Not all purchasing is one-off. Some is an arrangement with a vendor that spans time. Purchase agreements and blanket orders handle that. This piece is about them in Odoo.
Purchasing over time, not just one-off
Sometimes a business's purchasing from a vendor is not a single, one-off order but an ongoing arrangement: the business expects to buy a certain thing, or a certain amount, from a vendor over a period, drawing on the arrangement as needed. A blanket order is exactly this kind of arrangement: a standing arrangement with a vendor, often for an agreed quantity at agreed terms over a period, from which the business draws actual orders as it needs them. The blanket order is the arrangement; the actual orders against it are the draws.
What purchase agreements and blanket orders do
Odoo supports purchase agreements, including blanket orders, which handle this kind of arrangement-based purchasing. The arrangement is set up, the agreed terms with the vendor over the period, and then the business places its actual orders against it as its needs arise, with those orders drawing on the agreement. Rather than each purchase being negotiated and placed entirely afresh, the arrangement establishes the terms, and the individual orders against it are quicker and consistent with the agreed arrangement.
Why arrangement-based purchasing helps
Purchase agreements and blanket orders help where a business has a genuine ongoing purchasing relationship with a vendor for something. They mean the terms are agreed once, in the arrangement, rather than re-negotiated for every order, which saves effort and gives consistency, the orders against the arrangement are on the agreed terms. They can give the business the benefit of an agreed arrangement, such as agreed pricing for the period, which an arrangement for a larger committed quantity may secure. And they make the ongoing relationship a managed thing: the business can see the arrangement and what has been drawn against it, rather than the relationship being a scatter of separate orders.
When arrangement-based purchasing fits
An honest note on when this fits. Purchase agreements and blanket orders are worth using where there is a genuine ongoing purchasing arrangement, where the business genuinely buys a thing from a vendor repeatedly over a period and an agreed arrangement makes sense. For genuinely one-off purchasing, there is no arrangement to set up, and an ordinary purchase order is the right tool. A business should use purchase agreements and blanket orders for the purchasing that is genuinely an ongoing arrangement, and ordinary orders for one-off purchasing.
The takeaway
Purchase agreements and blanket orders in Odoo handle purchasing that is an ongoing arrangement with a vendor rather than a one-off order. A blanket order is a standing arrangement, often for an agreed quantity at agreed terms over a period, from which the business draws actual orders as needed. This helps where there is a genuine ongoing purchasing relationship: the terms are agreed once, the orders against the arrangement are quicker and consistent, and the relationship is a managed thing. Use it for genuine ongoing arrangements, and ordinary orders for one-off purchasing. For how we approach Odoo, see our ERP practice.