Referral-Based Ordering with Third-Party Vendors
Rialto supports book ordering through a referral-based model that enables libraries to discover and order books directly through the marketplace using selected third-party vendors.
Referral titles are searchable in the marketplace, and libraries can place orders directly with supported suppliers through Rialto, which are transmitted to vendors using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Fulfillment, shipping, and invoicing are handled by the vendor.
Referral-based ordering is currently available for Browns Books. Additional print vendors will become available as integrations are completed.
Configuring a Third-Party Provider for Ordering
Offers from supported providers appear in marketplace search results by default. However, selectors cannot add them to the cart until a Rialto administrator completes the required provider configuration.
Before activating a provider in Rialto, configure the following in Alma:
- An EDI-enabled vendor. For details, see Managing Vendors and Configuring EDI for a Vendor.
- An FTP connection. For details, see Configuring an FTP Service.
- Enable the Vendor System Letter. For details see Configuring Acquisition Methods.
Referral ordering requires implementation with the supplier direct. Information required for the EDI Vendor account and FTP enablement above will be provided by the supplier.
Until you meet these prerequisites, the toggle next to the provider's name on the Provider Configuration page (Configuration > Collection Development > General > Provider Configuration) is blurred.
- Navigate to Configuration > Collection Development > General > Provider Configuration.
- Locate the provider you want to configure and select its name.
- Under Configurable Fields, select the desired vendor from the Vendor dropdown list. This dropdown becomes available only after the required vendor and FTP configurations have been completed.
- Select Test vendor FTP connection to verify connectivity. If everything works correctly, you get a confirmation notification, and the toggle next to the provider's name is no longer blurred.
Test vendor FTP connection button - Enable the provider by using the toggle next to the provider name.
Once enabled, selectors can place orders for print titles supplied by that provider.
Hiding Content from a Specific Provider
- Navigate to Configuration > Collection Development > General > Provider Configuration.
- Select the desired provider.
- Disable the Show Provider Content toggle under Configurable Fields.
Show Provider Content toggle
When disabled, content from that provider no longer appears in marketplace search results.
How Referral-Based Ordering Works
When browsing offers in the marketplace, users can identify referral-based titles and complete the ordering process directly through Rialto. Titles available through the referral-based ordering workflow display a Referral Model badge (
) at the offer level.
By default, the Referral Model badge is displayed in the third column of the brief record view, but it can be repositioned. To learn how to do that, see Customizing the Brief Record View.
- Locate a print offer in the marketplace.
- Select Add to Cart for the desired title.
- Proceed with the standard cart workflow (see Adding to Shopping Cart and Submitting to Approval). You can place both regular e-book and third-party print orders in the same cart.
Locations and funds used in the cart must also be provided to the supplier during your implementation to ensure correct billing and shipping.
Shelf ready services for print books will be handled as part of the supplier configuration during implementation. Shelf ready override requests will not be available in the Rialto cart at first release.
Once the order is submitted, it is processed via EDI and sent to the selected third-party vendor. After submission, referral print orders appear in Collection Development > Orders > Order History. Because referral print orders are transmitted via EDI, institutions can also use the Alma claims process to follow up on their orders. For more information, see Claims Processing in Alma.
To refine marketplace search results for referral print content, use the following facet:
- Supplier Invoiced - Use this facet to filter results by one or more third-party providers.
Browns print offers display both the original price in GBP (the invoicing currency) and the equivalent price in the institution's configured currency. The converted price is provided for convenience only; invoices are issued in GBP by the third-party vendor, and any currency conversion is managed outside Rialto. Shipping costs are also not included in Rialto pricing and may vary depending on the vendor and destination country.
