> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://alius-docs.frimty.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Suppliers

> Save who you reorder from, and which locations and products each supplier serves

## Overview

A **supplier** is who you buy stock from. Once Alius knows who serves each product at each location, it can:

* name the right supplier on every [reorder alert](/features/stock);
* email that supplier a reorder request — automatically or with one tap;
* fill in the supplier on a new [purchase order](/features/purchase-orders);
* use the supplier's lead time in the Stock forecast.

Open **Suppliers** in the app menu, or from the button on the Stock page.

***

## Adding a supplier

Click **Add supplier**. The form has three cards.

### Details

| Field | Notes |
| - | - |
| **Name** | Shown on alerts and purchase orders. |
| **Email** | Where reorder requests and purchase orders are sent. One email is one supplier. |
| **Lead time (days)** | Optional. How long this supplier takes to deliver. Used by the Stock forecast. |

### Contact details

An optional postal address: country/region, address, apartment, city, state/province and postal code. The state and postal code fields follow the country you pick, using the same country list as the Shopify admin.

### What this supplier serves

Tell Alius what this supplier delivers, and where. Each row is a **Location** plus a **Product**:

* Leave **Location** empty to mean "every location".
* Leave **Product** empty to mean "every product".
* In the product picker, tick **all variants** to cover the whole product (new variants added later are covered too), or tick **only some** to cover just those variants.

Rows are saved with the rest of the form — **Discard** undoes them.

***

## Which supplier wins

A variant can match more than one row. The **most specific** row wins:

| Rank | The row names… | Reads as |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | location + variant | "This supplier, for this variant, here" |
| 2 | variant | "Whoever makes this variant" |
| 3 | location + product | "This supplier, for this product, here" |
| 4 | product | "Whoever makes this product" |
| 5 | location | "Whoever serves this location" |
| 6 | nothing | "The shop's default supplier" |

A product or variant row says who **makes** it. A location row only says where it is **kept**. So "Acme makes the S size" beats "Globex supplies the hoodie at the warehouse".

If two rows are equally specific, the oldest one wins.

<Tip>
  Most shops need only a few rows: one default supplier with no location and no
  product, plus a row for each product that comes from somewhere else.
</Tip>

***

## Lead time

Lead time is used in this order:

1. The lead time you set for the variant in **Reorder settings** on the Stock page.
2. Otherwise, the supplier's **Lead time (days)**.
3. Otherwise, the default of 7 days.

***

## Emails to suppliers

* **On a reorder alert** — each row with a supplier gets an **Alert supplier** button. One tap emails that supplier a reorder request for that variant.
* **Automatically** — on the Stock **Alerts** page, switch on **Also email each reorder alert's supplier**. Each alert then sends one email per supplier, listing all of their variants in it.

Alius never asks a supplier for 0 units. A row with no suggested quantity is left out of the email.

***

## Managing suppliers

The Suppliers list shows each supplier's name, email and lead time. Use **Search suppliers** to find one. Select rows to delete them — their "What this supplier serves" rows are deleted too.

Purchase orders already sent to a deleted supplier keep its name and email.

***

## Plans

Free keeps **1** supplier, Pro keeps **10**, and Max has no limit. Inactive suppliers count too. A downgrade never removes a supplier — you just cannot add more. See [Pricing](/guides/pricing).