Onboarding overview¶
The Onboarding section is where your 3PL team brings a newly signed brand live. You build reusable plans as templates, create the brand in Onboarding status from one or more of them, work its tasks with the brand on its onboarding board, and complete onboarding when it's ready to go live. The Onboarding page in the navigation shows every brand you're onboarding on one timeline.
Who can use this
The Onboarding page is for your 3PL team. By default, 3PL Admins, 3PL Managers, and 3PL Employees can open it. Brand users never see it, even if their role is given the permission. Creating and editing templates is a 3PL Admin task by default, and only admins can complete onboarding. Brand users take part through the brand's onboarding board on the Brand Work Desk.
Overview¶
- Templates hold your standard onboarding plans: milestones on plan days, the tasks for each milestone, and the questions you ask every brand.
- Onboarding brands are brands created in Onboarding status. Each gets its own dated plan, an Onboarding channel, and an onboarding board.
- The Timeline shows every onboarding brand you work on as a calendar of milestones, with progress and anything overdue, and lets you reschedule the plan.
- The onboarding board on the brand's Work Desk is where the tasks get done and the brand's questions get answered.
- Completing onboarding takes the brand live, unlocks its other channels, and keeps a read-only record of how onboarding went.
Screenshot: The Onboarding page, Timeline tab. (pending capture)
How onboarding works, start to finish¶
- Build a template. In Onboarding → Templates, set up the milestones, their tasks, and the questions you ask every new brand. See Onboarding templates.
- Create the brand in Onboarding status. Select New onboarding brand on the Timeline, or create a brand from the Directory and choose the Onboarding status. Pick the Onboarding start date and the templates to use. See Create a brand.
- Packr builds the plan. The templates' milestones are copied onto the brand, with real dates counted from the start date. Their tasks become real tasks in the brand's Onboarding channel, assigned the way the template says. The questions are added to the brand, unanswered.
- Work the plan. Your team and the brand work through the tasks and questions on the onboarding board. Use the Timeline to track every brand and to move milestones when dates change.
- Complete onboarding. When the brand is ready, an admin selects Complete onboarding. The brand becomes Active and leaves the Timeline.
Key terms¶
Onboarding brand — A brand whose status is Onboarding. A brand can only get this status when it's created. It leaves onboarding when an admin completes onboarding (the brand becomes Active) or when the brand is marked inactive.
Onboarding template — A reusable plan. A brand gets its own copy when it's created, so later edits to the template don't change brands that are already onboarding.
Milestone — A stage of the plan, such as "Accounts & access" or "Inventory receiving". It runs over a range of days and holds the tasks for that stage. Milestones can overlap.
Onboarding start date — Day 1 of a brand's plan. Every milestone date and task due date is counted from it.
Account managers — The 3PL points of contact for a brand, starred when the brand is created. Template tasks go to them by default.
Internal task — A task only your 3PL team can see. Tasks marked Brand-visible also appear to the brand's own users.
Where things live¶
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Every onboarding brand, on a calendar | Onboarding → Timeline |
| The template library | Onboarding → Templates (previously Settings → Workflow Templates) |
| A brand's onboarding tasks, questions, and chat | The brand's Brand Work Desk, in its Onboarding channel |
| Completing onboarding | The brand's onboarding board (admins) |
| The record once onboarding is complete | The brand's detail page in the Directory, in the Onboarding History card (3PL Admins) |
Who can do what¶
| Action | Who, by default |
|---|---|
| Open the Onboarding page (Timeline and Templates) | 3PL Admins, 3PL Managers, 3PL Employees |
| See a brand on the Timeline | Members of that brand. 3PL Admins see every onboarding brand. |
| Move milestones and add milestones by hand | Anyone who can see the brand on the Timeline |
| Create, edit, archive, and delete templates | 3PL Admins, or anyone whose role has Manage onboarding templates |
| Start a new onboarding brand | Anyone with permission to create brands |
| Answer onboarding questions | Anyone on the brand, including brand users |
| Add a one-off question for a brand | The 3PL team on that brand |
| Complete onboarding | 3PL Admins |
Opening the page takes the View onboarding permission, and managing templates takes Manage onboarding templates. Admins can change which roles have each one in User Roles. See Roles & permissions.
Common questions¶
What is the Onboarding section for? It's your 3PL team's area for bringing new brands live. It holds reusable templates, a dated plan for each brand, a timeline of every brand you're onboarding, and a board where you get the work done with the brand.
How do I start onboarding a new brand? On Onboarding → Timeline, select New onboarding brand. Or create a brand from the Directory and choose the Onboarding status. Then pick the Onboarding start date and at least one template. See Create a brand.
Can brand users see the Onboarding page? No. The Onboarding page is only for your 3PL team. Brand users follow their onboarding on the brand's onboarding board. There they see the brand-visible tasks and answer the onboarding questions.
Can I switch an active brand back to Onboarding? No. A brand can only be put in Onboarding status when it's created. Once it has left onboarding, it can't go back.
Where did onboarding templates move from? They used to be under Settings → Workflow Templates. They're now on the Templates tab of the Onboarding page. See Onboarding templates.