Supplier Binding on Orders

Supplier Binding is how an order commits to the party it is placed with. A buyer chooses a supplier while composing, may override its details for this one order, can reset those overrides, and — at submission — freezes a snapshot so the order forever records the supplier as it was when the commitment was made.

This feature is derived from the designed Orders module and its use of the Business Affiliate module.

What the buyer can do

• Choose a supplier. Point the order at a supplier — a fully linked business affiliate acting as a vendor, or just a name typed in. An informal, name-only “supermarket” supplier is allowed.
• Override for this order. Adjust the supplier’s contact details for this order without changing the underlying supplier record. The supplier’s name is the one field kept authoritative.
• Reset. Discard the per-order overrides and return to the supplier’s own details.
• Freeze at submission. When the order is submitted, the supplier binding is frozen: a snapshot is recorded and no further supplier changes are accepted on that order.

Why it works this way

Freezing at submission means an order is an accurate record of the commitment as it stood when it was placed — later edits to the supplier’s master record do not rewrite history on orders already sent. Allowing a name-only supplier keeps the buyer unblocked when a vendor has not yet been fully set up.

Personas involved

• Procurement Manager (David) — chooses and, if needed, overrides the supplier before submitting.

Related

• Order Management with Lifecycle — the order this binding lives on.
• Business Affiliate module — where vendors and their roles are defined.