Quotes & Purchase Orders
The negotiation → order flow: a quote negotiates the price, a PO commits it — and the real cost flows back onto every product.
In this lesson
- 0:00Product ↔ Quote ↔ PO: the backbone
- 0:40Allocation, the concept
- 1:05Composing a quote from the catalog
- 2:05A quote up close: send, record, decline
- 3:00A quoted price becomes effective cost
- 3:15A PO up close: lock, approve, hand off
- 4:05The effective-cost cascade
- 4:35Two vendors, one winner
- 5:00History on the product card
What it is
Quotes and purchase orders are the two lanes of procurement in VendorDelta. A quote is the negotiation lane — fluid and revisable, where you ask for prices and record what the vendor answers. A PO is the commit lane — the order of record, and the artifact you hand off to your inventory system.
Both are composed from the Product Catalog, and both report back to it: the moment a line is quoted or a PO is approved, that price becomes the product’s effective cost and every margin updates.
Why it exists
Cost is not one number — it firms up in steps: list price → quoted price → approved PO price → manual override. VendorDelta always uses the strongest signal available, automatically, so the margin you see is the most real one you have.
Allocation — splitting purchased units across a product’s Amazon listings — is your internal plan. It makes per-listing and total margin real, it is editable while you draft, it locks when you commit, and the vendor never sees it.
How to use it
- 1
Compose from the catalog
Filter the catalog to the products worth negotiating and Add to Quote. Set requested quantities and target prices; allocation splits the units across listings.
- 2
Send it
Export for Vendor produces a clean file with your internal data hidden; Mark as Sent freezes what you asked for.
- 3
Record the response
Enter the quoted price on every line — even a worse-than-asked price (it shows red) or a declined line. Bad answers are leverage next time.
- 4
Commit the winners
Add quoted lines to a purchase order — or add direct PO lines for products that need no negotiation.
- 5
Approve and hand off
Mark as Sent locks the PO; Mark as Approved makes its price the product’s effective cost and readies the handoff to your inventory system.
Common questions
What is the difference between a quote and a PO?
A quote negotiates — it holds what you asked and what the vendor answered, and it stays fluid. A PO commits — it is the order of record, it locks when sent, and its approved price becomes the product’s real cost.
Do I have to create a quote first?
No. When there is nothing to negotiate, add lines to a purchase order directly — the quote lane exists for when the price is still in play.
What is allocation?
Your internal plan for splitting purchased units across a product’s Amazon listings, with multipack math applied per listing. It makes per-listing and total margin real. Editable while drafting, locked once you commit, never shown to the vendor.
Should I record a bad quote?
Yes — record every response. A worse-than-asked price shows red, a dead-end line is marked Declined, and both stay on the product’s history as leverage for the next negotiation.
Does the vendor see my margins?
No. Export for Vendor produces a clean request with your targets, margins, and allocations stripped — internal data stays internal.
See it with your own data.
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