October 2025

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