Vendor registration form: screen new suppliers before you buy

Suppliers find you by email, price list and phone call, and each one describes itself differently. Comparing them is slow. A vendor registration form makes every supplier answer the same questions in the same order.

About the company

Name, contact person, email, phone, website, location and years in operation. This tells you who they are and how to reach them.

What they supply

Categories, delivery countries, a catalog link and the standards they hold. This is the part you compare side by side.

Working terms

Lead time, minimum orders, samples and two references. These show whether they can work at your pace.

Who fills it and who reads it

Each supplier fills it once. Their AI can answer from their own sheets: "What do you supply?" Then "What lead time do you work to?" Then "Can you send samples?" It shows the answers and sends only after a yes. See agent-fillable forms. Your buyer reads the CSV and shortlists.

A tip

I leave bank and tax details out. Ask for them only after you approve a supplier. Move approved suppliers to a vendor onboarding form. Suppliers who also resell can use a reseller application. More ideas are in forms for Ecommerce and Shopify stores and forms for IT and operations.

Questions

How do I compare suppliers fairly?

Download the CSV and sort by supply category, then by lead time. Every supplier answered the same questions, so the rows line up side by side.

Where do bank details go?

Not on this form. Approve the supplier first, then collect payment and tax details through your own secure process. The form leaves them out on purpose.

Can suppliers share a catalog?

Not as a file. The form has no uploads, so it asks for a link to an online catalog or price list. Check that the link opens before you shortlist.

Or paste the JSON

Give this to your AI. It needs the AI Form API MCP server or an API key. It makes the form and sends you the link.

text

Create this form with the AI Form API create_form tool (or POST https://aiformapi.com/v1/forms with my API key). Then reply with the public_url.

{
  "title": "Register as a supplier",
  "description": "Tell us about your company and what you can supply. Every application is read by our buying team.",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "supplier_company",
      "label": "Company name",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 200
    },
    {
      "id": "primary_contact",
      "label": "Main contact person",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "supplier_email",
      "label": "Contact email",
      "type": "email",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "supplier_phone",
      "label": "Contact phone",
      "type": "phone"
    },
    {
      "id": "supplier_website",
      "label": "Company website",
      "type": "url"
    },
    {
      "id": "catalog_link",
      "label": "Link to your catalog or price list",
      "type": "url",
      "help": "The form takes no files, so paste a link to an online copy."
    },
    {
      "id": "supply_categories",
      "label": "What do you supply?",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "required": true,
      "options": [
        "Raw materials",
        "Finished goods",
        "Packaging",
        "Components",
        "Printing",
        "Software or services",
        "Transport and logistics"
      ],
      "min": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "based_in",
      "label": "Where are you based?",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 200
    },
    {
      "id": "delivery_countries",
      "label": "Which countries can you deliver to?",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 500
    },
    {
      "id": "years_operating",
      "label": "Years in operation",
      "type": "number",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 200
    },
    {
      "id": "usual_lead_time",
      "label": "Your usual lead time",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "Under a week",
        "1 to 2 weeks",
        "3 to 4 weeks",
        "More than 4 weeks",
        "It depends on the order"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "minimum_order_terms",
      "label": "Minimum order size or terms you work to",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 800
    },
    {
      "id": "samples_available",
      "label": "We can send samples on request",
      "type": "checkbox"
    },
    {
      "id": "standards_held",
      "label": "Standards or certificates you hold",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 800
    },
    {
      "id": "reference_customers",
      "label": "Two businesses we could ask about you",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 800
    }
  ]
}

Or call the API

bash

curl -X POST https://aiformapi.com/v1/forms \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIFORMAPI_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title":"Register as a supplier","description":"Tell us about your company and what you can supply. Every application is read by our buying team.","fields":[{"id":"supplier_company","label":"Company name","type":"short_text","required":true,"max_length":200},{"id":"primary_contact","label":"Main contact person","type":"short_text","required":true,"max_length":150},{"id":"supplier_email","label":"Contact email","type":"email","required":true},{"id":"supplier_phone","label":"Contact phone","type":"phone"},{"id":"supplier_website","label":"Company website","type":"url"},{"id":"catalog_link","label":"Link to your catalog or price list","type":"url","help":"The form takes no files, so paste a link to an online copy."},{"id":"supply_categories","label":"What do you supply?","type":"multi_choice","required":true,"options":["Raw materials","Finished goods","Packaging","Components","Printing","Software or services","Transport and logistics"],"min":1},{"id":"based_in","label":"Where are you based?","type":"short_text","max_length":200},{"id":"delivery_countries","label":"Which countries can you deliver to?","type":"long_text","max_length":500},{"id":"years_operating","label":"Years in operation","type":"number","min":0,"max":200},{"id":"usual_lead_time","label":"Your usual lead time","type":"single_choice","options":["Under a week","1 to 2 weeks","3 to 4 weeks","More than 4 weeks","It depends on the order"]},{"id":"minimum_order_terms","label":"Minimum order size or terms you work to","type":"long_text","max_length":800},{"id":"samples_available","label":"We can send samples on request","type":"checkbox"},{"id":"standards_held","label":"Standards or certificates you hold","type":"long_text","max_length":800},{"id":"reference_customers","label":"Two businesses we could ask about you","type":"long_text","max_length":800}]}'

JSON definition

json

{
  "title": "Register as a supplier",
  "description": "Tell us about your company and what you can supply. Every application is read by our buying team.",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "supplier_company",
      "label": "Company name",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 200
    },
    {
      "id": "primary_contact",
      "label": "Main contact person",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "supplier_email",
      "label": "Contact email",
      "type": "email",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "supplier_phone",
      "label": "Contact phone",
      "type": "phone"
    },
    {
      "id": "supplier_website",
      "label": "Company website",
      "type": "url"
    },
    {
      "id": "catalog_link",
      "label": "Link to your catalog or price list",
      "type": "url",
      "help": "The form takes no files, so paste a link to an online copy."
    },
    {
      "id": "supply_categories",
      "label": "What do you supply?",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "required": true,
      "options": [
        "Raw materials",
        "Finished goods",
        "Packaging",
        "Components",
        "Printing",
        "Software or services",
        "Transport and logistics"
      ],
      "min": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "based_in",
      "label": "Where are you based?",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 200
    },
    {
      "id": "delivery_countries",
      "label": "Which countries can you deliver to?",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 500
    },
    {
      "id": "years_operating",
      "label": "Years in operation",
      "type": "number",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 200
    },
    {
      "id": "usual_lead_time",
      "label": "Your usual lead time",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "Under a week",
        "1 to 2 weeks",
        "3 to 4 weeks",
        "More than 4 weeks",
        "It depends on the order"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "minimum_order_terms",
      "label": "Minimum order size or terms you work to",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 800
    },
    {
      "id": "samples_available",
      "label": "We can send samples on request",
      "type": "checkbox"
    },
    {
      "id": "standards_held",
      "label": "Standards or certificates you hold",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 800
    },
    {
      "id": "reference_customers",
      "label": "Two businesses we could ask about you",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 800
    }
  ]
}

Vendor registration form for new suppliers