🛒 The Purchase Page
The Purchase Page is where Optiply's algorithmic purchase advice comes to life. Recommendations are presented here based on your fixed and dynamic order agendas, ensuring you order in the most cost-effective way possible.
At the top right of the page, you can see high-level financial metrics for your purchasing queue, including your Total unrealized sales and Total investment.
Below this, the page is divided into two main tabs to provide structure during order placement: Proposed orders and Draft orders.
💡 1. The Proposed Orders Tab
This tab displays all purchase orders that have been proposed by the algorithm to be ordered today, orders that are currently overdue, and even future planned orders.
You can customise this view by clicking the Column View icon on the far right to select exactly which data columns you want to see (such as Total value, Minimum order value, Total weight, etc.).
Understanding Order Types (The Dynamic Agenda) In the Type column, Optiply uses specific icons to tell you why an order was generated outside of your standard schedule:
Preponed: This order was brought forward from its originally planned date.
Lost Sales: An emergency order triggered by the Avoid Lost Sales feature because a product is about to run out of stock.
Backorder: An order triggered specifically to fulfil an active customer backorder.
📝 2. The Draft Orders Tab
This tab displays all orders that have been reviewed and saved, but not yet officially placed with the supplier. It is a great place to save orders you are currently working on or want to change shortly.
⚠️ IMPORTANT WARNING: It is crucial to remember that orders in the Draft list are statistically "frozen." They will no longer be updated automatically if there are changes in your stock or forecasts. > Therefore, we highly recommend not leaving draft orders open for too long! Once you review and finalise your draft, place the order to clear it from the system.
⏭️ 3. Skipping Orders & Agenda Constraints
If you are not ready to make an order at the time it is suggested, you can easily skip it. Simply click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the far right of the order row and select Skip.
How Skipping Works:
Fixed Agendas: If you have a standard reorder period (e.g., 7 days) and you skip today's order, it will be rescheduled for next week. The new advice will include all the stock Optiply deems necessary by that new date.
Emergency Orders: You can skip emergency (Lost Sales) orders. However, if the product that triggered the emergency is still running out of stock, the system will simply generate the exact same emergency order again the next day!
Manual Agendas: If you use a strict manual agenda (e.g., "Only order on Mondays"), skipping follows stricter rules. Orders will be aligned with the next scheduled date dictated by the manual agenda. You cannot manually skip orders beyond the current day; the system enforces this to ensure tighter scheduling control and predictability. (Tip: Use the 'Next Order Moment' tool to defer within your rules).
Note: While you can skip any order type, it is generally not advised. If you find yourself skipping orders regularly, it is time to check and correct your supplier's reorder period, lead times, or fixed order costs!
Important note: You can skip emergency orders, but if the product that triggers the order is not ordered, the order will be generated the next day again.
➕ 4. Creating Manual Orders
Sometimes you need to place an order outside of the algorithmic advice. You can do this quickly from the top right-hand side of the page:
Search and select your desired supplier in the Search for a supplier... dropdown box.
Click the Create manual order button.
This will generate a completely empty purchase order for that vendor, allowing you to manually add the exact products and quantities you want.
⚙️ 5. Quick-Editing Supplier Settings
You no longer have to leave the Purchase Page to fix a supplier's rules! If you notice a supplier's Minimum Order Value or Lead Time is wrong while reviewing your proposed orders, simply click the small ID Card icon next to the supplier's name.
This will open a side panel allowing you to immediately edit their settings across four tabs:
Information: Edit Lead times, order costs, and container volumes.
Agenda: Adjust cut-off times, backorder toggles, and lost sales rules.
Communication: Update their email address or order placement method (Email vs. EDI).
Products: View the active products tied to this vendor.
📦 6. Inside the Purchase Order
When you click on a specific Proposed or Draft order from the main Purchase page, you are taken to the order editor. This page gives you complete control over exactly what you are requesting from your supplier, allowing you to review Optiply's advice, add manual items, and verify your financial totals.
📋 A. The Order Header & Supplier Info
The top section of the order page acts as your control panel. Before you look at the products, you can verify the logistical and financial constraints of the supplier right here:
Top-Right Summary: At a glance, you can see the total Products in order, the ETA (Expected Time of Arrival based on lead times), and the total Order value.
Tip: If you see a red exclamation mark (❗) next to your Order value, it means your current total is below the supplier's Minimum Order Value!
Expandable Info Panels: Below the summary, you will find three dropdown menus (
Supplier info,Container info, andSupplier notes). Opening these allows you to quickly reference the supplier's Reorder period, Lead time, Minimum order value, and any manual notes you have saved, without ever leaving the page.
Totals Row: Tracks the calculated Weight, Volume, and Container capacity of the current order.
🗂️ B. Managing Products (The Two Tabs)
The lower half of the page is dedicated to the actual items in your shipment. This area is divided into two tabs:
1. Current Order
This tab shows the active list of products that are currently slated to be ordered. If Optiply generated this order automatically based on your parameters, the suggested products will populate here. If you are building a manual order from scratch, this tab will initially be empty.
2. Available Products
Click this tab to see a complete master list of every product in your catalog that is linked to this specific supplier. This is where you go to manually "fill up" an order!
To add an item: Simply find the product in the list, input the desired amount in the Quantity column on the far right, and click the blue Add button. This will instantly push the item into your Current order tab.
Understanding the Product Columns: When browsing available products, the table provides vital stock context to help you make decisions:
Category: The ABC inventory classification of the item (e.g., A).
Lot Size & MOQ: Reminds you of the supplier's packaging rules (e.g., if the Lot Size is 12, you must order in multiples of 12).
Free Stock vs. Stock Position: Compares what you currently have physically available vs. your total position (including inbound stock).
Order up to: The maximum algorithmically advised ceiling for this item.
⚙️ C. Advanced Actions & Overrides
At the very top right of the screen, there are a few advanced tools and toggles you can use to manipulate the order:
Auto-updates: On/Off: While an order is still a Draft, keeping auto-updates "On" means Optiply will continuously recalculate the needed quantities based on live sales data. If you want to freeze the quantities exactly as they are, turn this off.
Adjust Order Size: Need to quickly scale up the whole order? You can use the multiplier input box (defaulted to
1) to proportionally adjust the volume of the entire purchase order at once.The "Options" Menu: Click the
Optionsdropdown to access two specific actions:Connect product to supplier: Use this if you need to order an item from this vendor, but it hasn't been linked to them in your source system yet.
Skip purchase advice: Click this to completely dismiss this specific order until the next cycle.
Once you are completely satisfied with the products, quantities, and totals, simply click the Save order button at the top right to lock in your work!
❓ 6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why did my Draft order disappear?
If you open a Proposed order, click "Save as Draft", and then ultimately click "Place Order," the system automatically deletes the draft because the workflow is complete. If you want to keep a permanent draft template, you need to create a manual order and save it.
I skipped an order, but it came back the next day. Why?
If the order you skipped was triggered by the "Avoid lost sales" feature (a red exclamation mark icon), the system will keep warning you every single day until you order the stock or until the product completely runs out and the emergency passes.
Why is the "Add" button greyed out on some products in the Available tab?
If a product has strict Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) or Lot Size rules configured, you must enter a quantity that respects those rules before the system will allow you to add it to the order.
I added items to reach the Minimum Order Value, but the red exclamation mark is still there. Why?
Ensure that the items you added actually pushed the financial value of the order past the threshold. Adding 100 units of a €0.01 product might not be enough to satisfy a €500 Minimum Order Value!