> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.seminode.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Getting Started

> Start by setting up an account, signing in, or accessing your API key.

## Get Started

Contact us to set up an account or log in to an existing one.

<CardGroup cols={2} size="sm">
  <Card title="Contact Us" icon="user-plus" href="https://seminode.com/contact-us">
    Contact us to set up your account
  </Card>

  <Card title="Log-in" icon="log-in" href="https://app.seminode.com/auth/login">
    Utilize Seminode's web-app & API tokens
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Onboarding Wizard

After creating your company account, you'll be guided through a setup wizard:

1. **Company Profile** — set your website and supply chain role; Seminode auto-fills your display name, description, and logo from your website, and you can adjust them
2. **Team Profile** — name and configure your team within the company
3. **Connect Email** — connect an [Outlook](/connectors/outlook) or [Gmail](/connectors/gmail) inbox for quote monitoring (optional, can be skipped)
4. **Invite Team** — send email invitations to team members (optional, can be skipped)
5. **Pricing** — choose your plan
6. **Setup Complete** — confirmation and redirect to the app

You can always update these settings later from [Settings](/settings/settings).

***

## Common Tasks

Once you're set up, here's how to do the things you'll do most:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Send an RFQ" icon="send" href="/tools/listings#send-rfqs">
    Select listings and request quotes from your partners — responses land in your Inbox.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Post Material Data" icon="cloud-upload" href="/tools/upload-tools">
    Upload, clean, and publish supply or demand lists to your nodes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Respond to Quotes" icon="messages-square" href="/tools/inbox">
    Accept, reject, counter, or message partners from your Inbox.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Add Partners" icon="users" href="/tools/partners">
    Connect with customers and suppliers and grant node permissions.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Send for Approval" icon="clipboard-check" href="/tools/approvals">
    Route quotes through your team's approval flow before they go out.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Public vs Private Fields" icon="lock" href="/public-private-fields">
    Control what data is shared with partners and what stays internal.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Tip>
  New to the core ideas? Start with **[Core Concepts](/concepts)** — nodes, networks, listings, quotes, and orders.
</Tip>

***

## Authentication Options

Seminode supports multiple authentication methods:

* **Email and password** — enter your email first; if your domain has SSO configured you're redirected to your identity provider, otherwise you're prompted for your password
* **Single Sign-On (SSO)** — enterprise SSO via your identity provider; see [SSO setup](/settings/sso)
* **Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)** — optional authenticator-app (TOTP) verification for additional security

If you belong to multiple teams, you'll pick a team after signing in. Team members and partners can also join directly from an email invitation — no separate account setup needed.

***

## Choose Your Workflow

Seminode offers specialized workflows tailored to your company type and business needs:

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="OEM" icon="factory" href="https://docs.seminode.com/workflows/oem">
    Recover value from excess materials and optimize procurement cost reductions by centralizing quoting.
  </Card>

  <Card title="CM/EMS" icon="microchip" href="https://docs.seminode.com/workflows/cm-ems">
    Improve excess inventory sales and cost savings margin in high volume manufacturing environments.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Distributor" icon="chart-candlestick" href="https://docs.seminode.com/workflows/distributor">
    Clean material lists, match supply and demand, and centralize quoting with customers and suppliers.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>