Terms and Definitions
The Wholesale Lead Time refers to the length of time between when a Purchase Order is created and when the item arrives in your shop. Customer Padding refers to the number of days that you would like added to the Wholesale Lead Time when displaying the Estimated Arrival Date to the customer.
Estimated Arrival Time = Wholesale Lead Time + Customer Padding
The Lead Time will only be applied on a Special Order, as this is the only transaction type in BridalLive with items that are being ordered with the vendor. Lead Time will only be prompted on Special Orders for Inventory Items and Rental Items. Any Non-Inventory Items and Service Items will not be prompted to select a Lead Time.
Adding a Lead Time
Lead times are added to a Vendor and are specified by the Department. To add a Lead Time, follow the steps below.
- Navigate to Inventory Search Vendors.
- Click Edit to the right of the Vendor that you would like to add a Lead Time for.
- Choose Lead Times from Vendor menu options
- Click the Add Lead Time button
You will then be presented with the screen below.
Adding a Lead Time to a Vendor
Enter the details for your Lead Time
- Name - the name for your Lead Time (i.e. Standard Shipping, Rush, Super Rush, etc).
- Department - select the Department that you want this Lead Time to apply to when it is added to a Special Order. Lead Time will only be applied to Inventory items and Rental items in BridalLive. By selecting the Bridal Gown department, BridalLive will automatically show the Lead Time popup when a Bridal Gown is added to a Special Order.
- Wholesale Lead Time (weeks) - Specify the number of weeks it generally takes from when a Purchase Order is created to when it arrives in your shop
- Customer Padding (days) - Specify the number of days that you would like added to the Wholesale Lead Time when displaying the Estimated Arrival Date to the customer
- Add-On Item (Optional) - BridalLive can automatically add an item to the Special Order when lead time is applied to an item. This allows you to charge a customer for Rush shipping. If you do not add an item here, BridalLive will add the estimated arrival date without adding an item to the Special Order. See the instructions below for Add On Item best practices
Creating the Add-On Item
When a lead time is applied to an Item on a Special Order, BridalLive can automatically add an item to the Special Order that represents the charge for this item. This is especially helpful when it comes to Rush Shipping. Follow the steps below for creating an Add-On Item.
- Item Name - name the item something obvious like "Rush Shipping". This is displayed on the Special Order.
- Department - Fees/Extra Charges or a similar Department
- Vendor - this must be the same vendor you are currently working on to be able to place on the same Purchase Order with the items from the same vendor. BridalLive automatically populates this for you.
- Color, Accent Color & Size - Leave Blank or N/A.
- Item Type - Non-Inventory
- Tax Code - If you charge tax for this item, specify the tax code, otherwise use No Tax
- On Hand Qty - this will be 0 as this is not a tangible item
- Retail Price - the amount you will charge the customer for this item
- Order Cost - the amount the vendor charges you for this item
- Inventory Cost - the amount the vendor charges you for this item
How does Lead Time work?
Once you have your Lead Time setup for your Vendor, when you add an Inventory Item or Rental Item to a Special Order from the specified Department on the Lead Time, BridalLive will prompt you to select a Lead Time. The Estimated Arrival Date will be calculated from the current date.
In the example below, a Lead Time was created for the vendor Carrafina on the Department Bridal Gown. When a Carrafina Bridal Gown is added to the Special Order, Carrafina's Lead Times will now be displayed to select the best option. *The Lead Times displayed below are examples and do not reflect the actual Lead Time for Carrafina gowns.
Prompt to apply Lead Time on Special Order
When a Lead Time is selected, BridalLive will calculate the appropriate Estimated Arrival Date to display on the Special Order. The Est. Arrival Date will be displayed on the Special Order Screen, receipts and within the Client Portal.
Estimated Arrival Date displayed on Special Order
Estimated Arrival Date displayed on printed receipt
Estimated Arrival Date displayed on the emailed receipt