Supplier records and the catalog - Pacten Guides
Two lists sit underneath everything else in Supply. Suppliers is who you buy from; Catalog is what you buy. A purchase order, a consignment and a stock count all point back at one or both, so it is worth getting them right before the volume arrives.
Depending on your sector these are labelled Suppliers or Vendors — the same list either way.
SUPPLIERS
A supplier is approved, not just added
It has a status, and the status matters.
Anybody can add a supplier, but a new one starts as a draft. It moves through the same shape as a purchase order does.
- Draft — being set up. Not yet usable as a real trading partner.
- Pending approval — submitted for somebody to check.
- Approved — cleared for use.
- Rejected — turned down, with the reason kept on the record.
- Suspended — previously approved and now stopped. Use this rather than deleting: the history of what you bought from them stays intact.
Tip
Suspend rather than delete. A deleted supplier takes its trading history with it, and that history is what you need when a dispute or an audit arrives a year later.
WHAT TO CAPTURE
The fields that do work later
Most of these are read by something else.
- Type — Local or International. This is what decides whether a purchase becomes a straightforward order or an import consignment with freight, duty and clearing behind it.
- Country and their currency — so a quote in their currency can be compared against one in yours.
- Payment terms — what you have agreed about when they get paid.
- Lead time — how long they take. This is the number that makes a reorder decision possible rather than a guess.
- Contact email — required before a purchase order can be sent, because emailing the PO is the only way it is dispatched.
Watch out
A supplier with no contact email cannot be sent a purchase order. The order will approve normally and then stop at the last step, which is a frustrating place to discover it — add the email when you create the record.
THE CATALOG
What you buy
One item, defined once, used everywhere.
Under Catalog, each item carries the things every other screen needs to talk about it consistently.
- Base unit — the unit stock is held in. Everything counts, costs and reports in this unit, so changing it later is disruptive.
- Division and category — how the catalog is organised, and how a stock count can be scoped to part of it rather than all of it.
- Opening stock — what you already had when you started. Items are flagged where this has not been set.
- Regulatory detail such as certification numbers and expiry, where your goods carry it. Items approaching expiry are flagged.
Tip
An item flagged Not yet costed has no cost attached, so it will not appear correctly in margin or profitability figures. It is not broken — it just has not been received or priced yet.
Ordering from them
Draft, approve, send — and what each status means.