Purchase Order reports help you manage vendor relationships, track procurement costs, analyze supplier performance, and optimize inventory purchasing decisions. This guide covers all 5 purchase order reports available in Pulse Commerce, explaining what each report does, when to use it, and the key business decisions it supports.
Purchase Order Analysis Report
Navigation: Reports > Purchase Order Analysis
The Purchase Order Analysis report provides comprehensive visibility into vendor purchase orders, tracking the complete lifecycle from order creation through payment completion. This report centralizes all purchase order data including vendor details, financial information, shipping logistics, and status tracking to give merchants complete control over their supplier relationships and procurement processes.
Key columns: PO #, Vendor Name, Vendor Rep, PO Date, Date Required, Cancel By Date, PO Total, PO Tax, Shipping & Handling, Total Amount Paid, Total Amount Due, Payment Terms, Shipping To, Emailed To Vendor, Emailed By, PO Status, Payment Status
When to Use This Report
- Monitor vendor payment obligations - Track amounts paid and due to manage cash flow
- Optimize procurement timing - Analyze PO dates, required dates, and cancel dates
- Evaluate vendor performance - Review vendor reps and payment terms
- Track purchase order communication - Monitor email coordination with vendors
- Analyze procurement costs - Examine totals, taxes, and shipping across vendors
- Manage shipping logistics - Monitor shipping destinations and associated costs
Purchase Order Vendor Summary Report
Navigation: Reports > PO Vendor Summary
The PO Vendor Summary report provides a comprehensive overview of vendor purchasing performance and relationships by aggregating purchase order data across all suppliers. This report gives merchants visibility into their vendor ecosystem, showing both transactional metrics and vendor contact information to support procurement decision-making and supplier relationship management.
Key columns: Vendor Name, Company Name, Account Number, # of Orders, # of Units, Total (spend), Avg. Order Value, Vendor Contact, Vendor Email, Phone, Fax, State
When to Use This Report
- Identify top-performing vendors - Determine which suppliers are most critical to operations
- Evaluate purchasing efficiency - Identify opportunities for order consolidation
- Streamline vendor communications - Access centralized contact information
- Assess vendor relationship balance - Avoid over-dependence on single vendors
- Support procurement planning - Review historical patterns for budgeting
- Manage vendor onboarding - Ensure accurate record-keeping and compliance
Vendor Sales Performance Comparison Report
Navigation: Reports > Vendor Sales Summary
The Vendor Sales Summary report provides a comprehensive performance comparison across all vendors, combining current inventory positions with sales performance metrics and profitability analysis. This report enables merchants to evaluate which suppliers are driving the most value for their business through both inventory investment and sales results.
Key columns: Vendor Name, Qty. On Hand, Cost of Inventory On Hand, Qty. Sold, Cost of Inventory Sold, Gross Sales, Gross Profit, Gross Profit %
When to Use This Report
- Optimize vendor relationships - Focus on most profitable partnerships
- Make informed reordering decisions - Balance stock levels with sales velocity
- Negotiate better terms - Use performance data as leverage
- Identify underperforming investments - Review vendors with high stock but low sales
- Streamline vendor portfolio - Pinpoint suppliers with minimal activity
- Plan inventory budgets - Understand ROI by vendor
Purchase Order Item Summary Report
Navigation: Reports > PO Item Summary
The PO Item Summary report provides a comprehensive view of product-level purchase order activity, showing which items are being reordered from vendors and their associated costs. This report aggregates purchase order data by individual SKU to reveal ordering patterns, vendor relationships, and cost trends across your product catalog.
Key columns: SKU, Product Name, # of Orders, # of Units, Avg. Cost, Preferred Vendor, Preferred Vendor SKU, Product Type, Preferred Location
When to Use This Report
- Identify top products for procurement - Determine which SKUs need priority vendor negotiations
- Analyze vendor relationships - Assess vendor concentration risks
- Monitor product cost trends - Spot price increases early
- Optimize inventory allocation - Ensure high-demand items route to efficient fulfillment centers
- Evaluate product category performance - Compare ordering patterns across categories
- Streamline vendor catalog management - Maintain accurate vendor part number mapping
Vendor Product Sales Performance Report
Navigation: Reports > Product Sales Summary
The Product Sales Summary report provides a comprehensive view of product performance by vendor, combining sales history with current inventory status and profitability metrics. It enables merchants to evaluate how individual SKUs are performing across sales velocity, inventory management, and profit margins within specific date ranges.
Key columns: Vendor Name, SKU, Product Name, Total Sold, 30 Days, 60 Days, 90 Days, Qty. On Hand, Qty. On Order, Cost, Sale Price, Gross Profit %, Last Sold Date, Last Received Date, Last Adjustment Date, Last Adjustment Quantity
When to Use This Report
- Optimize vendor relationships - Identify suppliers with best-selling, high-margin products
- Identify slow-moving inventory - Reduce carrying costs and free warehouse space
- Plan purchase orders strategically - Use 30/60/90-day velocity with current stock
- Assess product profitability - Focus on high-margin items for marketing
- Monitor inventory aging - Identify products needing markdowns or discontinuation
- Track inventory adjustments - Spot products requiring frequent corrections
Scenario: Quarterly Vendor Review
Goal: Evaluate vendor performance and identify opportunities for better terms or vendor consolidation.
1Run PO Vendor Summary for the previous calendar quarter
2Sort by Total spend (descending) to identify top vendors
3Run Vendor Sales Performance Comparison for the same period
4Compare Gross Profit % across vendors to identify most profitable partnerships
5Create custom report grouping vendors by performance tier (high-value, profitable, underperforming)
Scenario: Identifying Cost Increases
Goal: Spot products with rising costs that may need pricing adjustments.
1Run PO Item Summary for the last 6 months
2Export to Excel and add a column tracking month-over-month Avg. Cost changes
3Identify SKUs with cost increases exceeding 5%
4Cross-reference with Vendor Product Sales Performance to see if margins are being maintained
5Adjust retail pricing or negotiate with vendors based on findings
Scenario: Accounts Payable Batch Processing
Goal: Generate a list of unpaid purchase orders for batch payment processing.
1Open Purchase Order Analysis report
2Filter for PO Status = "Received" AND Payment Status = "Not Paid"
3Group by Vendor Name to organize payments by supplier
4Add Sum aggregate to Total Amount Due column to see total owed per vendor
5Export to Excel for accounts payable processing or create custom report for recurring use
Video Tutorial: Purchase Order Analysis Report
Essential Reading:
- Understanding Reports in Pulse Commerce - Report types, update frequencies, and export formats
- Working with Advanced Reports - Filtering, grouping, aggregating, and column management
- Creating Custom Reports - Save your customizations for recurring analysis
Other Report Guides:
- Inventory Reports Guide - Stock levels, backorders, profitability, and fulfillment
- Purchase Order Reports Guide - Vendor performance, costs, and procurement analysis
- Returns Reports Guide - Return patterns, costs, and customer behavior
Related Workflows:
- Creating and Managing Purchase Orders - Step-by-step guide to the PO workflow