# Performing SPR (QMS)
QualityOne Vaults support the management of the Supplier Periodic Review (SPR) process, enabling you to regularly perform evaluations to monitor the performance of a supplier's services, including quality of products, delivery times, and key performance indicators. You can manage the SPR process from start to finish in Vault using data from other QMS objects and actions to generate documents from various artifacts, verify data, and collate information. The output of this process is a final SPR report that compiles data from multiple sources.
SPR is part of the Periodic Reviews feature that provides shared functionality to let users perform different types of periodic reviews in Vault. See Periodic Reviews Overview for more details.
Depending on your Admin's configuration, object, field, and section labels may appear differently than the labels mentioned in this article.
## How the SPR Process Works {#spr-process}
The SPR process begins when you [create an SPR][2] from a _Periodic Review Template_. Vault transfers data to that record based on the configuration of the template you select, and creates _SPR Items_ from the template.
The SPR process typically includes gathering and analyzing data (for instance, supplier checklists, SCARs, and complaints) in documents linked to _SPR Items_ related to the _SPR_ record. You can use the object actions such as _Generate Document from Report_, _Update SPR Fields_, and _Generate SPR Binder_ available on the _SPR_ record to facilitate data collection and create related documents and binders.
Once you have collected all necessary documents and ensured your data is current, you can use the _Generate Merged PDF Document_ action to create the final SPR report as a merged PDF document. The _Final Report_ PDF contains all supporting documents in the _SPR_.
## SPR Process Overview {#overview}
The general process of working with SPR involves the following steps:
1. [Create a _Periodic Review Template_][1]
2. [Create an _SPR_ record][2]
3. Enter information about the _Organization_ and _Risk Matrix_ in the _SPR_ record and [update auto-populated data][3] as needed
4. [Add or generate documents from _SPR Items_][4]
5. [Generate an _SPR_ binder][5]
6. [Generate an _SPR_ merged PDF document][6]
## Creating Periodic Review Templates for SPRs {#create-templates}
To create a _Periodic Review Template_ for use in a typical SPR process:
1. Navigate to **Business Admin > Periodic Review Templates** or to a custom tab.
2. Click **Create**.
3. Select **SPR** as the _Periodic Review Template Type_.
4. Optional: Enter any relevant details about facility, product, or location, as required by your organization.
5. Click **Save**, or click **Save + Create** to create another template.
6. In the _Periodic Review Template Item_ section, click **Create** to make a related _Periodic Review Template Item_ object for each expected item in your SPR process.
7. Select the _Periodic Review Template Item Type_.
8. Optional: Select a **Document**.
9. Optional: Enter a **Display Order**. Vault orders any _SPR Items_ in the order you specify here during SPR binder generation. Vault displays any documents that lack a _Display Order_ value in alphabetical order after any documents with a defined display order.
10. Click **Save**.
## Creating SPRs {#create-sprs}
While you can create an _SPR_ record manually, we recommend you use the following steps to create an _SPR_ from a _Periodic Review Template_:
1. Navigate to **Business Admin > Periodic Review Templates**.
2. Open a _Periodic Review Template_ record of the _SPR_ object type.
3. Select the **Create Record From Template** action from the **All Actions** menu.
4. Edit the resulting _SPR_ record to specify the organization and add relevant risk information to the appropriate text fields. Once you specify the _Organization_ and _Risk Matrix_ and save the record, information from these objects auto-populates into the _Last Audit Date_, _Last Risk Classification_, and _Risk Level_ fields.
When you create _SPRs_ using the **Create Record from Template** action, Vault creates an _SPR_ record, gives it a system-managed record name, and transfers data and _SPR Item_ related records from the template to the new record. If you create an _SPR_ record manually, you must also add related _SPR Items_ manually.
## Updating SPR Data {#update-data}
Entering values for the _Organization_ and _Risk Matrix_ fields into an _SPR_ record triggers fields on the _SPR_ to auto-populate with information from the _Organization_ and _Risk Matrix_ objects.
You can run the _Update SPR Fields_ user action on an _SPR_ to ensure the auto-populated information is current. This action checks values in the _Last Audit Date_, _Last Risk Classification_, and _Risk Level_ fields against those values in the _Organization_ record and updates the _SPR_ to reconcile any discrepancies. Depending on your Admin's configuration, you can run this action at any point in the SPR data collection process before the _Next Audit Date_ field is populated.
## Generating SPR Documents {#generate-docs}
SPR processes typically include gathering data into documents for inclusion in the final report. These may be existing Vault documents, supplier audit checklists, formatted outputs, documents created from document templates, or documents created from reports.
Each _SPR Item_ represents an artifact from which you can generate a document to include in the final report. When you generate documents from an _SPR Item_, Vault adds a link to the generated document to the _Document_ field of the _SPR Item_, and a link to the _SPR_ and _SPR Item_ to their respective fields in the generated document.
Vault may automatically generate some documents when you create the _SPR_ record from the template. Others, such as documents created from reports, can be created by performing the appropriate action on the _SPR Item_ record:
1. Navigate to the appropriate _SPR_ object record details page.
2. In the _SPR Item_ section, select the required document generation action on the _SPR Item_ record. For example, run the **Generate Document from Report** action to attach a PDF version of the report to the _SPR Item_ record.
When you generate a document, Vault populates the document reference field on the _SPR Item_ record with a link to the generated document.
## Generating SPR Binders {#generate-binders}
After you have collected or created placeholders for all documents to complete the SPR process, you can create a binder to contain your related artifacts in your Vault library. Before performing this step of the SPR process, ensure there is an _SPR Item_ for each required document.
To generate the SPR binder, run the **Generate SPR Binder** action on the _SPR_ object record. When you perform this action on an _SPR_ record, Vault creates a document binder containing all documents referenced by the _SPR's_ related _SPR Items_ and assigns the same record label as the source _SPR_ record. Vault orders _SPR Item_ documents in the binder according to their _Display Order_ field value.
## Generating SPR Final Reports {#generate-reports}
After you have generated the SPR binder, a typical SPR process includes generating a final report. To generate a single PDF document containing all documents referenced by the _SPR Items_ in the _SPR_ record, run the **Generate Merged PDF** action on the SPR binder.
When you perform this action, Vault creates the combined PDF document as a _Final Report_ document type and creates a link to the document from the associated _SPR_ record. This link updates each time you run the _Generate Merged PDF_ action. If the action is unsuccessful, Vault provides reasons for the failure, including on which specific document the error occurred.
## **Limitations**
The following limitations apply to SPR functionality:
* No more than 50 _Periodic Review Template Items_ can be added per _Periodic Review Template_ record.
* Documents generated from the _Generate Merged PDF Document_ user action cannot exceed 20,000 pages or 4GB.
[1]: #create-templates
[2]: #create-sprs
[3]: #update-data
[4]: #generate-docs
[5]: #generate-binders
[6]: #generate-reports