Welcome to the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Today we’re looking at Supplier and Purchase Management.

This is one of those foundational areas of the business that touches almost everything else — from the moment you decide you need something, all the way through to the point where the bill is paid and the goods are on the shelf. In Dolibarr, this whole journey is often called the procure-to-pay cycle, and by the end of this episode you’ll have a clear picture of how it all fits together.

So let’s start at the top. Supplier and Purchase Management is broken down into six sub-modules, and each one handles a distinct stage of the process. The first is Suppliers, Vendors and Contacts — this is your address book for the supply side of the business. Every company or individual you buy from lives here, along with their contact details, payment terms, and any other information you need to manage that relationship.

The second sub-module is Supplier Pricing Requests. Before you commit to buying anything, you often want to know what it’s going to cost. This is where you manage that conversation — sending out requests for quotes, tracking the responses, and comparing what different suppliers are offering. It keeps the negotiation stage organised rather than scattered across your inbox.

Third is Purchase Orders. Once you’ve decided who you’re buying from and at what price, you raise a purchase order to formalise that commitment. The purchase order is your official instruction to the supplier — it says what you want, how many, at what price, and when you need it. It’s also the document that everything downstream gets matched against, so getting it right matters.

Fourth is Delivery and Reception. When your goods actually arrive, this module is where you record that fact. You check what came in against what was ordered, note any discrepancies, and confirm that the delivery is complete. This step is important because it’s the trigger that tells the rest of the system something physical has moved into your possession.

Fifth is Supplier Invoices and Credit Notes. After the goods are received, the supplier sends you an invoice. This module handles matching that invoice to your purchase order and your reception record — a process sometimes called three-way matching. If something was returned or a credit is due, credit notes are managed here too. This is the financial heartbeat of the whole process.

And sixth is Incoterms. These are the internationally recognised trade terms that define who is responsible for shipping, insurance, and risk at each stage of a delivery. If you’re dealing with international suppliers, knowing your Incoterms — things like FOB or CIF — is essential for understanding where your liability begins and the supplier’s ends.

Now, to bring all of that together, think about the procure-to-pay workflow as a straight line with six stops. It starts with your supplier. From there, you raise a pricing request — that’s your request for quotation, or RFQ. Once you’re happy with the pricing, you create a purchase order. When the goods arrive, you process the reception. The supplier then sends their invoice, which you match and approve. And finally, payment goes out.

So the sequence looks like this: supplier, then pricing request, then purchase order, then reception, then invoice, then payment. Each step feeds the next, and each one leaves a record in the system so you can trace exactly where any transaction is at any point in time.

It’s also worth knowing how Supplier and Purchase Management connects to the rest of Dolibarr. When you receive goods against a purchase order, that receipt automatically increases your stock levels in the Stock module. So your inventory is always reflecting what’s physically come through the door. On the finance side, this module feeds directly into Accounts Payable management — meaning your finance team has a live view of what you owe to suppliers and when payments are due.

Taken together, these six sub-modules give you end-to-end visibility and control over your supply chain. You know what you’ve asked for, what you’ve agreed to pay, what’s arrived, what’s been invoiced, and what’s been paid. Nothing falls through the cracks, and there’s a clear audit trail at every stage.

Whether you’re a small operation buying a handful of products from a couple of local suppliers, or you’re managing complex international procurement with multiple vendors and varying delivery terms, this module structure scales with you.

That’s it for this episode of the NZRT Wiki Podcast. Thanks for listening.