Purchasing

Buy what the plant needs: vendors, requisitions, and purchase orders, from request through approval to receiving.

Purchasing is the buy side. It turns a need for material into a committed order to a vendor, then hands off to the warehouse to receive it. The need usually comes from Production planning finding a shortage, but you can also raise one directly.

It covers:

  • Vendors are the suppliers you buy from (accounts, their contacts, and addresses), mirroring how customers work on the sell side.
  • Items here are the purchasable view of the catalog: what you buy, from whom, at what price and lead time.
  • Requisitions are internal requests to buy something. They are reviewed and approved before becoming a commitment.
  • Purchase orders are the committed order sent to a vendor. Receiving against a PO brings material into inventory.

The lifecycle

Purchasing lifecycle flow: a Requisition is approved into a Purchase order, which is sent to a vendor and then received

  1. A requisition captures what is needed and why. It routes for approval.
  2. Once approved, it converts to a purchase order addressed to a chosen vendor.
  3. The PO is sent; when goods arrive they are received in the warehouse, which posts the stock into inventory and lets the vendor bill flow to accounts payable.

The how-tos

  1. Add a vendor to buy from. See Add a vendor.
  2. Raise a requisition to request what is needed and route it for approval. See Raise a requisition.
  3. Create a purchase order and send the commitment to a vendor. See Create a purchase order.

For what each state means, see Requisition statuses and Purchase order statuses.

Where to go next