Parties on Documents
Lesson 16 of 24 7 min read
Every Document with trading parties has a customer and a supplier. Learn how to tell which side is you, and the quirks that catch people out on warehouse and goods inbound Documents.
When you open a Document in Supply Lens you will see Parties on it. Knowing which one is your customer, which is your supplier, and which one is you makes Documents much easier to read, and helps you set up Mapping filters correctly. This lesson explains the simple rule behind it.
Customer and supplier, nothing else
Documents that carry trading parties use exactly two roles: Customer and Supplier. There is no separate buyer, seller, shipper, carrier or warehouse party.
Ship-to and ship-from details also appear on Documents, but they identify where goods go to or come from, which is why they are matched to Locations (or Parties at a delivery address) rather than being a third trading role.
Which side are you?
You are always one of the two. Which one depends on whether the Document is sell-side or buy-side:
- On sell-side Documents (orders from customers, invoices and credits you issue, shipments you send) you are the Supplier, and your trading partner is the Customer.
- On buy-side Documents (purchase orders you place, purchase invoices and credits you receive, goods inbound) you are the Customer, and your trading partner is the Supplier.
An order and a purchase order both run from customer to supplier. On an order, a customer has ordered from you; on a purchase order, you have ordered from a supplier. Same shape, opposite meaning, and the Document type tells you which.
Some common Documents
| Document | Who it runs between | You are the |
|---|---|---|
| Order | Customer to Supplier | Supplier |
| Order change | Customer to Supplier | Supplier |
| Invoice | Supplier to Customer | Supplier |
| Credit | Supplier to Customer | Supplier |
| Shipment | Supplier to Customer | Supplier |
| Purchase order | Customer to Supplier | Customer |
| Purchase invoice | Supplier to Customer | Customer |
| Goods inbound | Customer to Supplier | Customer |
| Goods inbound receipt | Supplier to Customer | Customer |
| Warehouse order | Supplier to Customer | Supplier |
| Warehouse shipment | Customer to Supplier | Supplier |
Some Documents have no Parties at all, such as inventory (stock levels), stock adjustments, warehouse transfers, and product and customer updates.
Two things that catch people out
Warehouse Documents name the customer, not the 3PL
Warehouse orders, picks and warehouse shipments keep the commercial pair: you as Supplier and the end customer as Customer. The 3PL is not one of the Parties. So on a warehouse shipment coming back from your 3PL, the Customer shown is the customer the goods went to, even though the 3PL sent the message.
Goods inbound is something you send
Despite its name, a goods inbound Document is one you send out: an advice to the supplier side about goods you expect to receive, with you as Customer. The goods inbound receipt is the confirmation that comes back. Go by what the Document does, not what its name suggests.
Reading Hilltop's Documents
- Greenleaf's EDI order: Customer is Greenleaf Wholesale, Supplier is Hilltop Coffee Ltd.
- The warehouse order Hilltop sends Brookside for it: Supplier is Hilltop, Customer is still Greenleaf. Brookside doesn't appear as a Party.
- Brookside's warehouse shipment confirming despatch: again Hilltop and Greenleaf.
So when Priya wants a Mapping that only sends Greenleaf's despatches somewhere, she filters on Customer: Greenleaf Wholesale, not on Brookside.
Recap
- Documents with trading parties use only two roles: Customer and Supplier.
- On sell-side Documents you are the Supplier; on buy-side Documents you are the Customer.
- Ship-to and ship-from identify places, not a third trading role.
- Warehouse Documents keep you and your end customer as the Parties; the 3PL isn't one of them.
- Goods inbound is sent by you as Customer; trust what a Document does, not its name.
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