Setting Up Automated COA Email Intake (QMS)

Users and external parties can use this option to email single or multi-batch documents for existing COA Inspection records or to create new COA Inspection records from automated email validation and data ingestion. After Vault receives emailed documents, Vault verifies if the files are valid to attach to a record according to certain parameters and ingests the data. You must set up this feature to allow users, External Collaborators, and external parties to upload COA documents to Vault for record analysis.

About COA Email Intake Types

There are two (2) types of email intake processors, which require different setup instructions:

  • Vault Interaction with Email Intake: Set up this email intake for users, which include the External Collaborators, to receive an email from Vault for an assigned task to submit single or multi-batch COA files. For external users to interact directly with Vault, ensure you’ve configured the external user as an External Collaborator to assign and notify any workflow tasks.
  • External Interaction with Email Intake: Set up this email intake by specifying inbound email addresses to allow specific external parties to send single or multi-batch COA attachments by email to Vault, unprompted by Vault. This type of email intake does not require initial external user setup as Vault interaction does, and only requires your user to have access to the inbound email address.

Vault Interaction with Email Intake

For Vault interaction with COA email intake, when an External Collaborator receives an email for COA submission, the user can upload one (1) or more single or multi-batch COA files to a COA Inspection record, or multiple relevant COA files to subsequent copies of the initial COA Inspection record by email reply. Vault does one (1) of the following when an External Collaborator sends a reply to validate the incoming emails and ingest any data found in each attachment:

  • If an External Collaborator emails one (1) valid single or multi-batch COA file for intake, Vault automatically attaches that file to the matching record name (as defined in the email subject line) and sends the External Collaborator a success email reply.
    • Vault updates the lifecycle state for the matching record.
  • If an External Collaborator emails more than one (1) valid single or multi-batch COA file for intake, Vault automatically attaches the first valid file to the matching record name (as defined in the email subject line) as the initial record and sends a success email reply.
    • Vault verifies the remaining number of valid COA files and invokes the standard Copy Record action (a shallow copy) until there is a matching record for each valid file.
    • Each subsequent record copied has the initial record name as the Source Inspection value with all valid available fields and their values copied to the new record.
    • Once Vault copies the valid amount of records, Vault attaches the remaining subsequent files to each record copied.
    • Vault updates the lifecycle state for each copied record.
  • If an External Collaborator emails zero (0) valid single or multi-batch COA files for intake, Vault sends a failure email reply for each error type detected.
  • If an External Collaborator emails a mixture of valid and invalid single or multi-batch COA files for intake, Vault handles all valid files according to the first or second criteria and handles all invalid files according to the third criteria.
    • Vault sends a single success email reply for all valid files and failure email replies for each error type detected.
    • Any COA files with the same error types are grouped into each error type email reply.

The COA file must be in the PNG, JPG, or JPEG file types for Vault to automate the email intake feature.

External Interaction with Email Intake

For external interaction with COA email intake, your user can upload one (1) or more related single or multi-batch COA files to Vault to trigger COA Inspection record creation. These COA files are compiled from your organization’s external parties, such as suppliers. Unlike Vault interaction with email intake, external interaction allows the user to send COA files as long as you’ve configured a Vault Java SDK extension for the inbound email address. Vault does one (1) of the following when a user sends an email to a specified Vault inbound email address for file validation and data ingestion:

  • If the user emails one (1) or more valid single or multi-batch COA files for intake, Vault creates a COA Inspection record for each valid attachment.
    • Vault classifies the attachments as Documents.
    • If there is a Purchase Order number defined in the email subject line, Vault may associate the following related records: Inspection Plan, Material, and Purchase Order Line Item records. Including the Purchase Order number allows Vault to automatically analyze the COA file after validation and ingestion, if configured.
    • For each newly-created COA Inspection record, Vault populates the fields with data values from the custom Vault Java SDK extension for all records.
    • Vault updates the lifecycle state for each newly-created record and sets the COA Ingestion Status field to “Automatic”.
  • If the user emails zero (0) valid single or multi-batch COA files for intake, Vault sends a failure email reply with each error type detected.
  • If the user emails a mixture of valid and invalid single or multi-batch COA files for intake, Vault handles all valid files according to the first criteria and handles all the invalid files according to the second criteria.
    • Only invalid files will be mentioned in the failure email reply with each error type detected.

The COA file must be in the PNG, JPG, or JPEG file types for Vault to automate the email intake feature.

Setting Up Email Intake for COA Uploads

Ensure you follow the appropriate steps for the following email intake types:

Setting Up Vault Interaction

To allow internal and external users to upload single or multi-batch COA files using email intake to an existing COA Inspection and copied records of a source COA Inspection, you must set up the following:

  • Enable DAC for the Inspection object. When External Collaborators trigger Vault to copy records from a Source Inspection for multiple valid COA files, the Sharing Settings, such as DAC configurations and manual assignments, are also copied over to the new records as part of the trigger.
  • Create a Person record and ensure the Email field contains your organization’s Reply-To email address for COA email intake. For example, your Reply-To email address may be “coa@organization.com”.
  • Navigate to Admin > Settings > Application Settings > Inspection Management and select the Enable Automated COA Analysis checkbox. Enter the same Reply-To email address used for the Person record. Setting up the Reply-To email allows External Collaborators to reply to your organization’s specified email address instead of the generic Vault email address. This ensures that the COA file is uploaded to the correct organization and the correct record.
  • Create an inbound email address for users to email to for automated COA email intake. When creating the inbound email address, ensure you select COA Email Intake for your Email Processor and select All Users in this Vault for Allowed Senders.
  • Configure External Collaboration Management on the Inspection object for COA Inspection as the target object. When External Collaborators trigger Vault to copy records from a Source Inspection for multiple valid COA files, the Sharing Settings, such as External Collaborator values, are also copied over to the new records as part of the trigger.
  • Create an object workflow or modify the existing Inspection object workflow, and include Send CoA Upload Workflow Task Email as your System Action step with COA Submission as your Notification Template.
  • Optional: When configuring the COA Uploaded and COA Uploaded with Missing Data lifecycle states for the Inspection Lifecycle, we recommend adding the Analyze COA entry action to trigger Vault to analyze the emailed COA file attached to the record.

Setting Up External Interaction

To allow your organization’s user to upload single or multi-batch COA files (compiled from external parties) and create new COA Inspection records for each file outside of Vault, you must set up the following to allow external interaction with Vault’s email intake feature:

  • Set up your email intake for external interaction by importing a configuration migration inbound package. Contact your Veeva Representative to access a VPK to deploy the custom Vault Java SDK configuration package. Implementing a custom SDK package allows your Vault to extract information from an incoming email and its attachments, and create COA Inspection records for each valid attachment detected. See Vault Java SDK in the Developer Portal for more details.
  • Navigate to Admin > Configuration > Vault Java SDK > QualityOne COA Email Intake Handlers and ensure that the custom SDK implementation’s Operational Status is set to “Enabled”. Contact your Veeva Representative if your custom SDK implementation is missing or is disabled.
  • Navigate to Admin > Settings > Application Settings > Inspection Management and select the appropriate User Group for COA Email Intake Notification options in the drop-down.
  • Create an inbound email address for users to email for automated COA email intake. When creating the inbound email address, ensure you do the following:
    • Enter the Email Address that matches the inbound email address defined in the custom SDK implementation. If you’re unsure of what the email address should be, contact your Veeva Representative for assistance.
    • Select Supplier Initiated COA Email Intake for the Email Processor.
    • Select All Users in this Vault for the Allowed Senders.
  • Optional: When configuring the COA Uploaded and COA Uploaded with Missing Data lifecycle states for the Inspection Lifecycle, we recommend adding the Analyze COA entry action to trigger Vault to analyze the emailed COA file attached to the record.

Configuring Notification Templates

There are several email notification templates for the COA Inspection object you can customize to which Vault automatically sends to External Collaborators assigned on a COA Inspection record and when Vault receives an external email from an approved email address.

Depending on your configuration for Vault interaction, you may have a System Action step that triggers an email notification to the assigned External Collaborator requesting a COA file submission. Other Vault interaction email notification templates are sent to External Collaborators and workflow owners depending on the validity of the email reply; whether the COA file was received by Vault, the COA file is submitted to the record, or there was a failure when sending the file in the email.

For external interaction email notification templates, Vault sends them depending on the errors found in the received email; if Vault fails to upload because the files are faulty, the files cannot be ingested, Vault cannot create a COA Inspection record for certain COA files, or the Vault receiving the email is missing important Admin setup.

Notification Templates

These are the following notification templates used for email intake:

  • Vault Interaction
    • CoA Submission (coa_submission__v)
    • Success: CoA Received (success_coa_received__v)
    • CoA Email: Failed to upload the file (coa_email_fail_upload_file__v)
  • External Interaction
    • COA Email: Failed to Ingest Attachment (coa_email_failed_to_ingest_attachment__v)
    • COA Email: No Files Ingested (coa_email_no_files_ingested__v)
    • COA Email Processor Cannot Create Record (coa_email_processor_cannot_create_record__v)
    • COA Missing Material Feature Flag Config (coa_missing_material_ff_config__v)

Message Template Tokens

QualityOne Vaults can use additional token support using standard object notification configurations. Tokens are pieces of text that are replaced at the time the notification is used. To configure the notification templates, use tokens within the email content for document notification templates.