Create a Purchase Order
Purchase orders are how you restock inventory. Alfred offers three paths to creating a PO, each suited to different situations. The recommended approach builds a reusable plan first, so you can refine and reuse your purchasing strategy over time.
Option 1: Build a Purchase Plan, then export to PO
RecommendedGo to Purchase Order Planner from the left navigation.
Click 'New Plan' and choose a plan type: Meet Forecasted Demand (unconstrained), Maximize Margin ROI (budget-constrained), or Maximize Restock Coverage (budget-constrained).
Set your coverage goal (e.g., 60 days), lead time, and velocity lookback period.
Apply filters to scope the plan — by product type, vendor, collection, or tags.
Review the recommended quantities. Override any product's quantity if needed.
Save the plan with a descriptive name (e.g., 'Summer Restock - June 2026').
Click 'Start PO from Plan' to move to the supplier assignment page.
Assign suppliers to each product (auto-assigned if primary suppliers are set up).
Review supplier assignments and split quantities if using multiple suppliers.
Click 'Generate Purchase Orders' to create POs grouped by supplier.
Option 2: Generate a PO from Inventory Forecasting
Go to Inventory Forecasting from the left navigation.
Set your forecast period (e.g., Next 30 days) and velocity window (e.g., Last 30 days).
Sort the table by 'Est. Stockout' to see which products need reordering soonest.
Select the products you want to reorder using the checkboxes.
Click 'Start Purchase Order' in the bulk action bar.
You'll be taken to the PO staging page with the selected products and their recommended quantities pre-filled.
Assign suppliers, review costs, and generate POs.
Option 3: Manually create a PO
Go to Orders & Suppliers from the left navigation.
Click 'Create PO' and choose 'Manual Entry'.
Search for products by name, SKU, or barcode and add them to the PO.
Enter quantities and unit costs for each line item.
Set the supplier, PO number, and expected delivery date.
Save the PO as draft or submit it.
Pro Tips
- 💡The Purchase Plan approach is recommended because plans are reusable — duplicate a plan next month and Alfred recalculates quantities based on fresh sales data.
- 💡Set up primary suppliers for your products in Orders & Suppliers so that PO staging auto-assigns the right supplier and cost.
- 💡Use the CSV or AI Smart Import to upload an existing PO from your supplier's invoice — Alfred matches SKUs to your catalog automatically.