# Manage suppliers and purchase orders URL: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/14700000000007-manage-suppliers-and-purchase-orders Canonical: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/14700000000007-manage-suppliers-and-purchase-orders Markdown: https://support.starshipit.com/articles/14700000000007-manage-suppliers-and-purchase-orders.md Updated: 2026-09-25 > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.starshipit.com/llms.txt). > Create, import, and manage suppliers and purchase orders in Starshipit WMS to track incoming stock and drive your receiving workflow. Before stock can be received into your warehouse, you need two things in Starshipit WMS: a **supplier** record for each vendor you buy from, and a **purchase order (PO)** for each incoming delivery. Add a supplier email when you want to send a created PO directly from WMS. Suppliers and POs give you: * A structured record of what you ordered, from whom, and in what quantity. * Visibility of **Incoming** stock on the inventory dashboard before it physically arrives. * A receiving workflow that compares what you expected against what actually arrived. ## Suppliers Suppliers represent the vendors or manufacturers you purchase stock from. Setting them up first makes it easier to create purchase orders and report on inbound stock by supplier. ### Creating a supplier 1. Go to the **Suppliers** section in WMS. 2. Click **Create supplier**. 3. Enter the supplier name. 4. Enter an email address if you want to send purchase orders to this supplier from WMS. 5. Click **Save**. You can edit supplier details at any time. Each purchase order is linked to a supplier record, giving you a clear history of who supplied each delivery. ## Purchase orders A **purchase order (PO)** represents a delivery of stock you have ordered and expect to receive. In WMS, POs: * Record what has been ordered from each supplier * Drive the receiving process when stock arrives * Update the **Incoming** quantity for each product on the inventory dashboard ### Creating a purchase order 1. Go to the **Purchase Orders** section. 2. Click **Create purchase order**. 3. Select a **Supplier**. 4. Enter a **PO number** (your internal reference or the supplier's order number). 5. Add line items: * Select each product (SKU) you are ordering. * Enter the ordered quantity. * Check the **Unit Cost** for each line. It starts from the product's default unit cost and can be changed for this PO. 6. Save as **DRAFT** if you are still editing, or set to **CREATED** when confirmed. ### Email a purchase order You can email a purchase order in **CREATED**, **ORDERED**, **IN_TRANSIT** or **ARRIVED** status when its supplier has an email address. Draft, partially received and received POs cannot be emailed. 1. Go to **Purchase Orders** and open the created purchase order. 2. Check the supplier, line items, quantities, pricing and delivery details. 3. Confirm the **Supplier Email** is correct. If it is missing, open the supplier record and add it. 4. Click **Email Supplier**. WMS confirms the email has been queued and shows the recipient address. Draft purchase orders cannot be emailed. Use the purchase order list to compare suppliers, statuses, expected dates, line counts and received quantities before opening a PO. ![The WMS purchase order list showing draft, created and partially received orders](/uploads/articles/starshipit-wms/web/inbound/purchase-orders.png) The PO detail page shows the supplier, expected date, line items, unit costs and totals that should be checked before receiving. ![A created purchase order with product images, quantities, costs and supplier details](/uploads/articles/starshipit-wms/web/inbound/purchase-order-details.png) ### Update line costs before receiving Users with purchase-order management permission can change line unit costs while the PO is a draft or awaiting receipt, provided no quantity has been received on any line. 1. Open the purchase order and check its line items. 2. Enter each agreed **Unit Cost**, using zero or a positive value. 3. Select **Save changes** for a PO awaiting receipt, or **Save as Draft** for a draft. 4. Reopen the PO and confirm the costs and totals before receiving stock. These costs apply to this PO without changing the product's default unit cost. Receiving uses the PO line cost. Line costs are locked once receiving begins. ### Duplicate a purchase order Use **Duplicate** from a purchase order's actions menu when you need another order with the same supplier, expected arrival date, products, quantities and prices. WMS creates a new draft and adds the next available numeric suffix to the original PO number, such as `PO-100-1`. Review and edit the new draft before changing its status to **CREATED**. ### Import purchase orders If you need to create many POs at once — for example, when migrating from another system — you can import them via CSV upload. Your CSV must follow the required column structure for PO number, supplier, and line items. If Unleashed or MYOB Acumatica is connected, open the purchase-order actions menu and select **Import from Unleashed** or **Import from MYOB Acumatica**. Preview the available purchase orders, select the ones you need, then choose whether WMS should create them as **Draft** or **Created**. For MYOB Acumatica prerequisites, product matching and verification, see [Set up MYOB Acumatica with Starshipit WMS](/articles/14700000000056-set-up-myob-acumatica-with-starshipit-wms). ### PO statuses Purchase orders move through the following statuses: | Status | What it means | |---|---| | **DRAFT** | PO is being prepared and has not yet been issued. | | **CREATED** | PO has been issued and is awaiting receipt. | | **ORDERED** | Order has been placed with the supplier. | | **IN_TRANSIT** | Goods are on their way to the warehouse. | | **ARRIVED** | Goods have arrived and await receiving; stock has not been added yet. | | **PARTIALLY_RECEIVED** | Some lines or quantities have arrived; more are still expected. | | **RECEIVED** | All lines and quantities have been fully received. | Before receiving starts, users with purchase-order management permission can open the PO and choose **Inbound progress > Inbound status** to move between **Created**, **Ordered**, **In Transit** and **Arrived**. Wait for the success message and check **Status history** for the change, user and time. Changing inbound status does not add stock. Receiving updates the status automatically to **PARTIALLY_RECEIVED** or **RECEIVED**. You cannot manually return a partially received or received PO to an inbound status. ### Handling incomplete or short deliveries If a supplier ships less than expected, the PO stays in **PARTIALLY_RECEIVED** until the remaining quantity arrives. If you decide you will not receive the outstanding quantity, you can: * **Mark individual lines as missing** — records that the expected stock did not arrive. * **Mark the PO as fully received** — closes the PO and removes it from your outstanding view, even if not all lines have been received. Use this when you have decided not to follow up on the remaining quantity. ### Monitoring outstanding POs Regularly review POs with status **CREATED**, **ORDERED**, **IN_TRANSIT**, **ARRIVED** or **PARTIALLY_RECEIVED** to follow up on short deliveries or delayed shipments. The PO list supports filtering by status so you can focus on what is still outstanding. ## Next steps * [Receiving stock](/articles/14700000000008-receiving-stock) — how to receive a delivery against a PO. * [Putaway](/articles/14700000000009-putaway) — how to move received stock from staging to final storage locations.