Managing Suppliers

Managing suppliers in OmniOrders helps you keep track of your product sources, lead times, and supplier relationships. Whether you work with a few suppliers or hundreds, OmniOrders provides tools to organize supplier information, contacts, and purchasing details in one place.

Quick Start

Start by adding your main suppliers with basic information, then add detailed contact and address information as needed.

Why Manage Suppliers in OmniOrders?

Supplier Management keeps all your vendor records in one place — contact details, addresses, lead times, and linked products. Organized supplier data speeds up purchase order creation, helps you plan restock timelines using lead times, and gives your team a single source of truth for every vendor relationship.

Centralized Supplier Info

Store all supplier details, contacts, and addresses in one organized location.

Lead Time Tracking

Track processing time and stock time to plan inventory replenishment effectively.

Organized Groups

Group suppliers by category, region, or type for better organization and reporting.

Streamlined Purchasing

Create purchase orders directly from supplier profiles with pre-filled information.

Adding a New Supplier

Creating a supplier involves three steps: basic supplier information, address details, and contact information.

1. Navigate to Suppliers

   Click Suppliers in the left sidebar under the Communication section.

2. Click New Supplier

   In the top-right corner, click the New Supplier button. A dialog opens for supplier creation.

3. Enter Supplier Information

   Fill in the basic details:

   • Name: Supplier company name (required)
   • Code: Optional supplier code for internal reference
   • Description: Brief description of what the supplier provides (required)
   • Processing Time: Number of days/hours the supplier needs to process orders (required)
   • Stock Time: Number of days/hours to receive stock after processing (required)
   • Period: Choose Hours, Days, or Weeks for time calculations

4. Add Address Details

   After creating the supplier, add their warehouse or business address:

   • Complete address fields (Address 1, City, State, Country, Postal Code)
   • Set as main address if this is the primary location

5. Add Contact Information

   Complete the supplier setup by adding a primary contact:

   • Contact name, email, and phone number
   • Optional: Gender, company role, birthday, fax, and notes
   • Link the contact to the supplier’s address

6. Save Supplier

   Click Create to save the supplier. The supplier now appears in your suppliers list.

After creating the supplier, you can add contacts and addresses, all associated with that supplier. Navigate to the supplier’s detail page to add multiple contacts and addresses as needed.

Viewing and Editing Suppliers

1. Open Supplier Details

   From the Suppliers list, click on any supplier row to view full details.

2. Review General Information

   View the supplier’s name, code, description, processing time, stock time, and period.

3. Edit Supplier Details

   Click the Actions menu button (three bars) and select Edit to update supplier information.

4. Manage Addresses

   Switch to the Addresses tab to:

   • View all supplier addresses
   • Add new addresses with the New Address button
   • Edit or delete existing addresses using the actions menu
   • Customize visible columns with Change Columns

5. Manage Contacts

   Switch to the Contacts tab to:

   • View all supplier contacts
   • Add new contacts with the New Contact button
   • Edit or delete existing contacts using the actions menu
   • Customize visible columns with Change Columns

6. Manage Groups

   Switch to the Groups tab to:

   • View which groups the supplier belongs to
   • Add the supplier to groups using the dropdown and Add to Group button
   • Remove from groups by clicking the X button on group cards

Managing Supplier Groups

Organize suppliers into groups for better management and reporting.

1. Open Supplier Groups

   From the Suppliers page, click the Groups button in the top-right corner.

2. Create New Group

   Click New Group and enter:

   • Group name
   • Description (optional)

3. Assign Suppliers to Groups

   Go back to individual supplier pages and use the Groups tab to add suppliers to your created groups.

Supplier Table Features

The main suppliers table includes several helpful features:

Table Columns

• Name: Supplier company name
• Code: Internal supplier code (if set)
• Description: What the supplier provides
• Processing Time: Order processing duration
• Stock Time: Time to receive inventory
• Period: Time unit (Hours/Days/Weeks)

Table Actions

• Sorting: Click column headers to sort suppliers
• Pagination: Use bottom controls to navigate through pages
• Refresh: Click Refresh button to reload the latest data
• Row Click: Click any row to open detailed supplier view

Best Practices

Complete Contact Info

Always add at least one contact person and email for each supplier to streamline communication.

Accurate Lead Times

Keep processing and stock times up to date to ensure accurate inventory planning and reorder alerts.

Use Supplier Codes

Assign unique codes to suppliers for easy reference in reports and purchase orders.

Organize with Groups

Group suppliers by product category, region, or quality tier for faster filtering and analysis.

Multiple Addresses

Add all supplier warehouse locations to select the closest one when creating purchase orders.

Detailed Descriptions

Write clear descriptions of what each supplier provides to help team members quickly find the right source.

Common Workflows

Updating Supplier Lead Times

1. Open the supplier from the Suppliers list
2. Click Actions → Edit
3. Update Processing Time and Stock Time fields
4. Click Update to save changes

Adding Multiple Contacts

1. Open the supplier details page
2. Switch to the Contacts tab
3. Click New Contact for each person (sales rep, account manager, support, etc.)
4. Link contacts to specific addresses for location-based communication

Creating Purchase Orders

1. Open the supplier from the Suppliers list
2. Click Actions → Create Purchase Order
3. The purchase order form opens with supplier pre-selected
4. Add products and complete the purchase order

Troubleshooting

Can't Find a Supplier

Solution: Use the table sorting or check if the supplier is on a different page. Click column headers to sort alphabetically.

Missing Contact Information

Problem: Supplier shows a warning about missing contacts.

Solution: Open the supplier, go to the Contacts tab, and add at least one contact with an email address.

Lead Times Not Calculating

Problem: Inventory planning doesn’t account for supplier lead time.

Solution: Ensure both Processing Time and Stock Time are filled in, and Period is set correctly (Hours/Days/Weeks).

Can't Delete Supplier

Problem: Delete option is grayed out or fails.

Solution: Check if the supplier is linked to active products or purchase orders. Unlink products first, then try deleting.

Field Reference

Required Fields

• Name: Supplier company name
• Description: What the supplier provides
• Processing Time: Order processing duration (number)
• Stock Time: Inventory receipt duration (number)

Optional Fields

• Code: Internal reference code
• Period: Time unit (Hours, Days, or Weeks) - defaults to Hours

Address Fields

• Address 1: Street address (required)
• City: City or town (required)
• State: State or region (required)
• Country: Country (required)
• Postal Code: ZIP or postal code (required)
• Address 2, Address 3: Additional address lines (optional)
• Main: Mark as primary address (checkbox)

Contact Fields

• First Name: Contact’s first name (required)
• Last Name: Contact’s last name (required)
• Email: Contact email address (required)
• Phone Number: Contact phone number (recommended)
• Company: Contact’s company or division
• Gender, Birthday, Fax, Notes: Optional contact details

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Related Topics:

• Creating Purchase Orders - Create purchase orders from supplier profiles
• Managing Products - Link products to suppliers
• Managing Customers - Manage customer information similar to suppliers