How Orders Enter Your System
Most orders arrive automatically from your retail trading partners as 850 Purchase Order EDI documents. RetailReady receives these documents, translates them from raw EDI format, and displays them in your Orders dashboard.
You can also create orders yourself when needed:
- Manual entry — Click Create Order on the Orders page to enter a purchase order manually. This is useful for phone orders, email orders, or orders from retailers not yet connected via EDI.
- CSV import — Click Import CSV to bulk-import multiple orders from a spreadsheet. Rows with the same PO number are automatically grouped into a single order.
When a new order arrives (by any method), you'll see it listed with a status of "New" — meaning it's been received but you haven't taken action on it yet.
What's Inside a Purchase Order?
Every purchase order contains several key pieces of information:
- PO Number — The retailer's purchase order number. This is the retailer's reference for the order and must appear on every document you send back (acknowledgments, ASNs, invoices). Never lose track of this number.
- Order Date — When the retailer created the purchase order.
- Required Delivery Date — Also called the "Must Arrive By Date" (MABD). This is the deadline for your shipment to arrive at the retailer's facility. Missing this date can result in chargebacks.
- Cancel Date — The date after which the retailer may cancel the order entirely if it hasn't been shipped. Take this seriously.
- Ship-To Address — The warehouse, distribution center, or store where the products should be delivered. This is set by the retailer and should not be changed.
- Line Items — The actual products being ordered. Each line includes the retailer's item number, your UPC or SKU, a description, the quantity ordered, and the unit price.
PO Number vs. Internal Order ID
RetailReady assigns its own internal order ID to each order, which you can see in the page URL. The order detail page always displays the retailer's PO number prominently in the header.
When communicating with the retailer, always use their PO number — it is the universal reference that appears on every EDI document. Within RetailReady, you can search by either PO number or internal ID.
How Orders Appear in Your Dashboard
Your Orders dashboard shows all orders in a sortable, filterable list. You can filter by:
- Status — See only new orders, shipped orders, or any other status.
- Trading Partner — View orders from a specific retailer.
- Date Range — Find orders from a specific time period.
Each order row shows the PO number, retailer name, order date, status, and total amount at a glance. Click any order to see its full details.
What to Do When an Order Arrives
When you see a new order, here's your checklist:
- Review the line items. Do you have these products in stock? Are the quantities manageable?
- Check the prices. Do they match your trading partner agreement? Price discrepancies should be resolved before acknowledging.
- Check the delivery date. Can you realistically ship in time to meet the MABD?
- Acknowledge the order. Once everything looks good, send your acknowledgment (855) as quickly as possible.