Module 05Video walkthrough

Suppliers & Purchase Orders

Where the money leaves your business first — your suppliers. Track lead times, minimum orders, payment terms per supplier; issue purchase orders that flow through to your stock and your COGS math automatically. No more spreadsheets, no more "how much did we actually pay for this?", no more "who's our contact at that factory again?". This is procurement done right.

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What this module does

Supplier directory with contact, terms, lead-time, and per-supplier product catalogue.
Purchase orders with line-level cost, quantity, expected delivery date, and status.
Received-vs-ordered tracking — flag suppliers who ship short.
Auto-COGS update when a PO is received so your margin math stays honest.
Multi-source management — track 2-3 suppliers per top SKU for resilience.
Payment schedule tracking as accounts-payable with due-date alerts.

Key features

Supplier scorecards — on-time rate, quality score, average lead time.

PO status flow: draft → sent → confirmed → shipped → partially received → received.

Multi-currency PO support with locked-in exchange rates at PO creation.

Attach files (invoices, packing lists) to every PO.

Split receipt — accept partial deliveries without closing the PO.

Alert when a PO is overdue vs. expected date.

Per-supplier payment terms tracked as accounts-payable.

One-click convert supplier catalogue → your product catalogue.

Supplier documents vault — contracts, HS codes, quality certificates.

PO templates for recurring orders — same items, same supplier, one click.

Landed cost calculator — supplier price + shipping + duties + local logistics.

Supplier communication log — every email, every WhatsApp thread linked to the PO.

How this changes your business

5–10% cost reduction

Sellers who track supplier performance and shift orders to better suppliers typically save 5–10% on COGS within the first year — pure margin, straight to profit.

Zero surprise stockouts

Tracked historical lead times mean your reorder points are set against reality, not the supplier's optimistic promise. That's the single most common cause of "we ran out again".

Accurate COGS = accurate ads

Ad targeting decisions built on wrong COGS = wasted spend. When your true product cost drops, you can bid more aggressively on winning products — competitors running on gut feel can't.

2× faster PO cycle

Templates + attached history + communication log cut the cycle from "figure out what we need + email supplier + wait for confirmation" to a few clicks.

Getting started

1Add each of your suppliers with contact + payment terms.
2Link each product to its supplier(s).
3Issue your first PO from within CODBrain instead of WhatsApp.
4When goods arrive, mark the PO received — stock + COGS update automatically.
5Enter historical lead time for each supplier so the scorecard has a baseline.
6Set up templates for your recurring orders.
7Review the supplier scorecard after 3 months to find your weakest link.
8Multi-source your top 5 SKUs — resilience against a single supplier having a bad month.

Common mistakes to avoid

One supplier per product. When they have a bad month (customs, holiday, price hike), you're done.
Trusting the supplier's promised lead time. Track actuals — the truth is usually 30% longer.
Placing POs by WhatsApp with no formal record. Disputes on quantity or price become he-said-she-said.
Not tracking landed cost. Supplier price × 1.0 is a fantasy — real cost is supplier + shipping + duties + last-mile.

Advanced tips

Split large POs into weekly deliveries when suppliers agree. Ties up less cash and reduces stockout risk.
Multi-source your top 5 SKUs. When your #1 supplier has a bad month, you flip to #2 without missing a beat.
Send POs with a "please confirm within 24h" tag. Suppliers who respect this cadence are the ones to scale with.
Negotiate payment terms after 3 months of clean orders. Net-30 instead of prepay is a huge cash flow lift.

Pro tip

Multi-source your top 5 SKUs. When your #1 supplier has a bad month (customs, holiday, price hike), you flip to your #2 without missing a beat. CODBrain tracks both so you're ready. Single-source = single point of failure.

Go to the module

Suppliers Purchase Orders

These links open the actual module inside CODBrain — sign in first.

Stock & Warehouses

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Customers & Renewals

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