Working out what to reorder is only half the job. The other half is turning those numbers into an order your supplier can actually act on, and getting it to them without friction. Here is how purchase orders fit together in Shopify, and the workflow that keeps it quick.
Group by supplier, not by product
A purchase order is a request to one supplier. So the natural unit is one PO per supplier, containing only the products that supplier stocks, at the costs and terms you have agreed with them.
If your reorder list spans three suppliers, that is three purchase orders, each self-contained and ready to send. Trying to send a single mixed list to everyone just creates confusion and back-and-forth.
What belongs on a purchase order
- The supplier, with their contact and any agreed terms (for example, Net 30).
- Line items: each product, the quantity, and the unit cost.
- Case packs and minimums applied. If the supplier ships in cases of 12, the quantity should round up to a whole number of cases. If they have a minimum order, the PO should meet it.
- A total, so both sides know the value of the order.
- A reference number, so you can match the delivery and invoice back to the order later.
Emailing the PO the right way
The smoothest way to send a PO is by email, with a PDF attached, from an address that replies back to you. That way the supplier gets a document they can file, and when they confirm or ask a question, their reply lands in your inbox like any normal email. No supplier portal, no login, no chasing a message you cannot find.
This matters more than it sounds. The reorder workflow lives or dies on how little friction there is between “I know what to order” and “the order is sent”. Every extra step is a reason to put it off.
Doing it without the typing
Restock Point turns your reorder suggestions into draft purchase orders automatically: one per supplier, with case packs and minimum order quantities already applied. You review the draft, then email it to the supplier with a PDF attached and a reply-to address that routes their response straight back to you. The math behind every quantity is there too, so you can check a number before you commit to it.
It is $29 per month with a 14-day free trial, and installs into your Shopify admin.