🧾 Purchase Order (PO) VS. Consignment Automatic Replenishment order
Whether you’re handling automatic replenishment or placing one-off orders from Ferguson, Ply supports both Purchase Orders (POs) and Consignment Automatic Replenishment Order — here’s how to know which one to use.
⚡ Quick Decision Guide
Create Purchase Order (PO) when...
- You’re manually buying items from your Ferguson Catalog in Ply.
- You’re not using a Consigned Inventory model
- You need full control over quantities, costs, and delivery timing
Consignment Automatic Replenishment Order is created for you when…
- You’re using Consigned Inventory or VMI Consignment inventory
- Consignment inventory replenishment will be automatically generated and sent to Ferguson without manual creation.
🔁 Consignment Automatic Replenishment Orders
Ferguson restocks your Consigned Inventory (Vendor Managed Inventory) automatically, based on what materials are removed from your Consigned Inventory location(s).
How It Works
- Ply tracks material usage from your Consigned Inventory location(s)
- Once per day, Ply generates a Consignment Purchase Order for the used items
- That Consignment Purchase Order is automatically sent to Ferguson’s Trilogy system
- Ferguson processes the order and replenishes your inventory. Once the Consignment Purchase Order is sent to Ferguson, you’ll also be able to see it in the PO Tracker. The tracker will show indicators to help distinguish POs vs. Consignment Order.
Consignment Automatic Replenishment Order Details
- Triggered by: Material usage from a Consigned Inventory location
- Created by: Ply (automated)
- Purpose: Replenish used Consigned Inventory stock
- Frequency: Once per day (daily summary of all usage)
- Vendor: Always Ferguson
- Editable?: No — generated automatically and sent as-is
🛒 Purchase Orders (Manual Ordering)
If you're not using Consigned Inventory — or need to place an order for something outside your managed inventory — use a Purchase Order (PO).
You can create a PO from:
- Your Catalog
- A Field Request
- A Critical Items List
- Or even manually from the Purchasing > POs tab
PO Details
- Triggered by: Manual creation
- Created by: You or your team
- Purpose: Purchase non-Consigned Inventory items (or add stock)
- Vendor: Ferguson - Integrated
- Editable?: Yes — before sending, you can adjust quantities, dates, pricing, and more. After it’s sent to Ferguson, it becomes fixed and can no longer be edited.
💡 Summary
Feature | Purchase Order (PO) | Consignment Automatic Replenishment Order |
Use Case | Non-Consigned Inventory purchasing | Consigned Inventory usage |
Created By | Manually (user) | System Automatically (Ply) |
Triggers | Manual order creation | Material usage |
Sent To | Any vendor (incl. Ferguson) | Ferguson Trilogie |
Frequency | As needed | Daily |
Editable | Yes | No |
🛠️ If Something Doesn’t Look Right
If you're seeing issues with orders not going through, unexpected pricing, or Consigned Inventory replenishments not triggering, here’s what to do:
- Take a screenshot of the issue
- Note the material name(s) and the approximate time it happened
- Contact Ply Support in your account or email support@getply.com and share those details
This helps us quickly investigate with Ferguson and make sure everything’s running smoothly.
❓Need Help Deciding?
If you’re not sure which workflow is right for your business, feel free to reach out to your Customer Success Manager or email support@getply.com. We’re happy to help you optimize your purchasing and Consigned Inventory setup!