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What this page is for

A Purchase Order (PO) is an order you place with a supplier to buy product into a destination warehouse. It carries header fields that describe the deal, one or more line items (each a product and a quantity), and optional extra costs such as freight or duty. This page explains how to read a PO - especially the quantity breakdown on each line, which tells you at a glance how much of the order has landed, how much is on the water, and how much is still outstanding.

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The header fields

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Quantities explained

Every line item’s quantity splits into three buckets that always add back up to what you ordered:
Ordered = Open + In-shipping + Received
So a line moves left to right over its life: quantity starts as Open, becomes In shipping when the supplier dispatches it, and lands as Received. When everything has arrived (or the rest is closed), the line is done. Each line also carries pricing: a unit price, a total price (= quantity × unit price), and VAT. At the PO level you see rolled-up totals: product cost, additional costs (freight, duty, and the like), and cost with VAT.

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Statuses

Before a PO is written to your ERP it carries a Spherecast-only status; after it is placed it takes on a real status from your ERP. (An ERP is your company’s system of record. The status names below are NetSuite-style examples - the exact wording varies by company.) Every PO also belongs to a scenario - the live plan or a what-if copy - and shows a warning if its last write to the ERP failed.

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From recommendation to real PO

Spherecast proposes reorders as Recommended POs. You turn one into a real order like this:
  1. Review the recommended reorders in the recommendations view.
  2. Optionally route one through approval - Ask for approval, then Accept - so a supervisor signs off.
  3. Sync to ERP promotes it from Recommended / Draft to a real placed status (such as Pending Receipt). This is the point where the order becomes real. See Writing to your ERP.
A few more actions help you manage POs already in flight:
  • Expedite / Defer move an existing PO line’s ETA earlier or later.
  • Consolidate merges POs together to save cost.
  • A PO can have dependent POs - raw-material POs that support it.
  1. Open the recommendations view and find the Recommended PO you want to place.
  2. Confirm the supplier, destination, quantity, and ETA look right.
  3. If your team requires it, Ask for approval, then Accept once signed off.
  4. Click Sync to ERP and confirm. The status moves to a real placed status like Pending Receipt.
  5. As goods move, track the line: Open shrinks, In shipping rises, then Received grows until the order is complete.

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Example

You place a PO line for 500 units. Over the next few weeks:
  • 200 arrive at the warehouse → Received = 200.
  • 100 are dispatched and on the water → In shipping = 100.
  • The rest is still outstanding with the supplier → Open = 200.
Check the identity: Received 200 + In shipping 100 + Open 200 = 500 Ordered. The line reads Partially Received until the remaining 300 land (or the rest is closed).
Tip: If a line lands too late for your plan, use Expedite to pull the ETA earlier; if it lands too early, Defer it. And watch Open - that is the quantity still under your control before it ships. See Finished-good planning, Cash Requirements, and Suppliers & co-manufacturers.