Vendor Management

Overview

The Vendor Management system (also called Suppliers) allows you to track your relationships with external suppliers, manage contact information, and associate items with their vendors for procurement planning.

Key Features:

• 📇 Centralized vendor contact database

• 🔗 Link items to their suppliers

• 💰 Track pricing per supplier

• 📝 Add notes to vendor records

• 📦 View order history per vendor

• ✅ Safe deletion with conflict checking

Use Cases

Procurement Planning

Identify which vendors supply specific items when placing orders.

Price Comparison

Compare pricing across multiple vendors for the same item.

Vendor Performance Tracking

Document vendor reliability, quality, and service through notes.

Contact Management

Maintain up-to-date contact information for ordering and support.

Order History

Review past orders from each vendor to identify patterns.

Prerequisites

Access Requirements:

• User Role: User, Superuser, or Admin

• Permissions: suppliers.view, suppliers.manage

• Authenticated Session: Must be logged in

Accessing Vendor Management

Navigation Method 1: Main Menu

1. Click Vendors or Suppliers in the main navigation

2. Or navigate to /suppliers or /vendors

Navigation Method 2: From Orders

1. Navigate to Orders page

2. Click on an order

3. Click vendor name to view vendor details

Creating a Vendor

Step-by-Step

1. Navigate to Vendors Page

   • Click Vendors in main navigation

2. Click Add Vendor

   • Button located at top-right of page

   • Add Vendor or + New Vendor button

3. Fill in Vendor Information

   Required Fields:

   • Name: Vendor business name

   Optional Fields:

   • Contact Person: Primary contact name

   • Email: Vendor email address

   • Phone: Vendor phone number

   • Address: Physical or mailing address

   • Account Number: Your customer account number with this vendor

   • Website: Vendor website URL

   • Notes: Any additional information

4. Save Vendor

   • Click Save button

   • Success toast appears: “Vendor created successfully”

   • Redirected to vendor list or vendor detail page

Vendor Information Fields

Field	Description	Required
Name	Vendor business name	Yes
Contact Person	Primary point of contact	No
Email	Vendor email address	No
Phone	Phone number	No
Address	Full mailing/physical address	No
Account Number	Your account # with vendor	No
Website	Vendor website URL	No
Notes	Additional information	No

Best Practices:

• Use official business name for consistency

• Include full contact details to avoid delays

• Store account numbers for faster ordering

• Add notes for special ordering instructions

Example:

Name: Scientific Supplies Ltd
Contact: John Smith
Email: orders@scisupplies.co.uk
Phone: +44 20 1234 5678
Address: 123 Lab Street, London, UK, SW1A 1AA
Account Number: CUST-98765
Website: https://www.scisupplies.co.uk
Notes: Minimum order £50. Free shipping on orders >£500. Account rep: Jane Doe (ext. 234)

Viewing Vendors

Vendor List

The Vendors page displays all vendors in a table:

Table Columns:

Column	Description
Name	Vendor business name
Contact	Contact person name
Email	Email address
Phone	Phone number
Items	Count of items from this vendor
Orders	Count of orders placed with vendor
Actions	Edit, Delete, View Details

Sorting:

• Click column headers to sort

• Default: Alphabetical by name

Search:

• Search box filters vendors by name, contact, or email

• Real-time filtering as you type

Vendor Detail Page

Click a vendor name to view detailed information:

Sections:

1. Vendor Information - Contact details, account number

2. Associated Items - Items supplied by this vendor with pricing

3. Order History - Past orders from this vendor

4. Notes - Vendor notes (see Notes System)

5. Actions - Edit, Delete buttons

Editing a Vendor

1. Navigate to Vendor

   • From vendor list, click Edit in Actions column

   • Or from vendor detail page, click Edit Vendor

2. Modify Fields

   • Update any vendor information

   • Fields are the same as creation form

3. Save Changes

   • Click Save button

   • Success toast: “Vendor updated successfully”

   • Changes appear immediately

Note

Changes to vendor information do not affect past orders. Historical order data preserves the vendor details at the time of order creation.

Linking Items to Vendors

Items can be associated with multiple vendors to track pricing and availability.

Method 1: From Vendor Detail Page

1. Navigate to Vendor Detail Page

2. Click “Add Item” or “Link Item”

3. Search for Item

   • Type item name or SKU

   • Select item from dropdown

4. Enter Pricing (Optional)

   • Supplier Price: Price this vendor charges

   • Currency: (if multi-currency supported)

5. Save

   • Click Save or Add

   • Item appears in vendor’s “Associated Items” list

Method 2: From Item Edit Page

1. Navigate to Inventory

2. Edit an Item

3. Scroll to “Suppliers” Section

4. Add Supplier

   • Click Add Supplier

   • Select vendor from dropdown

   • Enter price

   • Save

Result: Item now linked to vendor

Viewing Item-Vendor Relationships

From Vendor Page:

• View all items supplied by this vendor

• See pricing per item

• Compare if item is available from multiple vendors

From Item Page:

• View all vendors who supply this item

• Compare prices across vendors

• Identify preferred vendor

Use Case:

When placing an order, check which vendor has the best price for items you need.

Managing Vendor Notes

Vendors support the Notes System for tracking important information:

Common Note Types:

• Ordering instructions (e.g., “Requires PO# in email”)

• Contact preferences (e.g., “Email only, no phone calls”)

• Quality issues (e.g., “Last shipment had packaging damage”)

• Delivery terms (e.g., “2-week lead time on custom items”)

• Account details (e.g., “Credit terms: Net 30”)

Adding Notes to Vendors:

1. Navigate to Vendor Detail Page

2. Click Notes tab or Add Note button

3. Enter note text

4. Click Save

See Notes System for complete notes documentation.

Viewing Order History

Each vendor has an order history showing past purchases:

Order History Table:

Column	Description
Order ID	Unique order identifier
Date	Order placement date
Items	Number of items in order
Total	Order total amount
Status	Pending, Received, Cancelled
Actions	View order details

Use Cases:

• Review vendor reliability (on-time delivery)

• Identify recurring orders for bulk negotiation

• Track spending per vendor over time

• Verify past order details

Deleting a Vendor

Safe Deletion

LUStores uses safe deletion to prevent data integrity issues:

1. Click Delete

   • From vendor list, click Delete in Actions column

   • Or from vendor detail page, click Delete Vendor

2. Safety Check Runs

   • System checks for dependencies:

     • Active orders from this vendor

     • Items linked to this vendor

     • Historical order references

3. Conflict Report

   If conflicts exist, a dialog shows:

   Cannot Delete Vendor
   
   This vendor cannot be deleted because:
   - 15 items are linked to this vendor
   - 3 orders reference this vendor
   
   Suggested Actions:
   - Unlink items from this vendor first
   - Keep vendor for historical records
   - Mark vendor as "Inactive" instead
   

4. Confirm Deletion

   If no conflicts, confirmation dialog appears:

   Delete Vendor
   
   Are you sure you want to delete "Scientific Supplies Ltd"?
   This action cannot be undone.
   
   [Cancel]  [Delete]
   

5. Deletion Complete

   • Vendor removed from database

   • Success toast: “Vendor deleted successfully”

Inactive Vendors (Alternative to Deletion)

Instead of deleting vendors, consider marking them as inactive:

Benefits:

• Preserves historical order data

• Maintains item-vendor relationships

• Can be reactivated if needed

• Safer than permanent deletion

How to Mark Inactive:

1. Edit vendor

2. Add note: “INACTIVE - No longer using this supplier as of YYYY-MM-DD”

3. Or add “Inactive” to vendor name: “Scientific Supplies Ltd (INACTIVE)”

4. Save

Filtering:

• Use search to exclude inactive vendors from view

Best Practices

Vendor Data Management

✅ Do:

• Keep contact information up-to-date

• Document account numbers for faster ordering

• Use consistent naming (official business names)

• Add notes for special ordering procedures

• Review vendor performance regularly

❌ Don’t:

• Delete vendors with order history

• Create duplicate vendor records

• Store sensitive information (credit cards) in notes

• Leave contact fields empty

Price Tracking

Maintain Supplier Prices:

• Update prices when vendor sends new price lists

• Compare prices across vendors for the same item

• Note effective dates in vendor notes

Use Case:

Vendor Note: "Price list updated 2025-01-01. 5% increase across all items."

Price Comparison Workflow:

1. View item detail page

2. Check “Suppliers” section

3. Compare prices from multiple vendors

4. Select best price when ordering

Vendor Performance

Track Vendor Reliability:

• Add notes for delivery issues

• Document quality problems

• Record positive experiences too

Example Notes:

✅ "Delivered 2 days early. Excellent packaging. 2025-01-10"

❌ "Shipment damaged. Replacement took 3 weeks. RMA #12345. 2025-01-05"

Vendor Review Schedule:

• Quarterly: Review all vendors for performance

• Annually: Renegotiate terms with top vendors

• As Needed: Address quality or delivery issues immediately

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Cannot Find Vendor

Solutions:

1. Check spelling in search box

2. Try partial name search

3. Check if vendor was deleted

4. Verify you have suppliers.view permission

Cannot Link Item to Vendor

Solutions:

1. Verify item exists and is active

2. Check if relationship already exists

3. Ensure you have suppliers.manage permission

Cannot Delete Vendor

Solutions:

1. Review conflict report for dependencies

2. Unlink items first if needed

3. Keep vendor for historical records (recommended)

4. Mark as inactive instead of deleting

Order History Not Showing

Solutions:

1. Verify orders exist from this vendor

2. Check date range filters (if applicable)

3. Refresh page

4. Verify orders.view permission

Integration with Orders

Vendors are tightly integrated with the Orders system:

Creating an Order:

1. Navigate to Orders page

2. Click New Order

3. Select Vendor from dropdown

4. Vendor contact details auto-populate

5. Add items from this vendor

6. Submit order

See also: Orders Management - New Order & CSV Import Features for complete order workflows.

Related Documentation

• Orders Management - New Order & CSV Import Features - Purchase order management

• Inventory Management Guide - Managing inventory items

• Notes System - Adding notes to vendors

• API Endpoints Reference - Vendor API endpoints

Summary

The Vendor Management system provides comprehensive supplier tracking:

✅ Centralized database of vendor contact information ✅ Item-vendor linking with pricing ✅ Order history per vendor ✅ Notes system for tracking vendor details ✅ Safe deletion prevents data integrity issues ✅ Price comparison across multiple vendors

Key Workflows:

1. Create vendor with contact information

2. Link items to vendors with pricing

3. View vendor details and order history

4. Add notes for special instructions

5. Compare prices when placing orders

6. Track vendor performance over time

For API access to vendor data, see API Endpoints Reference.