Overview
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.
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
- Go to the Suppliers section in WMS.
- Click Create supplier.
- Enter the supplier name.
- 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
- Go to the Purchase Orders section.
- Click Create purchase order.
- Select a Supplier.
- Enter a PO number (your internal reference or the supplier's order number).
- Add line items:
- Select each product (SKU) you are ordering.
- Enter the ordered quantity.
- Optionally add cost or pricing details for reference.
- Save as DRAFT if you are still editing, or set to CREATED when confirmed.
Importing purchase orders via CSV
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.
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. |
| PARTIALLY_RECEIVED | Some lines or quantities have arrived; more are still expected. |
| RECEIVED | All lines and quantities have been fully received. |
The status updates automatically as you receive stock against the PO.
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 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 — how to receive a delivery against a PO.
- Putaway — how to move received stock from staging to final storage locations.