This article covers vendor items and the new vendor item record, a feature currently in beta. To read about the classic vendor item record, click here. 

Vendor item records are essential in automating the AP process.  In order for R365 to automatically import AP invoices and update inventory quantities, vendor Items must be created to represent the relationship between the Purchased Item and the vendor it is purchased from (vendor item record).  

• Purchased Items are the items that are purchased from vendors (not vendor-specific), counted during the inventory count process, and used as ingredients in recipe costing. For full details on the purchased item record, read here.
• Vendor Items are associated directly with a single purchased item and represent the vendor-specific item record for the purposes of automatic AP invoicing.

For all EDI invoice processes, vendor items must be created in the system for successful automatic AP invoice import. Additionally, Vendor Items can be utilized when purchasing items in multiple/differing case packs.

Purchased items are associated with vendor items in a one-to-many relationship. One purchased item can be associated with many vendor items while a vendor item may only be associated with a single purchased item. This relationship is demonstrated below:

Note: The new vendor items form is currently in beta. Please speak to your CSM to learn more! 

To read about the classic vendor item record, click here.

Vendor Item Record Creation

Vendor items can be created using three different methods in R365:

1. Manually
2. Imported via template
3. 'Match Creation' after an AP invoice import

Manual Creation

	First, navigate to Smart Ops. From the left navigation menu, click Items under Food Admin.
	From the Items page, click the +Create button and select Vendor Item from the dropdown. This will open the new vendor item record form as a sidesheet.

Import via Template

Obtain the R365 Inventory Master Template and documentation file and use the template and instructions to populate your vendor item template. Use the Import Tool to import the records. 

The above video walks you through the process of adding and editing vendor items from the R365 Import Tool. While you can easily complete these actions from within a new or existing vendor item record, the Import Tool allows you to create and update items in bulk.

Need to complete some of the prerequisite steps first? Click here to learn how to create Purchased Item records and build out Units of Measure.

Match Creation after AP Invoice Import

Once an AP Invoice has been imported (manually or via EDI) and an unfamiliar vendor item was found on the invoice, the import process will automatically create a new vendor item record with the new vendor item number and vendor.  Before the AP invoice can be approved, these new vendor item records must be matched to the correct Purchased Item record.  They can be matched using the following methods:

1. Missing Items tab of the AP invoice
2. To-do Checklist - Record Setup tab
3. Vendor item list

Smart Ops AP Invoice

To learn more about linking missing items from a Smart Ops AP invoice, click here. 

Classic AP Invoice

To learn more about linking missing items from AP imports in R365's classic experience, click here.

Vendor Item Record

The new vendor item can be broken into two sections:

• General information
• Ordering

General Information

	Field	Description
	Item	Select the Purchased Item that this Vendor Item will reference and update
	Purchase Unit of Measure	Select the Purchasing U of M for this Vendor Item Note: If you purchase this Item from the same Vendor using different casepacks or item numbers, you will need multiple Vendor Items representing the different purchase U of Ms / Item Numbers
	Contract Price	The current expected price of the Vendor Item used for Purchase Orders and Vendor Contract Price Verification.  Note: The current Contract Price will replace the 'Previous Price' each time the 'Contract Price' is updated
	Contract Expiration	Enter the Contract Expiration Date for the Vendor Item.  Used in Vendor Contract Price Verification.
	Vendor Item #	Enter the Item number for the Vendor Item as it appears on the Vendor Order Guide and on Vendor Invoices. This will be used as the lookup value during imports Note: If you purchase this Item from the same Vendor using different casepacks or item numbers, you will need multiple Vendor Items representing the different purchase U of Ms / Item Numbers
	Vendor Pack Size Description	The pack size name provided by the Vendor on Order Guides. This column is for reference only.
	Primary	Check this box to mark this item as a primary item, which can then filter and regulate purchase orders based on that setting. This checkbox also exists in the purchased item record on the Vendor Items tab, as shown below.
	Vendor	Select the Vendor record that this Vendor Item is purchased from. You can have multiple Vendor Items that are from the same Vendor for the same Item
	Split Unit of Measure	Select the split unit of measure for the item.  Click here for more information on Split U of Ms.
	Split Contract Price	The Split Contract Price for the Vendor Item that is used in Vendor Contract Price Verification.
	Acceptable Variance %	The threshold of variance % between the Contract Price and the Actual Price found on AP Invoices that is acceptable. Used in Vendor Contract Price Verification.
	Vendor Item Name	Enter the vendor item name as it appears on the vendor order guide / vendor invoices.  Used for reference only.
	Brand Item #	The identifying number given to the item. This field will only have a number when the vendor utilizes brand item numbers.

Ordering

The fields in this section are updated based on the source indicated in the Price Source field. 

	Field	Description
	Price	The order price. The price of the item will display only when there is no Contract Price available for the vendor item. This price is used for an order when the Purchase Unit of Measure is selected for the item. This field is read-only for all users except those with the Edit Vendor Items permission.
	Split Price	The split price of the item.  This price is used for an order when the Split Unit of Measure is selected for the item.
	Effective Date	The date that the 'Contract Price' will be active for the Vendor Item When the Contract Price is manually changed, either through the Vendor Item grid or Import Tool, the Effective Date will reflect the date of the update. When the Contract Price is imported via an Order Guides Vendor Integration, the Effective Date will match the 'Effective Date' on the imported Order Guide.
	Previous Price	The previous price of the item. This field is read-only.
	Previous Split Price	The previous split price of the item. This field is read-only.
	Price Source	Indicates which method was used to update the Contract Price: Invoice - The Vendor Item was created automatically as part of an EDI AP Invoice Import, and the Contract Price was set to the price on the Invoice. User - Contract Price was updated manually by a User on the Vendor Item grid Order Guide - Contract Price was updated via an Order Guide Vendor Integration Manual Import - Contract Price was updated via the Import tool

Vendor Item Record Deletion

Once Vendor Item records are created and utilized in the system, they should not be deleted. Rather, if this is a new Vendor Item that is unmapped, then follow these instructions to map the Vendor Item.