Handling inventory with multiple suppliers means counting all your items on the same day regardless of which supplier delivers them, then splitting your order by supplier. The count is unified. The orders are separate. One weekly count covers everything. The ordering decision is per supplier based on your usage data, not your delivery schedule.
If you run an independent coffee shop, food truck, or small retail store, you probably do not have one weekly truck delivery like a franchise operator. You might have a roaster who delivers Tuesday, a food supplier who comes Thursday, and a Costco run you make yourself on Monday. Three suppliers, three schedules, one stockroom.
You count once. The count covers every item in your stockroom, regardless of which supplier it comes from. The count answers one question: what do I have right now? It does not matter who delivered it or when.
After the count, you split your order by supplier:
| Supplier | Items They Provide | When They Deliver | When You Order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local roaster | Coffee beans, syrups | Tuesday | Monday (day before delivery) |
| Food distributor | Milk, food items, paper goods | Thursday | Wednesday (day before delivery) |
| Costco / wholesale | Disposables, cleaning, misc | When you go | When you go (same day) |
You count everything on Monday morning. From that single count, you know what you have and what you used. Then you place three separate orders on three different days based on that one count.
PAR levels work the same way regardless of how many suppliers you have. Your PAR for each item is based on how much you use between deliveries, not which supplier delivers it.
Example: If you use 6 cases of milk per week and your food distributor delivers weekly, your PAR for milk is 8 cases (6 for usage plus 2 for safety). The PAR calculation does not change. What changes is when you place each order.
The key insight: the count is the data foundation. The orders are decisions made from that data. You can make those decisions on different days for different suppliers without recounting.
Your weekly count calculates usage for every item regardless of supplier. If you counted 8 cases of milk last Monday and 2 cases this Monday, your usage was 6 cases. It does not matter whether the milk came from Sysco or Restaurant Depot. The usage is the same: 6 cases per week.
TrackItWeekly handles this automatically. Your item list includes all items from all suppliers. The weekly count covers everything. Usage averages are calculated per item, not per supplier. When you need to place an order, you filter by supplier or category to see only the items that supplier provides.
Some operators buy the same item from different sources depending on price or availability. In your inventory system, track the item once: "16oz Cold Cups." The count reflects what you have regardless of where it came from. The usage reflects how many you used regardless of which supplier provided them. You decide where to buy based on price, convenience, and availability at order time.
Organize your item list by category, not by supplier. This way, when you walk the stockroom, you count in physical order (where things are on shelves), not in supplier order. After the count, you can filter by supplier to place separate orders.
| Organize By | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Category (recommended) | Matches stockroom layout, count is faster | Need to filter by supplier when ordering |
| Supplier | Easy to see what each supplier provides | Does not match shelf layout, count is slower |
| Alphabetical | Easy to find specific items | Worst of both worlds for counting and ordering |
TrackItWeekly lets you organize items by category and then filter by supplier when placing orders.
If you are juggling multiple suppliers and want one weekly count that covers everything, TrackItWeekly handles it. Set up your item list organized by category, count everything on the same day, and place separate orders for each supplier based on the same count data.
Start your free trial at app.trackitweekly.com/register. No credit card required.
Count all items on the same day regardless of supplier. The count answers what you have right now. After the count, split your orders by supplier based on their delivery schedules.
No. Counting once covers every item from every supplier. You then use that data to place separate orders with each supplier.
Set PAR based on the delivery gap for each item. If a supplier delivers weekly, PAR covers 7 days of usage. If you buy something every 2 weeks, PAR covers 14 days.
Organize by category. It matches how you physically walk the stockroom, making the count faster. When ordering, filter by supplier.
Track the item once. The count and usage reflect the item regardless of source. You decide where to buy based on price and availability at order time.