Managing a multi-vendor relationships: Orders and Pricing
2024-03-18
This article reviews the reordering and pricing within a multiple-vendor environment.
In today’s commercial environment, many retail operations continue to source the same products from diverse vendors, a tactic designed to counteract the significant pricing and availability difficulties that became evident throughout the COVID-19 crisis. TransActPOS adapted by introducing order and pricing systems that simplify and refine these procedures to meet such demands effectively.
Reorders
A typical practice for stores is to predominantly procure their inventory from a primary vendor, such as Do it Best, Emery Jensen, House Hasson, Orgill, True Value, or United Hardware, and accordingly designate them as the PVPN (Primary Vendor) in the Lookup By interface.
Should a new vendor be engaged, they might assume the role of PVPN if the store wants to replenish their stock from this vendor, thereby relegating the former primary vendor to a secondary position, SVPN.
In the TransActPOS Reorder utility, the “Primary Only” impacts what items will be included within the reorder based on the vendor's PVPN and SVPN status.
In the following example, a portion of the Milwaukee inventory is ordered from Milwaukee of House Hasson.
Checked - Primary Only
Checking the “Primary Only” option ensures that the reorder report will display solely those items for which Milwaukee is the designated primary vendor (PVN). Consequently, the generated purchase order will exclusively include items identified with Milwaukee as the PVPN.
Unchecked - Primary Only
Conversely, deactivating this option allows for including all items associated with Milwaukee, whether as the primary or secondary vendor, in the reorder report. The subsequent purchase order will encompass items where Milwaukee is recognized as the PVPN or SVPN."
Pricing
Retail stores typically base their pricing strategies on the retail prices listed in their primary vendor’s electronic catalog. This catalog is updated through the TransActPOS IOR module or by manually importing a spreadsheet of vendor products.
The retailer can update item retail prices using the Ecatalog Price Control feature, similar to the reorder process. Maintaining consistent retail pricing on product Bin labels in-store aisles is crucial for customer clarity and profitability.
When retailers source a product from multiple vendors, deciding which vendor’s pricing to use becomes necessary. Usually, the primary vendor’s price is used. However, prices can vary between vendors, potentially leading to inconsistencies if products are priced according to the primary vendor.
Checked Include both Primary and Secondary
For uniform retail pricing, retailers choose the vendor that offers the best market prices. The “Include Both Primary and Secondary” option in the TransActPOS Ecatalog Price Control ensures that items are displayed from the chosen vendor, regardless of whether the relationship is primary or secondary, leading to consistent pricing according to the selected vendor.
