Your company uses Michigan’s SIGMA Vendor Self-Service system to participate in state procurement opportunities.

Initially, one person handles everything: reviewing solicitations, maintaining business information, and preparing responses.

As the company grows, those responsibilities are divided among several employees.

The purchasing coordinator monitors new opportunities. A proposal specialist prepares bid documents. An operations manager maintains company information.

But should everyone work through the same user profile?

SIGMA VSS supports multiple users associated with a business, allowing organizations to distribute responsibilities rather than relying on one person to manage every task.

One Business Can Have Multiple Users

The State of Michigan explicitly identifies multiple-user support as a feature of SIGMA VSS.

Businesses can use the system to maintain vendor information, respond to requests for proposals, and receive electronic communications.

The platform also supports organizations receiving state grants, including multiple users with different responsibilities.

This is useful for companies where government contracting isn’t handled by a single department.

However, having several people involved doesn’t mean everyone needs the same responsibilities.

Separate Company Records From Individual Users

A vendor account represents the organization doing business with the state.

A user profile represents a person working with that organization’s information.

These are different concepts.

For example, a construction company might have a procurement manager and two proposal coordinators.

Those employees shouldn’t automatically create three separate vendor registrations for the same business.

Instead, the company should determine how additional users can be associated with its existing vendor record.

This helps avoid unnecessary duplication of company information.

Assign Responsibilities Before Adding People

Before involving additional staff, decide who is responsible for each part of the procurement process.

A practical arrangement might include:

Procurement coordinator: Reviews published solicitations and identifies relevant opportunities.

Proposal specialist: Prepares technical responses and gathers supporting documents.

Operations manager: Maintains business locations, company classifications, and contact information.

Account administrator: Coordinates user responsibilities and requests assistance with account-management issues.

These are examples of internal business responsibilities, not a claim that SIGMA VSS uses these exact names for its permission levels.

Actual system permissions should be verified in the current portal.

Different Responsibilities Don’t Necessarily Mean Equal Permissions

Someone who reviews procurement opportunities may not need the same editing capabilities as someone maintaining company records.

Similarly, a person preparing supporting documents may not be the employee authorized to approve a final proposal.

Michigan confirms that SIGMA VSS supports multiple users, but companies should verify the permissions available in their current system configuration.

Don’t assume that every additional user automatically receives full control over the vendor account.

Review the available role settings and assign responsibilities appropriately.

Contact Records Are Not the Same as User Profiles

SIGMA VSS also maintains contact information associated with vendor addresses and business records.

A contact might be listed as the representative for a particular office or business function.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the person has a separate system user profile.

For example, adding a new purchasing contact to your company’s address information shouldn’t be assumed to grant that person permission to prepare or submit proposals.

Keep the distinction clear when updating your business information.

Coordinate Solicitation Responses

Multiple people may contribute to a single procurement response.

One employee may review technical requirements while another prepares certifications and supporting attachments.

However, the company still needs a clear process for determining which version of a proposal is ready for submission.

SIGMA VSS distinguishes saved responses from formally submitted responses.

A completed internal review doesn’t automatically mean that the response has been submitted to Michigan.

Assign responsibility for checking the final documents, completing the submission process, and verifying confirmation.

Keep Commodity Codes and Business Types Consistent

SIGMA VSS allows vendors to maintain commodity codes describing the products and services they offer.

The system also includes Business Types used for supplier classifications and certain purchasing initiatives.

If several employees maintain the same vendor profile, changes should be coordinated.

For example, the procurement coordinator might request an additional commodity code after the company expands into a new service area.

The operations manager should verify that the new category accurately represents the business before updating the profile.

The same principle applies to business classifications.

Avoid unnecessary or contradictory changes made by different employees.

Electronic Communications Need Clear Ownership

Michigan identifies electronic communications as one of the services available through SIGMA VSS.

The state also emphasizes the importance of maintaining accurate email addresses and commodity codes for solicitation notifications.

A company with multiple staff members should decide who monitors relevant procurement messages.

Don’t assume that adding another person to the business record automatically configures every notification that person needs.

Review the contact information and applicable notification settings.

A missed procurement message can create problems even when the vendor registration itself is accurate.

Plan for Employee Turnover

An employee who manages state procurement today may leave the company or transfer to another department.

If that person is the only one familiar with the organization’s SIGMA VSS responsibilities, ordinary account maintenance can become difficult.

Businesses should maintain an internal record of who handles vendor information, solicitation responses, and administrative requests.

When responsibilities change, review the corresponding user and contact records.

Don’t leave outdated personnel information in place simply because the original employee completed the registration.

Avoid Sharing One Person’s Credentials

Although several employees may need to work with the same vendor record, that doesn’t mean they should all use one person’s credentials.

Individual user profiles support clearer accountability.

They also make it easier for the company to determine which employees should retain access when responsibilities change.

Use the supported additional-user process rather than treating a single profile as a shared departmental account.

When You Need Help With User Management

If you’re uncertain how to add another employee or what responsibilities an existing user can perform, contact Michigan’s SIGMA Vendor Support Center.

Explain the situation clearly.

For example:

Platform: SIGMA VSS

Organization: Registered Michigan vendor

Current arrangement: One employee maintains the vendor profile

Requested change: Additional staff member will prepare procurement responses

Question: How can another user be associated with the existing vendor account, and which permissions are appropriate for that responsibility?

This helps support distinguish a user-management question from a request to register another business.

A Shared Vendor Account Still Needs Clear Responsibility

SIGMA VSS supports businesses with more than one person involved in state procurement.

But adding users doesn’t replace the need for internal coordination.

Companies should distinguish individual users from business contacts, review the available permissions, and establish who is responsible for maintaining records and submitting proposals.

For organizations using sigmavss, the objective isn’t simply to add more people. It’s to keep one accurate vendor record while ensuring the right employees can perform the right tasks. A well-organized sigma vss account makes procurement work easier to coordinate as the business grows.