> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://learn.moselle.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://learn.moselle.io/operations/suppliers/supplier-types.md).

# Supplier Types

Set supplier types in Moselle — finished goods suppliers, turnkey manufacturers, consignment manufacturers — and track the stock held at a supplier's facility.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Quick Answer:** When you add a supplier, answer a few guided questions — whether they manufacture your product, who sources the components, and whether you track stock at their facility — to land on **Finished goods supplier**, **Turnkey manufacturer**, or **Consignment manufacturer**. Manufacturers can also hold your stock: track inventory and either create a new warehouse named after them or link one you already have, so stock at their facility is visible in planning. Takes about 2 minutes.
{% endhint %}

## What Are Supplier Types?

**A supplier type is** the answer to "what does this vendor actually do for us" — do they sell you finished product, or do they make it? Moselle works this out through a short set of guided questions when you add or edit a supplier, and uses the answer to decide how that supplier's lead times work and whether they can hold your stock.

| Type                         | Use it when                                                                                                           | What it changes                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Finished goods supplier**  | A straight purchase — they sell you ready-made product                                                                | The connection carries one lead time (transfer). Drawn on the Supply Chain canvas as a **Purchase** line                                                                                                                 |
| **Turnkey manufacturer**     | They make your product and handle all the inputs themselves — you just place the PO                                   | The connection carries a **production** lead time *and* a transfer lead time, added together into the total lead time used in planning. Drawn as a **Production** line. Inventory tracking at their facility is optional |
| **Consignment manufacturer** | They make your product from components you supply — your inputs have to be at their facility before production starts | Same production + transfer lead times as turnkey. Inventory tracking at their facility is **required**, so Moselle knows what's already sitting there                                                                    |

{% hint style="info" %}
**"Consignment manufacturer" is not the same as consignment inventory.** Consignment inventory means your stock sits with a customer or retailer. A consignment manufacturer is the reverse: *your* components sit at *their* factory, waiting to be built.
{% endhint %}

Suppliers you created before this question existed read as **Finished goods supplier** until you change them, so nothing you already set up moves on its own.

## Set the Type When You Add a Supplier

**Time Required:** 2 minutes\
**Difficulty:** Beginner

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Open the Add supplier dialog

Click **Suppliers** in the left sidebar, then **Add Supplier** in the top right.

You can also do this from the **Supply Chain** canvas (**Operations > Inventory > Supply Chain**): click the **+** on the **Suppliers** heading in the left-hand tray. It's the same dialog, and the new supplier appears in the tray ready to drag onto the canvas.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Enter the supplier's details

Fill in **Name**, **Country**, and **Currency**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Answer the guided questions

Start with **Do they manufacture your products?** Answer **No, we buy finished goods** and you're done — this resolves to **Finished goods supplier**. Answer **Yes, they make product for us** and you're asked **Who supplies the components they build with?** — pick **We do, our components go to their facility** to resolve straight to **Consignment manufacturer**, or **The supplier, they source their own components** to continue toward **Turnkey manufacturer**.

**Expected Result:** The dialog shows your resolved supplier type as soon as your answers determine it, and continuing toward a manufacturing type leads to a follow-up question about inventory at their facility.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Answer the inventory question

* **Turnkey manufacturer** — choose **Yes — track stock sitting at this supplier** or **No — their stock is a black box**.
* **Consignment manufacturer** — tracking is mandatory and set up for you; there's nothing to choose.

Choosing **Yes** (or landing on a consignment pick) asks one more question: **How do you want to track their inventory?** Choose **Create a new warehouse** to have Moselle create one named after the supplier, or **Link to an existing warehouse** to pair the supplier with a warehouse you already have — its stock and history become this supplier's facility.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Save

Click **Save changes**. You land on the Supplier Details page, where you can add contact details, preference ranking, and notes.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Track Inventory at a Supplier's Facility

Some facilities are both a supplier and a place your stock physically sits — a co-packer that assembles your product and holds finished goods for a few weeks before they ship on. Turning on inventory tracking lets Moselle record both facts about the same facility, so you can raise purchase orders against it **and** see the stock standing in it.

Once tracking is on:

* Depending on which option you chose, either a new warehouse named after the supplier appears in your warehouse list, or the existing warehouse you picked becomes linked to the supplier — either way, its stock shows up in inventory like any other location.
* The supplier's card on the Supply Chain canvas shows **Inventory tracked at \[warehouse]**.
* Component vendors can be connected into that manufacturer on the canvas (see below).

**Keeping those levels current:** the supplier warehouse isn't fed by an integration, so you update it the way you'd update any Moselle-managed warehouse — upload a snapshot from the warehouse's **Stock Levels** tab, or ask Mo to do it for you.

{% content-ref url="/pages/kwz42KRZ3r6QG3PqvnnS" %}
[Update Inventory with Mo](/operations/inventory/update-inventory-with-mo.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**A supplier and a warehouse pair up exclusively.** One warehouse per supplier, one supplier per warehouse. A region's backing location can't be used either — a forecasting group isn't a facility.
{% endhint %}

## Change a Supplier's Type Later

The same question is editable after creation, from the Supply Chain canvas:

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Open the supplier's card

Go to **Operations > Inventory > Supply Chain** and click the supplier's node on the canvas.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Change the answers

Walk back through the same guided questions — switching between the two manufacturing types, or switching a finished goods supplier into a manufacturer, applies immediately.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Confirm if you're switching back to finished goods

Moselle asks **"Switch to finished goods?"** and tells you how many connections carry production lead times. Switching **erases those production lead times** — transfer lead times and order terms (minimums, multiples, maximums) are kept. Click **Switch & erase** to go ahead, or **Cancel**.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="info" %}
Turning inventory tracking **off** is not the reverse of turning it on. The linked warehouse stays, because it may already hold stock and carry connections. If you genuinely don't want it, archive the warehouse.
{% endhint %}

## Connect Component Vendors to a Manufacturer

When you supply the inputs, the vendors who make those inputs deliver straight to the factory rather than to you. On the Supply Chain canvas you can draw that: drag a connection from the component vendor to the manufacturer.

This is only allowed when the receiving supplier is a **manufacturer that tracks inventory at its facility** — otherwise Moselle has no way to know what components are already sitting there. If the receiver doesn't qualify, the drop is refused with a message telling you what to change:

> \[Supplier] can't receive components yet — mark it as a manufacturer and track inventory at its facility first (select the card to set both).

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Which type should I choose for a co-packer?

**Answer:** If they buy their own raw materials and hand you finished product, choose **Turnkey manufacturer**. If you send them components to assemble, choose **Consignment manufacturer**.

### Does the supplier type change my lead times?

**Answer:** It changes how they're entered. A finished goods supplier has a single transfer lead time. A manufacturer has a production lead time plus a transfer lead time, and planning uses the two added together as the total time from ordering to available.

### Can two suppliers share the same warehouse?

**Answer:** No. The pairing is exclusive in both directions — one warehouse per supplier, and one supplier per warehouse.

### Do I have to answer this for suppliers I already created?

**Answer:** No. Existing suppliers read as **Finished goods supplier**, which is right for most vendors. Change only the ones that manufacture for you.

### Where does the supplier's warehouse get its name?

**Answer:** It depends on how you set up tracking. Choose **Create a new warehouse** and it's created with the supplier's own name, because that's what the facility is called in practice. Choose **Link to an existing warehouse** and it keeps the name it already had.

## Troubleshooting Common Issues

| Problem                                                         | Solution                                                                                                                                   | Time to Fix |
| --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------- |
| A component vendor won't connect to a manufacturer              | Select the manufacturer's card, set it to a manufacturing type, and turn on inventory tracking at its facility                             | 1 minute    |
| Stock at the supplier's facility reads zero                     | Its warehouse has no snapshot yet — open the warehouse's **Stock Levels** tab and upload one, or ask Mo                                    | 5 minutes   |
| The warehouse I want to link isn't accepted                     | It's already paired with another supplier, or it's a region's backing location. Pick a different warehouse                                 | 2 minutes   |
| Production lead times disappeared from a supplier's connections | The supplier was switched back to **Finished goods supplier**, which erases them. Switch it back to a manufacturing type and re-enter them | 5 minutes   |

## Related Guides

{% content-ref url="/pages/kbxKrHke9edm4UH5Ttnl" %}
[Add a Supplier](/operations/suppliers/add-a-supplier.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/fjQL5Ho3uiOxopJxw9pB" %}
[Supply Chain Network](/operations/inventory/supply-chain-network.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}