Preferred Suppliers lets you pick a default vendor for each material. Once it’s set, Ply uses that supplier automatically when you create a PO or replenish that material, so your team doesn’t have to choose it every time.
➡️ Step 1: Add suppliers to a material
Go to Catalog > Materials and open the material you want to configure.
Click the Prices & Suppliers tab.
Click the arrow (›) next to the material’s row to expand it.
Click + Add Supplier.
Select the supplier and enter their cost.
6. Repeat for every supplier you buy this material from.
➡️ Step 2: Mark a Preferred Supplier
Still in Prices & Suppliers, find the list of suppliers registered for that material.
Click Set as preferred on the supplier you want as the default
You’ll see a Preferred Supplier label next to the selected vendor.
On a phone, Prices & Suppliers is under
➡️ Setting Preferred Suppliers in bulk
If you need to set this up for a lot of materials, you don’t have to open them one by one:
From the Catalog, click the three-dot menu and select Bulk Upload/Update Prices.
Select Update Existing and export the file.
In the Preferred Supplier column, set it on the row of the supplier you want marked as preferred.
Upload the file back.
This only works for materials and suppliers that already exist in Ply. See How to Bulk Upload & Edit Prices and Supplier for the full steps.
➡️ Best practices
✅ Add all your suppliers to the material first, then mark the preferred one.
You can only pick a Preferred Supplier from the suppliers already registered under Prices & Suppliers.
✅ Re-check your Preferred Supplier after a bulk pricing update.
Uploading new supplier costs doesn’t remove the designation, but it’s worth a quick look to confirm the right supplier is still marked.
✅ Keep supplier names consistent.
Duplicate supplier records (for example, “ABC Supply” and “ABC Supply Co”) make it easy to mark the wrong one. If you have duplicates, our team can merge them for you.
➡️ Common issues & fixes
“I don’t see the option to mark a Preferred Supplier.”
Make sure the material has at least one supplier registered under Prices & Suppliers.
“The supplier I need isn’t in the list.”
Add the supplier first under the Suppliers tab, then go back to the material and add it under Prices & Suppliers. See Suppliers.
➡️ Important notes
Preferred Suppliers are set per material.
You can set them one by one from the material page, or in bulk with the Bulk Update Supplier Prices spreadsheet.
You can change the Preferred Supplier anytime from the material’s Prices & Suppliers tab.
If you’re planning to set this up for your entire catalog and would like guidance on the most efficient workflow, feel free to reach out to Support, we’re happy to help.