Although products may have the same name, each must be treated as a distinct item when they come from different suppliers. This separation is essential for several reasons:
Variable acquisition cost:
- The purchase price may vary between suppliers. For example, if you purchase a gel pen from Supplier X at 1 leu and from Supplier Y at 1.1 EUR, these differences must be reflected individually for each supplier so that you can monitor the real cost and profit margin.
Different policies for each supplier:
- In addition to the product price, there may be other associated costs, such as shipping. One supplier might offer free shipping, while another charges an additional fee, which influences the total acquisition cost of the product and, implicitly, the unit purchase cost.
Variable product quality:
- Even if a product can be purchased from multiple suppliers, its quality may vary. Some suppliers may offer higher quality products with greater durability and better materials, while others may deliver lower quality products. Additionally, product features may differ between suppliers. Managing products separately in iflows allows for monitoring these differences, providing a clear and detailed record of the characteristics and quality of each individual product.
Stock management and precise allocation:
- Each stock entry must be associated with a specific supplier to ensure clear traceability. This is essential because:
- Monitoring stock movements: When you sell a product, the system needs to know which supplier's lot that product comes from in order to deduct it from stock and to calculate costs and the markup margin.
- Traceability: Correct stock allocation allows you to track the origin of products and precisely manage entries and exits, as well as filter results by supplier.
Different codes and unique identifiers:
- Each supplier may have its own code for the delivered product or other different identification data. This helps in easy inventory management and avoiding confusion when placing orders or issuing sales documentation or certificates of conformity/warranties.
Automation of supplier orders:
- iflows features a function for automatically generating purchase order sheets to suppliers, either from the stocks section or directly from a customer order. If the same product were registered with multiple suppliers, the system would not know which one to place the order with. By maintaining distinct products for each supplier, the order can be generated with a single click. For more information on how automatic order generation works in iflows, you can watch the video tutorial here: Supplier order tutorial.
Detailed reports and data analysis:
- Reporting in iflows gives you the option to filter products by supplier. Thus, you can analyze the performance of each supplier/product, track cost evolution, and optimize procurement strategies. This functionality is essential for strategic decisions and cost management.
Simplifying the process with the cloning function:
While manually entering each product for each supplier might seem time-consuming, iflows offers a cloning function that facilitates this process. In the Products section, there is a cloning button in the actions column. This allows for copying an existing product and quickly modifying the supplier and other relevant details. Thus, the effort of creating multiple products is minimized, providing you with flexibility and saving time.
Adding products to the offer:
If you have the same merchandise from multiple suppliers and need to add the product to offers or orders, iflows simplifies this. When you enter the product name, the system displays a drop-down list from which you can select the specific version of the product with the desired supplier.