A supplier is a company you buy parts from. Purchase orders reference a supplier, and supplier part numbers connect a supplier’s SKU, units, and cost to a part in your Parts Library.

## Create a supplier

1. In ION, go to **Supply Chain > Suppliers**.
2. Click **Create Supplier**.
3. Enter a **Name**. This field is required.
4. Optional: Fill in **Contact Name**, **Email**, **Phone**, **Address**, and **Description**.
5. Click **Create Supplier**.

The new supplier appears in the table and is available to pick on purchase orders.

To create or update many suppliers at once from a CSV file, use the Suppliers importer. See [Supplier imports](https://docs.firstresonance.io/administration/ion-importers/suppliers).

## Edit a supplier

1. In ION, go to **Supply Chain > Suppliers**. Use the search box to filter by supplier, contact, email, or phone.
2. Click into the **Contact**, **Email**, **Phone**, **Address**, or **Description** cell and type. ION saves the change automatically.

If your org has added custom attributes to suppliers, they show as extra columns in the table by default, and you edit them the same way. See [Custom attributes](https://docs.firstresonance.io/administration/custom-attributes).

## View a supplier’s related records

The Suppliers table shows counts that open a summary when you click them:

- **Supplier Parts**: the supplier part numbers linked to this supplier, listed by **Part Number** and **Cost**. Click a row to open the part in the Parts Library.
- **Purchase Orders**: the purchase orders placed with this supplier.
- **Parts Inventories**: the inventory received from this supplier.

Clicking a supplier’s name shows its contact details: **Description**, **Address**, **Phone**, **Contact**, and **Email**.

## Add a supplier part number

A supplier part number links a part to a specific supplier’s SKU, and carries the supplier’s unit of measure and conversion factor. You add it from the part, not from the Suppliers page.

1. In ION, open the part in the **Parts Library**.
2. Open the **Suppliers** card on the part.
3. Click **Add Supplier Part**.
4. In the **Create Supplier Part** dialog, fill in:
   - **Select Supplier**: pick the supplier. This field is required.
   - **Supplier Part Number**: the supplier’s SKU. This field is required.
   - **Supplier Part Units**: the unit the supplier ships in, such as Reel, Drum, or Each. This field is required.
   - **Unit of Measure Conversion Factor**: how many of the part’s stock units are in one supplier unit. This field is required.
5. Click **Save**.

The **Suppliers** card lists each entry by **Supplier**, **Supplier Part #**, **Supplier UoM**, and **Conversion (to part UoM)**, where you can edit the units and factor inline or delete an entry. For how the conversion flows through purchasing, receiving, and inventory, see [Unit of measure conversions](https://docs.firstresonance.io/manage-supply-chain/purchasing/unit-of-measure-conversions).