Define the work and control supplier participation in SOWs.

SOW subcategories define the type of work at a more detailed level within the Statement of Work (SOW) process. When used with SOW supplier subcategories on the template, they determine which suppliers can participate in a specific SOW. This ensures that only qualified suppliers are engaged, improving quality, consistency, and overall sourcing outcomes.

Why it matters

• Ensure only qualified suppliers are engaged for each SOW
• Reduce irrelevant supplier participation and rework
• Standardize how work is defined and executed
• Improve decision-making with structured SOW data
• Enforce compliance through rule-based supplier engagement

Who it’s for

• Program managers overseeing SOW sourcing and execution
• Procurement teams managing supplier engagement and performance
• Administrators configuring SOW structure and controls
• Hiring managers creating and managing SOWs

How it helps

• Define work precisely so SOWs align to specific skills or services
• Control supplier participation by limiting engagement to matching subcategories
• Improve quality by ensuring suppliers match the work requirements
• Enable accurate cost comparisons across similar work types
• Provide clearer insights by tracking performance and spend by subcategory
• Apply the right governance by triggering workflows and requirements based on work type

Action steps

• SOW functionality is enabled in your environment
• You have permission to create and manage subcategories
• SOW templates are already configured
• Supplier subcategories are already associated to templates

How to steps

Subcategories bring precision to sourcing, pricing, and insights—turning broad workforce data into actionable intelligence

1. Select Preferences > VMS Settings > Statement of Work. A Statement of Work page displays.
2. Select SOW Sub-Categories. A Subcategories page displays.
3. Select Add New. An Add New Subcategory page displays.
4. In the Name field, enter a label for your subcategory.
5. In the Code field, enter an abbreviation for your reason.
6. Optional. In the Description field, enter an explanation for when the subcategory should be chosen.
7. Select the Active checkbox.
8. Select OK.
9. Repeat steps 3 through 8 to create additional subcategories.

The subcategories you created are available to users when they create an SOW.

What happens next

• The subcategory becomes available when creating a Competitive Bid
• When selected in a CB, it filters the supplier list to those aligned through the template
• Supplier participation is automatically limited to relevant vendors