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Procurement & Suppliers

The Procurement module (powered by the scm_purchasing module key) manages your pharmacy's entire supply chain — from maintaining supplier relationships and raising purchase orders to receiving goods and verifying deliveries.

Access Procurement from the Pharmacy group in the sidebar.

Supplier Management

Maintain a register of all pharmaceutical distributors and suppliers. Each supplier record includes:

FieldDescription
Supplier NameTrading name of the distributor
Account NumberYour account reference with the supplier
Contact DetailsPhone, email, and physical address
Payment TermsAgreed payment terms (e.g. 30 days, COD)
Lead TimeTypical delivery lead time in working days
Product LinksWhich products in your catalogue this supplier provides

A single product can be linked to multiple suppliers, with one designated as the preferred supplier for reorder suggestions.

Purchase Orders

When stock falls below reorder points or you need to place a manual order:

  1. Navigate to Procurement and click New Purchase Order
  2. Select the supplier
  3. Add products — the system pre-populates suggested quantities based on reorder points and current stock levels
  4. Review pricing against last-known cost prices
  5. Submit the purchase order
  6. Send to the supplier via email or export as PDF

Purchase orders track the following statuses:

StatusMeaning
DraftOrder is being prepared, not yet submitted
SubmittedOrder has been sent to the supplier
Partially ReceivedSome items have been delivered
Fully ReceivedAll items have been received and verified
CancelledOrder was cancelled before fulfilment

Goods Receiving

When a delivery arrives:

  1. Open the relevant purchase order
  2. Click Receive Goods
  3. Enter the quantities received, batch numbers, and expiry dates for each line item
  4. Flag any discrepancies — short deliveries, damaged goods, or incorrect products
  5. Confirm receipt — stock levels update automatically
note

Goods receiving creates batch records in inventory. Always capture accurate batch numbers and expiry dates at this stage to ensure correct FEFO dispensing downstream.

Delivery Verification

The goods receiving process includes built-in verification checks:

  • Quantity check — compare received quantities against the purchase order
  • Product check — confirm the correct products were delivered
  • Batch and expiry check — validate batch numbers and expiry dates are acceptable
  • Price check — flag any cost price changes from the supplier

Discrepancies are logged and can be escalated to the supplier directly from the delivery record.

Supplier Performance

Over time, AtlasOS builds a performance profile for each supplier based on:

  • Delivery accuracy — percentage of orders received without discrepancies
  • Lead time adherence — actual delivery times versus agreed lead times
  • Price stability — frequency and magnitude of cost price changes

Use supplier performance data to inform procurement decisions and negotiate better terms.