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The GitLab Procurement Team

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What is Procurement?

Procurement is the process of selecting vendors, strategic vetting, selection, negotiation of contracts, and the actual purchasing of goods. Procurement acquires all the goods, services, and work that is vital to GitLab.

What is the Procurement Process at GitLab?

Anytime a purchase is being made on behalf of GitLab that does not qualify as a personal expense, or meet the list of exceptions, a Coupa Purchase Request must be approved BEFORE a purchase and/or work can begin.

Exceptions to the PO policy include, but are not limited to, purchases under $5,000 USD.

Procurement process

Shared Goals

Procurement is a cross-functional team that supports GitLab as a public company. We have four key objectives monitored in the following ways:

  1. Risk Management and Compliance
    • Reported and monitored via internal and external audit which gets reported to our shareholders.
  2. Digital Automation and Efficiency
    • Reported via annual cost avoidance and year over year savings
  3. Strategic Partnership and Department Spend Reviews
    • Reported through the twice annual NPS survey
  4. Responsible Sourcing and Diversity
    • Monitored via Coupa Supplier Onboarding

When do I start the Procurement Process?

How do I start the Procurement Process?

What are other Services Procurement Supports?

Includes RFP Templates, scorecards and Vendor Guidelines for doing business with GitLab:

Home Office and Supplies Individual Use Software Vendor Selection Process Vendor Guidelines Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) Charitable Contributions Demo/Trial Agreements

When does procurement negotiate my contract and how long does that take?

How do I create a Purchase Request in Coupa?

If purchasing Home Office Equipment and/or Software for your individual work use <$5K USD, see Other Services Process since a Coupa Purchase Request is not required in these instances.

Step 1: Obtain Coupa Access

  1. Login to Coupa via your Okta home page.
  2. If you need Coupa access, see How to access Coupa.
  3. Review Coupa training materials:

Step 2: Confirm Supplier is Setup in Coupa

If New Supplier:

  1. Review Vendor Selection Process and ping the #procurement slack channel if you would like support choosing a new vendor and/or executing an RFP.
  2. Submit a New Supplier Request Form.
  3. After you’ve submitted your request for a new supplier, the procurement and AP teams will review and approve within 1-2 business days.
    • If you need this escalated:
      • Tag the procurement team in the #procurement slack channel
      • Include link to the new supplier request and reason for escalation
      • Once the procurement team approves, the supplier will receive an onboarding email from Coupa requesting them to complete the onboarding process. This includes providing tax and banking information that only the supplier can provide.

New Supplier Tip

Once you've submitted your New Supplier Form, contact your supplier letting them know they will be receiving an onboarding request from Coupa. Let them know GitLab is unable to review or sign their contract until they complete this process so their prompt response is needed.

Please note, it takes several hours for Coupa to activate the supplier and be able to submit a request.

If Existing Supplier:

If Unsure:

Step 3: Create Coupa Requisition

  1. Is this request for a software renewal/add-on? Or for professional services?
    • If yes, begin by selecting the appropriate request “Form”, found in the Forms dropdown in the upper right of Coupa.
    • Software renewals and professional service requests that do NOT have this form completed will be rejected, causing delays to your timeline.
    • Once your form is completed, proceed to Cart and complete a request with necessary information.
  2. Do you need a Virtual Card payment method for your supplier?
    • This applies to instances where the supplier only accepts online credit card payments. More info on allowed uses here (link to new Virtual Card page)
    • If yes, see instructions to request a Virtual Card here
    • Once your Virtual Card form is completed, proceed to Cart and complete a request with necessary information.
  3. Create a Coupa Requisition, instructions here.

TIPS to streamline approval process

To help expedite the review and approval of your purchase request, be prepared to provide the following information in your Coupa Requisition. If you don't know all of this information yet or are wanting support to negotiate that's ok!

  • Whether or not the supplier will have access to red and/or orange data
    • If yes, a Vendor Security Review will be completed. The vendor will receive an email communication from ZenGRC requesting information regarding their security protocols.
    • If yes, the Vendor will need to sign our DPA and SCC’s as directed by federal and global requirements.
  • TIP: To increase speed of approval send your supplier contact the DPA and SCC’s for signature right away. Also alert them the request from ZenGRC for security completion. Let them know review and approval can't begin without these pieces.
  • All data and systems the vendor will have access to
    • Be as specific as you can about the type of data the vendor and/or system will have access to, and specifics about how they will receive that data.
    • Failure to complete this field will delay the review and approval of your request.
  • Vendor’s Security Contact Email
    • Oftentimes this is different from the main contact. Providing the head of security contact info from the vendor’s company will expedite the security review and avoid delays
    • This is the person who will receive an email from ZenGRC requesting details on their security program
  • Upload any contracts and/or quotes you've received.
    • Draft contracts are ok. Make note of any terms and/or pricing still being finalized.
  • Click "Submit for Approval"
  • Note any progress, status, or considerations for the procurement team to negotiate your contract. i.e. “I asked for a discount from supplier and they gave me 10%, please feel free to negotiate further”.

Step 4: Monitor Progress in Coupa

You can check the status of your requisition at any time by scrolling to the “Approvers” section.

Common Status Questions:

  1. Why is my supplier still onboarding?
    • If the supplier still has not completed their onboarding, you will see the text “(onboarding)” in red next to the supplier's name in the “cart”
    • Your request cannot begin the review and approval process until the supplier completes their onboarding
    • TIP: Procurement will contact the supplier requesting they complete the onboarding process. However, when the business sponsor also requests the suppliers action to complete the onboarding email from Coupa, it expedites response. Remind your supplier that their contract can NOT be reviewed and invoice can’t be paid until they complete the onboarding process in Coupa
  2. What does "Pending Buyer Action" status means?
    • If your request is “Pending Buyer Action” and the supplier is NOT still onboarding, your req is being reviewed by the procurement team and will respond one of two ways within 1-2 business days:
      • Requesting additional questions/information about the purchase to you the business requestor, or to the supplier directly.
      • Approve the Coupa Request, which will automatically advance it to the FP&A team for their review and approval.
  3. How are Contracts Signed?
    • Once the Coupa Req is at the “Contract Approval” stage, the procurement team will route the contract to the appropriate signatory according to GitLab’s authorization matrix via Docusign.
    • Once signed, the procurement team will route the contract to the supplier for countersignature.
    • Once the contract is fully executed by both parties, the procurement team will approve the Coupa Request fully approving the Purchase Request and simultaneously releasing the Coupa Purchase Order (PO) to facilitate supplier payment.

Step 5: Congratulations on your Coupa Purchase Order (PO)!

  1. Once the PO is generated, GitLab has officially placed an order for your purchase!! You may now begin work and/or obtaining the products/services.
  2. The supplier will receive a copy of the PO order and number at the email address they supplied for Accounts Payable.
  3. The supplier will receive communication from Coupa indicating how to make payment one of two ways:
    • Directly in their Coupa portal
    • Send invoice to ap@gitlab.com with PO number included on the invoice
    • Failure to follow these instructions will delay payment
    • Invoices uploaded to Coupa by a GitLab team member are not routed for payment.
  4. If your request was new software, update the tech stack after the Coupa PO is approved and the contract signed.

Congratulations and thank you for following this process to support GitLab as a public company!

How long does it take to approve my Coupa Purchase Request?

As a general rule, plan on 5 Business Days to approve your Purchase Request for an existing supplier with standard terms, conditions, and low risk.

If your request requires negotiation, a vendor security review, and/or legal revisions, this will take longer as noted below.

Please plan accordingly and open your Coupa Purchase Request allowing the cross-functional teams enough time to complete the review

If your request meets any of the below criteria, add the additional time noted for the activity to the 5 day baseline above:

New Supplier Onboarding: 2-3+ Days

In the event two or more of the below activities are required, they will happen in parallel to one another:

Negotiation: 1-3 Weeks

Vendor Security Review (VSR): 4-7 Days

Legal Review: 3 Days - 3+ Weeks

Note: The amount of time for review, and to reach execution, is based on the details below. Use these SLA's as guidelines, noting that each contract review process is unique and if additional terms, requirements, and/or risks are identified the timeline for completion may be extended

Types of Vendors

Types of Agreements (generally broken into three (3) categories)

Additional Details

What if I have an Urgent Request?

If you are unable to plan and have a legitimate reason to escalate a purchase request, follow the process below.

How do I increase the dollar amount for an existing Coupa PO?

What are the exceptions to the PO Policy?

Exceptions to the PO Policy are:

  1. Purchases under $5K
  2. Charitable Contributions (Donations)
  3. Computer/Hardware Advances (if unable to be paid through Payroll Dept)
  4. Interview Candidate Reimbursement
  5. Legal Fees
  6. Audit, Tax, and Insurance Fees
  7. Benefits, PEO Providers and Payroll
  8. AR/Customer Refunds
  9. Board of Director Payments
  10. Financing, Banking and Investing (incl interest, debt, FX, fees)
  11. Corporate Credit Card
  12. Urgent Payments not included on list above (approval required from VP, Corporate Controller and/or PAO)

Helpful Documents and Templates

Contract Templates

Documentation

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