What this page is for
This page answers one question for one store: what should be ordered right now so it does not run out before the next delivery? It works this out from the last 28 trading days of sales, nothing else — never from wastage, breakage or a stocktake shortage, so reordering to cover a loss does not quietly buy more of the same loss.
Choose the Store at the top. Each row shows:
- Item, and Supplier — the preferred supplier if one is set, else the cheapest; if none quotes a price, the row says so instead.
- Available: stock on hand plus what is already on an approved order plus what is in transit.
- Target: how much should be on hand to cover the lead time plus a safety buffer.
- Short by: the gap between target and available. A row with no gap is not suggested at all.
- Suggested: how many whole packs to order, rounded up — half a case cannot be ordered.
- Unit price: what the chosen supplier currently quotes.
- Press Show working on a row to see every term of the arithmetic — trading days, daily demand, safety stock, cover for lead time, target, base stock, on hand, on order and in transit — so if you disagree with a suggestion, you can see exactly which figure you disagree with.
A row with fewer than seven trading days of history, or no supplier, is flagged, and its target falls back to the store's base stock instead of the usual arithmetic.
This page writes nothing on its own: looking at it, or changing the store, never creates or changes an order. Everyone whose role can view purchasing sees it; raising an order from it needs a role that can manage purchasing.
How to…
How to raise an order from the suggestions
- Choose the Store.
- Tick the rows you want to order. Only a row with a supplier and a suggested quantity above zero can be ticked.
- Press Raise order for … chosen. A draft purchase order opens with one line per tick, at the suggested quantity, ready to review and submit.
How to raise a requisition from the suggestions
This shows only while purchase requisitions are switched on.
- Choose the Store.
- Tick the rows you want to ask for. A row with no supplier can be ticked too, because a requisition names no supplier.
- Press Raise requisition for … chosen. A draft requisition opens with one line per tick, at the gap in the item's stock unit. The supplier and the whole packs are chosen later, when the requisition is turned into an order.
Worked examples
Butchery that also roasts meat
Mama Njeri's Butchery checks suggestions for the shop counter store. Beef (steak cut) — Per kg
shows Available 12, Target 70, Short by 58, Suggested 5 × 12 kg cases from
Ndahiro Farm. The owner ticks it, and the row for seasoning, which carries no gap this week,
stays unticked because nothing is short.
Supermarket
Tumaini Supermarket has a brand-new line with no sales history yet. Its row is flagged Fewer than 7 trading days of history, so this uses the base stock instead, and its supplier column reads No supplier prices this item until the buyer records one on a supplier price change.