Many businesses purchase materials from online vendors such as Amazon,Home Depot, Grainger, SupplyHouse, or other e-commerce sites. This article covers the two ways to keep those purchases tracked accurately in Ply: the Ply Punch-Out Chrome extension (recommended, for supported suppliers) and the manual workaround (for any vendor, including ones without a browsable online cart).
➡️ Option A: Ply Punch-Out Chrome Extension (Recommended)
If your online vendor is one of the supported brands, you don't need to place the order on the vendor's site and then re-enter everything into Ply by hand. The Ply Punch-Out Chrome extension lets you browse the supplier's site, fill your cart as usual, and import it directly into Ply as a draft purchase order—no copy-paste, no manual data entry.
⚠️ Chrome desktop only. Not available on Safari, Firefox, Edge, or mobile browsers.
Supported suppliers: Ferguson, SupplyHouse, Hajoca (plus Gorman, Hughes, Familian, Davis & Warshow, MAPCO, and other Hajoca brands), F.W. Webb, Johnstone Supply, PlumbMaster, Home Depot Pro, Lowe's Pro, Grainger, Amazon Business, Parts Town, Royal Key Supply, and Uline.
How it works:
Install the Ply Punch-Out extension from the Chrome Web Store.
Open the extension's side panel and sign in.
Browse and shop on the supplier's site like you normally would.
When you reach the cart page, click the extension to import it; it auto-detects your cart and pulls everything into a draft Purchase Order in Ply.
Review the draft PO in Ply, and finalize it as usual.
You're not limited to full carts, you can also save individual products to a named list as you browse (using the floating Ply icon on product pages), then import the whole list as a PO or straight into your catalog when you're ready. And if a supplier doesn't exist in your Ply account yet, it's created automatically on first import.
📘 Full tutorial and troubleshooting: For the complete walkthrough, installation, all three use cases (cart import, list building, single-item catalog add), saved-list imports (Ferguson My Lists, Grainger Lists, Home Depot My Lists), and common issues like the Ply icon not appearing, see the dedicated Ply Punch-Out Chrome Extension article. It also includes an Extension Flow Diagram and a full extension guide for a visual walkthrough.
💡 Don't see your supplier on the list?
Reply to the in-app announcement or email [email protected] and we'll evaluate adding it. You can also check or submit the request on our feature feedback board.
➡️ Option B: Manual Setup (For Any Vendor, No Extension Needed)
If your online vendor isn't on the Punch-Out list, or you're ordering from a vendor that doesn't have a traditional online cart (e.g., phone orders), you can still track every purchase accurately by adding them as a supplier and creating POs for internal record-keeping.
✅ Feature | Description |
You can add any online vendor as a supplier | Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's, SupplyHouse, Grainger, Ferguson online — all work as Ply suppliers |
Track every purchase with an internal PO | Create a PO in Ply after placing the order online — attach the receipt PDF and reconcile when materials arrive |
Stock updates correctly | Reconciling the PO when materials arrive keeps your inventory counts accurate across all locations |
Can I integrate Amazon or other online vendors with Ply?
Not at this time. Ply cannot connect directly to online vendor websites or import orders placed on their platforms.
However, you can still:
Add these vendors as suppliers in Ply
Track all purchases using Purchase Orders (POs)
Keep your stock levels accurate
➡️ Step 1: Add the online vendor as a supplier
When you add a vendor in Ply, the system requires an email address.
If your online vendor does not use email for POs (like Amazon), simply enter a placeholder email, such as:
This allows you to save the vendor successfully.
➡️ How to add the vendor:
Go to Suppliers in Ply
Click Add Supplier
Enter the vendor name (e.g., Amazon)
Add a placeholder email
Save
✔️ The vendor is now available for all your purchasing workflows.
⚠️ Make each placeholder email unique per vendor. Don't reuse the exact same placeholder across multiple different vendors, some downstream systems (like FSM integrations) key off email, and reused placeholders have caused duplicate vendor records in real cases. See How to Add a Vendor in Ply Without an Email Address for more on this.
➡️ Step 2: Log the purchase in Ply using a PO
Even though the purchase happened online, you should still create a PO in Ply so your records and stock stay accurate.
Recommended workflow:
Complete your purchase on the vendor’s website
Download the receipt or invoice PDF
In Ply, create a new Purchase Order using the online vendor you added
Attach the PDF to the PO
Receive and reconcile the PO once the materials arrive so they can be reflected in stock.
This keeps your purchasing history clean and ensures inventory remains correct.
You can also use our AI-powered upload where you can add your PDF for the platform to scan your materials:
➡️ Best practices
✅ Check the Punch-Out supported list first.
If your vendor is on it, that's almost always faster and more accurate than the manual workflow, with no risk of typos or missed line items.
✅ Request missing suppliers.
If you order regularly from a vendor that isn't supported yet, submitting the request helps us prioritize adding it.
✅ Still reconcile manual POs promptly.
Whether you used the extension or the manual method, reconcile the PO as soon as materials arrive so your stock counts stay accurate.
➡️ Common issues & fixes
"My vendor isn't in the Punch-Out extension list, what do I do?"
Use Option B (manual setup) for now, and let us know which vendor you'd like added. Email [email protected] or check the feature feedback board to see if it's already been requested.
"The Ply icon isn't showing up on a product page."
Refresh the page; tabs already open before you installed the extension need a reload.
Confirm you're on an actual product page, not a category or search results page — the icon only appears on product pages.
Verify the supplier is on the supported list.
Go to
chrome://extensionsand make sure Ply Punch-Out is enabled.
"My cart isn't being detected on the cart page."
Make sure you're on the supplier's actual cart or checkout page, not a product page. Try opening the extension side panel with Ctrl+Shift+Y after navigating to your cart. If it's still not detected, refresh the cart page before opening the extension.
"The imported data (price, name, quantity) looks wrong."
The extension captures data exactly as shown on the page at the moment of import, if a price is updated or a variant is changed after you capture it, edit the PO line items in Ply before sending. Also confirm you're running the latest extension version via chrome://extensions → Update.
"Can I use Punch-Out on mobile or a browser other than Chrome?" No; it's Chrome desktop only, not compatible with Safari, Firefox, Edge, or mobile Chrome. Use the manual workaround (Option B) for purchases made on other devices.
"I imported a cart with Punch-Out, but I still need to double-check pricing/quantities."
That's expected, the extension creates a draft PO, not a finalized one. Always review the draft before finalizing, the same way you would with an AI-uploaded PO.
"Can I integrate Amazon or other online vendors with Ply directly, outside of the Punch-Out extension?"
Not for automatic order import outside of Punch-Out; Ply cannot connect directly to online vendor websites or import orders placed on their platforms without either the extension (Option A) or manual entry (Option B).
➡️ FAQs
Do I have to create a PO for online purchases?
It's not required for record-keeping purposes if you're using Punch-Out (which creates the PO for you), but for the manual method, it's strongly recommended so your inventory stays accurate and your purchase history is complete.
Will Ply email the PO to Amazon (or another online vendor)?
No, neither Punch-Out nor the manual method emails a PO to these vendors. The order is placed directly on their website; the PO in Ply is for internal tracking only.
Can I skip the email requirement when adding a vendor manually?
No, but you can use a placeholder email safely; see Step 1 under Option B.
Still need help? Contact Support!
Questions about tracking online purchases in Ply? We're happy to help.