Suppliers joining the platform

Only contracted suppliers sell on LCPP. Every supplier goes through the same pipeline before its offers reach buyers.

Stage	What happens
Lead	Platform staff identify a supplier worth bringing on, or one gets in touch
Applied	The supplier signs up and submits its application: categories, branches, delivery zones, payment methods, response-time and returns commitments, proposed commission, and how it will keep its catalogue up to date
Contract sent	Platform staff review the application and send the partner contract with commission rates per category
Signed	The supplier signs; its offers can be prepared
Live	Offers are visible to buyers and orders can arrive
Paused	Listings are hidden for a reason, such as an overdue commission invoice or a quality problem, until it is fixed

The contract

The contract records the commission rate for each category, payment terms for commission invoices, and service levels: how fast the supplier confirms orders, answers quote requests, marks payments and handles returns. Rate changes are proposed by platform staff and need a second admin's approval.

Keeping offers fresh

Once live, the supplier keeps its offers current:

• By hand in the supplier portal, one at a time or in bulk.
• By file, uploading a price and stock list on a schedule.
• By connection to its own stock system.

Offers that haven't been checked for a week are marked stale, and suppliers are reminded to confirm or update them. See the catalogue.