Purchase

Overview

The PORTWARE Purchase module manages your company's Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process end to end. It digitises the whole purchasing cycle from need to payment, optimises costs and strengthens vendor relationships.

The Procure-to-Pay (P2P) Process

P2P is the end-to-end purchasing process from identifying a need to paying the vendor:

Purchase module overview screen

Requests for quotation as cards — vendor, amount and status

Request for Quotation (RFQ)

A Request for Quotation (RFQ) is the formal request used to get price quotes from vendors. In PORTWARE you create RFQs to get and compare quotes from several vendors.

Why the RFQ Matters

Creating an RFQ

RFQ States and Workflow

Alternative Quotes and Comparison

To get quotes from several vendors for the same products, use the Alternatives feature:

Creating a new Request for Quotation (RFQ)

Choosing the vendor while creating an RFQ

RFQ E-mail Templates

The RFQ e-mails sent to vendors can be customised:

• Purchase → Configuration → E-mail Templates
• Add the company logo and contact details
• State the delivery and payment terms
• Use dynamic fields: {{ object.name }}, {{ object.date_order }}

Purchase Orders (PO)

A Purchase Order (PO) is the formal order sent to the vendor. A confirmed RFQ becomes a PO automatically, or you can create a PO directly.

Ways to Create a PO

The PO Lifecycle

3-Way Matching

The critical process that checks consistency between the purchase, the goods receipt and the invoice:

Goods Receipt

Receiving the products that arrive from the vendor:

1. Click Receive Products on the PO (or go to the automatically created receipt)
2. Count the incoming products physically and check their quality
3. Enter the received quantities in the system
4. Enter the lot/serial numbers if they are tracked
5. Add a note for damaged or missing products
6. Complete the stock update with the Validate button

Creating a new Purchase Order (PO)

Terms, Internal Notes and the order document

A purchase order also has two separate boxes: Terms & Conditions are printed on the document the vendor receives; Internal Notes (lead-time risk, alternative vendor, who to contact) are never printed.

The order form is held to the quotation's standard: project name and code under the number, lines that read like a sales order, and optional manufacturer code, stock code and product picture columns. The PDF has bordered vendor/buyer and order information tables and a line table with the SMB code, vendor code and picture.

Vendor Management

Manage vendor information, payment terms and contact details centrally. Strong vendor relationships are the foundation of a successful supply chain.

Vendor Card Components

Vendor Price Lists

You can define product-level price lists for each vendor:

• Unit price per product: the price the vendor gives for that product
• Minimum order quantity (MOQ): the smallest quantity to order
• Validity period: the period in which the price applies
• Quantity price breaks: discounted prices for bulk purchases
• Lead time: the number of days between order and delivery

Multi-Vendor Strategy

Defining more than one vendor for critical products matters for risk management:

Vendor Evaluation

Monitor and evaluate vendor performance systematically, and base vendor selection and development decisions on data.

Vendor Performance Metrics

Evaluation Criteria

Vendor Classification

Purchase Agreements

Secure price stability and supply with long-term vendor agreements. Agreements bring predictability to both buyer and seller.

Agreement Types

Creating and Managing Agreements

Using Agreements

When an RFQ or PO is created for products with an active agreement:

• The system proposes the agreement price automatically
• The remaining committed quantity is shown for quantity contracts
• A warning appears when the agreement limit gets close
• Every order is linked to the agreement for traceability

Products and Pricing

Manage the vendor information, cost structure and pricing strategy of purchased products.

Product Vendor Information (Supplierinfo)

Several vendors can be defined for each product. They are reached from the Purchase tab of the product form:

Costing Methods

Stock valuation and costing methods are defined on the product category:

Landed Costs

Items that can be added to the product cost on top of the purchase price:

• Freight: transport and logistics costs
• Customs: import duties and customs fees
• Insurance: transport insurance
• Commission: agents' commissions
• Storage: temporary storage fees

Automatic Replenishment Rules

PORTWARE's replenishment system watches stock levels and creates purchase requests automatically when needed.

Reordering Rules

Replenishment is triggered automatically when stock falls below the minimum:

Replenishment Methods

MRP Integration

With purchasing integrated into manufacturing planning (MRP):

• Raw material needs in manufacturing orders are calculated automatically
• Purchase requests are created for BOM (Bill of Materials) components
• Delivery dates are synchronised with the production schedule
• Material shortages are prevented

Reports and KPIs

Monitor purchasing performance, analyse trends and make data-driven decisions.

Key KPIs

Standard Reports

Pivot and Graph Views

Analyse purchasing data across several dimensions:

• Row dimensions: Vendor, Product Category, Time (Year/Month/Week)
• Column dimensions: Status, Currency, Warehouse
• Measures: Amount, Quantity, Number of Orders, Average Price

Configuration and Settings

Configure the Purchase module's general settings to fit your business.

General Settings

Available from Settings → Purchase:

Configuring Approval Rules

Module Integrations

Frequently Asked Questions