Supplier constraints and order management
How supplier constraints shape order generation in Flowlity.
Supplier constraints are the rules and limits that govern how orders are generated and structured in Flowlity. They ensure that planned supply orders respect real-world logistics — minimum quantities, delivery schedules, capacity limits, and closure periods.
Constraint types
Constraints are defined per supplier in Suppliers settings and can also be set per product-supplier combination in Products:
Lead time — The number of days between placing an order and receiving delivery. Flowlity uses lead time to calculate when an order must be placed to arrive on time.
Minimum order quantity (MOQ) — The smallest quantity a supplier will accept per order. Orders are rounded up to meet this threshold.
Order multiple — Orders must be placed in multiples of this value (e.g. if the multiple is 50, you can order 50, 100, 150, etc.).
Maximum order quantity — An upper limit per order, if the supplier cannot handle larger shipments.
Full truck quantity — The quantity that fills a truck, shown in the Supply Orders detail panel to help you optimize logistics costs.
Supplier closures
Suppliers can have closure periods — dates when they cannot process or ship orders. When a closure overlaps with a planned order date, Flowlity pushes the order forward to account for the gap.
Closures are managed in the supplier's detail panel under the Site closures tab, or from the Site closures settings page.
How constraints affect planning
The Planning Agent runs daily and takes all supplier constraints into account when generating supply orders:
Timing — Lead time determines the order placement deadline shown in Supply Orders.
Quantity rounding — Planned quantities are adjusted to satisfy MOQ and order multiple rules.
Splitting — If a quantity exceeds the maximum order quantity, the order may be split across multiple deliveries.
Closure shifting — Orders that fall during a supplier closure are moved to the next available date.
These adjusted orders appear in the Planning module as planned supply orders and flow into Supply Orders for validation.
Related pages
Review and validate supply orders — Step-by-step guide to checking constraints and releasing orders.
Suppliers — Where constraints are configured per supplier.
Products — Where product-supplier constraints are set.
Supply Orders — Where orders are reviewed and validated.
Planning — Where planned orders are visible on the chart.
Capacity — Capacity constraints that complement supplier constraints.
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