Purchasing Overview

The Purchasing section of Forge MRP handles everything between "we need materials" and "materials are on the shelf" -- requests for quotation (RFQs) to suppliers, purchase orders (POs), and receiving.

How Purchasing Fits Into the Workflow

When you build a quote in Forge, each part can include materials, outside operations, and purchased items. Once a quote is approved and converted to a job, those needs become purchase requirements -- the list of things you need to buy before production can start.

From there, the purchasing flow looks like this:

Purchase Requirements --> RFQ --> Supplier Responses --> Purchase Order --> Receiving

You don't have to follow every step. If you already know your supplier and pricing, skip the RFQ and create a purchase order directly. If you need competitive bids, send RFQs to multiple suppliers and compare their responses before committing.

Navigating the Purchasing Section

The Purchasing section has four main areas, accessible from the sidebar:

Dashboard

The purchasing dashboard gives you a snapshot of your current procurement activity:

  • Pending Requirements -- how many items still need to be ordered
  • Active Purchase Orders -- POs that are in progress (sent, acknowledged, or partially received)
  • Total Order Value -- the combined value of your active POs
  • Overdue Items -- anything past its required date

Below the stats, you'll see your most recent requirements and recent purchase orders, plus quick-action links to common tasks.

Requirements

The requirements page shows every material, outside operation, and purchased item that your jobs need. Think of it as your master shopping list. Each requirement is linked back to the job and quote part it came from.

Requirements can be filtered by type (material, outside operation, purchased item) and grouped by job or by type. A status pipeline at the top shows how many items are pending, have an RFQ in progress, or already have a PO.

From this page you can:

  • Select one or more requirements and create an RFQ
  • Select one or more requirements and create a PO directly
  • Archive requirements you don't need to track (e.g., items you already have in stock)

RFQs

The RFQ list shows all your requests for quotation. Each RFQ has a status:

  • Draft -- created but not yet sent to any supplier
  • Partially Sent -- sent to some but not all invited suppliers
  • Sent -- sent to all invited suppliers, waiting for responses
  • Responses Received -- at least one supplier has responded
  • Awarded -- you've selected a supplier and converted the response to a PO
  • Cancelled / Expired -- the RFQ is no longer active

Click any RFQ to see its detail page, where you manage line items, suppliers, and responses.

Purchase Orders

The PO list shows all your purchase orders. Each PO has a status:

  • Draft -- created but not sent to the supplier
  • Sent -- emailed to the supplier
  • Acknowledged -- the supplier has confirmed receipt
  • Received -- items have started arriving (partially or fully)
  • Completed -- all items received and the order is closed
  • Cancelled -- the order was cancelled

Click any PO to see its detail page, where you can edit line items, send it to the supplier by email, record received quantities, and attach files.

What's Next

Creating an RFQ→