Suppliers

What suppliers are used for

Supplier records keep vendor information available wherever the lab buys or receives materials. They are used on inventory items, supply requests, and receipts. A clean supplier list helps staff know who to contact, what lead time to expect, and which vendor supplied a specific receipt or item.

Suppliers are company-scoped and can be active or inactive. Use inactive status when a supplier should remain in historical reports but should not be selected for new purchasing work.

Company and branch access

Suppliers and Supplier Catalog mappings are shared company master data. Authorized users maintain them in the company workspace. Branch users can browse the same supplier contacts, vendor SKUs, pack sizes, lead times, costs, and preferred mappings while creating requests and receipts, but cannot create, edit, or delete those shared records from a branch workspace.

Supplier information

The supplier form contains English and Arabic names, code, contact person, email, phone, address, payment terms, lead time in days, and active status. Both names are required so purchasing and receiving screens remain clear in either locale. The code is unique and useful when finance or purchasing uses short vendor identifiers.

Payment terms and lead time are operational fields, not just administrative notes. Net 30, prepayment, cash on delivery, or other terms affect purchasing expectations. Lead time helps staff decide whether to request supplies now or transfer stock from another branch while waiting for vendor delivery.

Supplier table

The table shows name, contact person, phone, email, number of supplied items, and active status. Use search to find a supplier by name, code, contact person, email, or phone. Use the active filter to separate current vendors from historical vendors.

The supplied item count helps managers identify important vendors and suppliers that may no longer be used. If a supplier has many linked items, changing its active status should be done carefully because staff may expect to select that supplier when requesting or receiving stock.

Linking suppliers to items

Inventory items can be linked to a preferred supplier. This makes item lists, low-stock review, and purchasing decisions more useful. The workbench also includes a Supplier Catalog shortcut for vendor SKU, pack size, lead time, and preferred-supplier mapping where that data is maintained.

When a supplier changes packaging or SKU, update the item and supplier catalog information before the next receipt. This prevents staff from receiving the right material under the wrong identifier or entering a pack as a piece.

Using suppliers in requests and receipts

Supply requests can include a supplier so purchasing knows where the request should go. Receipts can include a supplier and vendor reference so the received stock can be traced back to the delivery note or invoice. If the supplier is missing on a receipt, staff can still receive into a warehouse, but purchasing and finance history will be weaker.

For vendor deliveries, use the supplier, vendor reference, received item quantities, rejected quantities, lot numbers, expiry dates, and discrepancy notes together. The more complete the receipt, the easier it is to resolve short shipments, damaged goods, or invoice mismatches.

Practical maintenance

Review suppliers regularly. Supplier deletion is disabled because item, request, receipt, and audit history may depend on it. Resolve duplicate or retired vendors by keeping the correct record active and making the other inactive after linked records are reviewed. Keep lead times realistic.

Owners should use supplier records as part of vendor performance review. Frequent rejected quantities, repeated discrepancy notes, or long lead times are signals to renegotiate, change ordering rhythm, or approve an alternate supplier.

Checklist

• Supplier name and code are clear and not duplicated.
• Contact person, phone, and email are current.
• Payment terms and lead time reflect the real purchasing relationship.
• Active status is disabled for vendors that should not be selected in new work.
• Inventory items point to the right preferred supplier.
• Receipts include supplier and vendor reference whenever the delivery provides them.