Who does what
Switchboard moves the order; the decisions stay with the parties. This page draws the line: what the platform runs, what the seller owns, what the buyer owns. If a step is not listed as yours, the platform is doing it.
The line, stage by stage
| Stage | Seller owns | Switchboard runs | Buyer owns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalog | Package definitions, rates, avails, make-good policy | Versioning, integrity checks, distribution to every surface | Deciding what to buy |
| Order | Validation, the price lock, idempotency, the state machine | Submitting the order; the price to accept | |
| Approval | The decision: approve, reject, counter | Routing, SLA tracking, the audit record of who decided | Confirming counters and proposals |
| Placement (booking) | The traffic system of record | Writing the booked order into it, and confirming it landed | |
| Creative | Acceptance standards, air checks | Carrying copy_id references on order units | Producing and trafficking the spot to the seller |
| Delivery | Posting actuals in the declared currency | Attaching posts, reconciling guarantees, firing make-good policy | Verifying the post against the guarantee |
| Money | Invoicing the buyer (direct settlement) | State, fees, and optional cleared settlement | Paying the seller (direct settlement) |
What the platform doesn't do
- Form prices. Sellers publish rates; buyers accept or negotiate them. There is no auction and no platform algorithm in the price.
- Invent availability. Avails are ingested from sellers, tri-state, with sellout level. See Avails.
- Compute currencies. The platform records the source on every figure; it does not measure or license measurement. See Currencies.
- Take the approval decision. Gates where money commits are held by people (or by rules those people set). See Approve orders.
Creative trafficking today: the order carries a
copy_id reference, and physical delivery of the spot runs on your existing path to the seller. Managed creative trafficking through Switchboard is on the roadmap; tell us if your desk needs it.