Purchase orders with Supplier Packs

LinnWorks allows you to handle the creation of purchase orders where items come in packs of varying sizes. 

It works by recording how many items come in a pack, and creates a purchase order based on the amount of packs you will need to renew your stock levels.

For example, if I needed 24 bottles of cola from a supplier that sells bottles in packs of 12, I will need to create a Purchase Order of 2 packs to fulfil the order. 

Step 1: Adding these Properties to a Product

You can use the Data Import tool to add the appropriate pack related properties to a product.

First, you will need a CSV with the Column names “Supplier Pack Size” and “Supplier Minimum Order Quantity”.

The Supplier Pack Size indicates how many items your supplier puts into each pack. For example, they might supply bottles of Cola in packs of 12 individual bottles.

The Supplier Minimum Order Quantity will be the minimum amount of individual products you have to buy from the supplier. For example, If you wanted 10 bottles of Diet Cola but your supplier says that you cannot buy less that 12, LinnWorks will know that if bottles come in packs of 6, you will need to order 2 packs.

This is an example CSV file for your products:

As you can see, the column headers for Supplier Pack Size and Supplier Minimum Order Quantity have been included.

To import this data into LinnWorks, you will need to use the Data Import tool provided. Simply open the tool and select “Basic Product Import” from the menu. 

Next, Select your CSV file and Map the appropriate column names to the columns in your file. Note that you will not have to map Supplier Pack Size or Supplier Minimum Order Quantity just yet.

Step 2: Adding these Properties to a Supplier

Using the Data import tool again, select Product supplier Information from the menu 

Once selecting your CSV, make sure to map the new Supplier Pack Size and Supplier Minimum Order Quantity properties to the columns in your file.

This will add the Pack Size or Supplier Minimum Order Quantity properties to your Supplier in LinnWorks.

Step 3: Creating a Purchase Order                              

To take advantage of the new Supplier Information you have just added to LinnWorks, start by creating a new Purchase Order.

When both a Supplier and a Product with the Supplier Pack Size and Supplier Minimum Order Quantity properties included, LinnWorks will add new columns to the purchase order creation screen 

The Quantity column represents how many individual items will be purchased from the supplier. If you change how many you need, or how many items come in a pack, the Pack quantity will be adjusted to make sure that you are ordering the correct amount of packs to meet both yours and your supplier’s needs.

Setting Supplier Pack Size and Supplier Minimum Order Quantity through Inventory

You can set the Supplier Pack Size and Supplier Minimum Order Quantity properties from the Inventory Screen in LinnWorks.

First, you have to make sure that the product has been imported using the data import tool from a CSV file that includes the Pack Size and Supplier Minimum Order Quantity properties.

Then, in LinnWorks, you can change the Pack Size and Supplier Minimum Order Quantity properties by selecting an item in your inventory and clicking the Edit Item Button.

Once on the Edit screen navigate to the “Suppliers” Tab 

From this screen, you can change the default the Pack Size and Supplier Minimum Order Quantity values before making a new Purchase Order.