Every company will need a supplier company created so that the system knows where to reorder items from.
Use the steps in Chapter 2, “To create a new company” to create the Supplier Company.
As for the Hierarchy to use for Customer and Supplier Companies, there are two methods you can follow:
2.3.1 Supplier Centric
If you are the main Supplier to all your customers, this method may work for you. Your company will be the Parent Company. Two Child companies should be created beneath the parent. One named as “X Customers” and another named “X Supplier”. The “Customers” company will have additional child companies created under it, for each of your customers. The “Supplier” company will have at least one additional child company created which is where your Catalog of Items will sit.
The benefit of this method is that your company alone will manage your catalog and you can share one common catalog for Supplier Items with all your customers.
2.3.2 Third Party Supplier Centric
If you are not the main Supplier to all your customers or find that your customers all have varied suppliers, then you should still create a “Customers” company and list all your customers there. In addition, each customer company should then have a child company created under it, for every 3rd party supplier they will be re-ordering against.
Your or your customer can determine who manages the Supplier catalogs, including providing MarginPoint 8 access to the Suppliers themselves to manage their data, if all parties agree.
A combination of these two methods can also work.