Supplier Account Number Coding Convention

Within the Purchasing module, you are required to maintain a database of your Suppliers to which you relate a number of Product references from the database of Products (IM13) that a supplier can supply you with. To refer to a Supplier in the database, you enter the Supplier Code which is assigned as the Supplier's record is created in PO11. To support the integration between the Purchasing system and the Accounts Payable system, and Accounts Payable Vendor record for each Supplier must already exist in Maintain Vendors (AP13).

A standard method of creating Supplier Codes is recommended. A coding structure that depicts the Supplier's name has the following advantages:

  • The Code automatically sorts the Suppliers into alphabetical sequence, therefore no sorting is required for Supplier listings or Purchasing reports.

  • Input does not have to be pre-coded with the Supplier Code. You can determine the Code from the Supplier's name and/or address.

  • When a Supplier inquiry is made, you can quickly determine the Supplier Code by knowing the name and address, thus retrieving the Supplier information without looking up the Supplier Code on a master list.

Coding Structure Rules

The rules used to achieve this Coding structure are:

  1. If the Company has only one word or a series of letters for its name, use the first 6 characters for the Supplier Code. For example:

    • The Code for XEROX is XEROX
    • The Code for PointForce is POINTF

  2. If the Company has more than one word in its name, use the first 3 characters of the first name and the first 3 characters of the second name for the Supplier Code. For example:

    • The Code for Texas Instruments is TEXINS

    Duplicate Supplier Codes can be generated when first assigning Codes. If this happens, use the first 3 characters of the first name and the first 3 characters of the street address. For example:

    • The Code for Texas Institute, 103 Queen St. is TEX103

  3. If the Company has a proper name, use the first 3 characters of the last name and the first 3 characters of the first name. For example:

    • The Code for Robert Simpson Co. is SIMROB

  4. If the Company has a chain of stores, use the first 3 characters of the first name and the store number (if available) or the first 3 numbers of the street address. For example:

    • The Code for Eaton store 108 is EAT108

    If the store numbers are 4 characters, use the first 2 characters of the name and then the store number.