Manufacturers, Vendors, and Contacts

Every part in your database will be associated with exactly one manufacturer. Every manufacturer is then listed on the linecard of one or more vendors. In this way, each part is available for purchase from these vendors. Aligni maintains this important relationship to help organize quoting and purchasing processes. In most cases, the organization is straightforward and clear. For example, the electronics manufacturer Analog Devices makes parts that are available at vendors (sometimes called distributors) Avnet, Arrow, DigiKey, and Mouser.

Some manufacturers (e.g. Maxim Semiconductor) also provide direct purchasing through their own distribution. In this case, you would create a vendor called Maxim Semiconductor and add the manufacturer to its linecard.

Actions to Complete

Before you can enter parts into your database, you’ll need to setup at least some of the supplier information and relationships.  Begin by starting with the following steps:

1. Create Manufacturers from the Suppliers page. You may add website, address, and phone number data for reference but it is not required. Keep in mind that the more complete your database is, the more useful it will be.
2. Create Vendors from the Suppliers page. As you enter vendors, you can add manufacturers to their linecard. This association is necessary for quoting and purchasing so Aligni knows which parts are available at which vendor(s).
3. Create Contacts from the Contacts page. Contacts are primarily used to email RFQs and Purchase Orders, but contacts do not necessarily have to have a manufacturer or vendor relationship. Any contact that someone using Aligni may find helpful could be entered.