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Link a Supplier to a Raw Material

Step-by-step instructions for adding supplier details to a raw material for purchasing and traceability in FlexiBake

Why link Suppliers to Raw Materials?

Linking suppliers to raw materials allows FlexiBake to automatically populate purchase orders with supplier details, preferred pricing, and correct order units. This improves:

  • Purchasing efficiency – reduces manual entry on purchase orders.
  • Cost accuracy – ensures up-to-date pricing flows through to recipe costing.
  • Inventory traceability – records supplier information and lot numbers in receiving.
Multiple Suppliers for a single Raw Material

You can link multiple suppliers to the same raw material and set one as preferred for automatic purchase order generation. Your other suppliers remain as a backup (e.g. in case your preferred supplier has a shortage)

If you do not select one of your supplier entries as the preferred supplier, by default FlexiBake will use the entry at the top of the list when automatically generating PO's.

Multiple Purchasing Formats for a single Raw Material

Sometimes you can buy the same ingredient in different amounts (e.g. flour in 10lb, 25lb and 50lb bags). In this case you would make these separate entries, and then choose one as your preferred purchasing format. More information on this can be found in Set a Preferred Purchasing Format.

Steps to Link a Supplier to a Raw Material

Step 1:

Navigate to the Inventory Centre and click Maintain Raw Materials.

Inventory Centre with Maintain Raw Materials tile highlighted—starting point to link a supplier.                                                              


Step 2:

In the list, double-click the raw material you want to edit or click Edit in the bottom-left corner.

Maintain Raw Materials list with items and Edit button; double-click a material to open its record.

Note: You must have already created the Raw Material before you can link it to a supplier.


Step 3:

Click New in the bottom right corner.

Raw Material record in edit mode with the Suppliers tab and New button visible.    


Step 4:

From the Supplier drop-down menu, select the supplier you want to link.

Supplier dropdown open on the Suppliers tab to choose the vendor to link to the raw material.      

Note: If you need to add a new supplier follow these instructions: Add a New Supplier.


Step 5:

Enter required details about the Raw Material you are linking

  • Price – the amount paid when ordering from this supplier.
    Supplier details area with Price field selected to enter the cost paid to the supplier.
  • Order by Unit – the unit the supplier sells in (e.g., “bag,” “box”).
    Order by Unit field highlighted to set the supplier’s selling unit (e.g., bag or box)
  •  Equates To – how many of your Default Units equal one Order by Unit (e.g., 50 lb bag = 50 lb). A unit converter is available by clicking either the   button to the right or by clicking Unit Converter in the Menu Bar.
    Equates To field highlighted with unit-converter button to map order unit to default unit (e.g., 50 lb bag = 50 lb).

Tip: For help creating or adjusting units, see Create Custom Units of Measure


Step 6: 

Enter additional details about the Raw Material you are linking (Optional)

 The following fields are optional, but can be useful:

  • Code - Supplier’s internal code for the material. This can help the supplier process your PO more easily.
  • P.O. Description - Supplier’s item name if it differs from your internal name.
  • Min Order Qty -  The minimum you can order. Defaults to 1 if left blank. Gets used when auto-generating PO's.
  • Brand - If you order a specific brand, you can specify this. To add a brand for the first time, click the Brand button.
  • Lead Time - Minimum time the Supplier requires between order and delivery dates. Defaults to 1 day which means PO placed today can be delivered tomorrow.
  • Pallet Count - The number of sell-by units that can fit on a full pallet. Use this to keep track of what multiples of units you must order to receive only full pallets.
  • Region - Suppliers can set their cost to vary by region to account for things like freight costs. If you have facilities in different regions, it's a good idea to use this field to distinguish which supplier entry should be used.

Step 7:

Click Add to save the supplier record for this raw material.

Add button highlighted to save the supplier record on the raw material.

    Step 8:

    Set Preferred Supplier to have purchase orders default to that supplier.

    Preferred checkbox highlighted to set the default supplier used on purchase orders.

    Tip: Even if you use multiple suppliers for a material, setting a preferred supplier streamlines ordering. Other linked suppliers will still be available as alternates.

    Note: This feature is available with the Purchasing module which is not included in the Base Plan. Without it, you can still store supplier details for reference, but you cannot create Purchase Orders in FlexiBake.