Importing Suppliers and Purchase Orders with AI
Typing a supplier list, or re-keying a quote you were just emailed, is exactly
the kind of work worth handing to an AI assistant. Share the list or the quote,
and it prepares the paperwork. You get a preview, and nothing is written until
you approve it in the chat.
The AI does the typing. You place the order.
Purchase orders are always created as drafts. The AI never places an
order, never changes a stock level, and never receives a delivery — those are
the actions that commit money or move goods, and in stores that require a
manager's approval, that approval happens in the app. There is no setting that
changes this.
Before you start
Connect an AI tool
Follow Setting up an AI connection
if you haven't already.
Grant the Inventory Import permission
On the approval screen, tick Inventory Import. It is never granted
automatically. See Understanding permissions.
Import your catalog first
A purchase order can only order products you already have. If your catalog is
empty, start with Importing your catalog.
On ChatGPT, tick the import permission
Imports only work if you granted the matching Import permission on the
Fuze Store approval screen when you connected. If you unticked it — or you're
not sure — reconnect and leave it ticked. See
Connecting ChatGPT.
How it works
You share the list or the quote
Send a supplier list, a photo of a quote, a proforma invoice, or a
spreadsheet. Ask the AI to set the suppliers up, or to draft the order.
The AI shows you a preview
It lists the suppliers it would add or update, and each purchase order with
its line items and total. Nothing has been written yet.
You check the costs
Read the quantities and unit costs against the quote. If something's off,
correct it and ask for a new preview. The preview expires after 30
minutes.
It writes, all at once
On approval everything is created in a single batch. If any part fails, the
whole import is rolled back.
You place the order in the app
Open Inventory → Purchase Orders, check the draft, and place it. That's
the moment the order becomes real.
What it can import
| Section | Notes |
|---|---|
| Suppliers | Name, code, email, phone, address, contact person, payment terms, lead time |
| Purchase orders | Supplier, location, expected date, and line items with quantity and unit cost — always draft |
Limits per import: 100 suppliers, 20 purchase orders, 200 lines per
order.
Adding a supplier you already have
If a supplier's name (or code) already exists, that row updates the existing
supplier instead of creating a duplicate. Matching ignores capitalisation.
The update is partial, which matters in practice: a row that only carries a new
phone number changes the phone number and leaves the address, payment terms, and
everything else exactly as someone typed them. You can safely re-share a supplier
list you've already imported.
What it will never do
- It never places a purchase order. Every order is a draft.
- It never adjusts a stock level and never receives a delivery.
- It never runs a stock count.
- It never creates a product. If a line on the quote doesn't match anything
in your catalog, that's an error you'll see in the preview — the AI tells you
rather than inventing a product. - It never guesses a cost. If a figure is unreadable, it asks you.
- It never writes without your approval, and that approval covers only the
one preview you read.
Getting a good result
Order lines match on SKU, barcode, or the exact product name. A quote that uses
your SKUs imports far more cleanly than one using the supplier's own product
names.
- Name the location if the stock goes somewhere other than your default —
otherwise the order is drafted against your default inventory location. - Include the expected delivery date if the quote has one; it saves editing
the draft afterwards. - Do one supplier at a time when working from photos of several quotes.
Troubleshooting
- The AI says it can't write — the Inventory Import permission wasn't
granted, or your role doesn't cover inventory. Reconnect and tick it, or ask a
store owner about your role. - "That feature isn't enabled" — this needs the Inventory add-on. It is
not included in the free trial, so it has to be purchased. - "No product matches…" — the item isn't in your catalog yet. Import or add
it first, then re-preview. - "No inventory location named…" — check the spelling against
Inventory → Locations, or leave the location out to use your default. - The preview expired — previews last 30 minutes. Ask for a new one.
- The order is sitting in Draft — that's correct. Open it in the app and
place it when you're ready.