5 Common Purchase Order Mistakes in Home Furnishings Retail
Few situations are more damaging than discovering a best-selling item is unexpectedly backordered due to a purchase order error. Purchase order mistakes can delay deliveries, disrupt operations, and erode profitability. The good news is, these problems are preventable with technology built specifically for the complexities of selling furniture, bedding, appliances, and other home goods. STORIS delivers a better solution with furniture-focused workflows, specialized templates, and deep integrations across merchandising, procurement, and receiving. Here are five common purchase order mistakes—and how STORIS helps prevent them.
1. Incomplete or Incorrect Supplier Information
What goes wrong: Missing vendor pricing, terms, contact info, or communication channels can delay or misplace orders—especially for special orders or custom items.
Why it matters: With suppliers facing inventory pressure and pricing volatility, miscommunication can lead to backorders, extra freight charges, or lost discounts.
STORIS solution:
Automated supplier profiles in STORIS standardize purchase orders. Predefined templates, vendor pricing tiers, and purchase term tracking ensure accuracy from the start. Retailers with complex special-order programs benefit from vendor-level customization and auto-generated POs tied to specific customization templates.
2. Mistakes in Product Quantities or Item Details
Typical issue: Typos, mis-calculated quantities, or incorrect SKUs lead to overstock or understock—both of which hit profitability hard.
Industry context: Excess inventory is costly—case studies show home goods can lose value over time and tie up working capital unnecessarily.
STORIS solution:
STORIS’s purchasing module built for home furnishings flags unusual order quantities and verifies detailed SKUs—particularly critical for custom or special-order items. Generic SKU logic and automated replenishment reduce manual order-entry errors and optimize inventory levels. Backed by historical performance data and reorder points, retailers can anticipate demand accurately.
STORIS Delivers a Better Solution
3. Ambiguous or Incorrect Delivery Instructions
Challenge: Furniture is bulky and requires precise handling. Missing dock information, handling notes, or shipping method selections can result in damaged goods or late deliveries.
Why this happens: Different warehouses, destinations, and item types may require unique delivery scenarios, especially when coordinating stock versus special shipments.
STORIS solution:
STORIS embeds shipping addresses, handling instructions, and logistics details directly into the PO. Delivery expectations sync with fulfillment tools and mobile POS, ensuring uniform understanding across teams and carriers—streamlining the path from vendor to customer door.
4. Poorly Managed Vendor Lead Times
Problem: Lead times in home furnishings vary widely—especially for appliances, outdoor furnishings, mattresses, and custom pieces. Inaccurate lead-time tracking can result in inventory gaps, missed sales, or purchasing products too late for peak demand seasons. These miscalculations not only leave customers waiting but can also tie up capital in stock that no longer aligns with buying trends.
Industry trend: Many furniture suppliers are altering forecasting and shipping schedules in response to tariffs and raw material disruptions. Companies like Rowe and Hooker Furnishings shared how they’ve had to adjust orders midstream due to supplier-side delays—making accurate vendor lead-time tracking more critical than ever.
STORIS solution:
STORIS lets you assign lead times, safety stock rules, and reorder triggers per vendor or item category. Pause-triggered replenishment powered by real-time sales ensures stock stays aligned with actual demand—not outdated forecasts.
5. Lack of Centralized Record-keeping
Pain point: Spreadsheets, emails, and separate systems fragment PO records and vendor communications. This leads to discrepancies in delivery status, invoice reconciliation, and inventory updates.
What the industry says: Inconsistent systems obscure risk and undermine visibility—particularly when inventory value doesn’t align with financial reporting or cost-of-goods assumptions.
STORIS solution:
STORIS consolidates POs, inbound receipt data, supplier communications, and invoice matching within a cloud-based unified system. Advanced workflows—including ASN integration and AP reconciliation—help match vendor invoices to POs accurately, minimizing chargebacks or overpayments. Real-time dashboards help managers monitor procurement spend, order status, and vendor performance in one place.
6. Extra Challenge – Freight and Receiving Oversights
While not always recognized as a “PO mistake,” freight costs and poor receiving discipline compound purchasing errors.
What happens: Receiving errors are one of the biggest drivers of internal loss in home furnishings retail. Misquoted freight rates, undetected freight damage, or incomplete receiving processes can lead to unexpected costs, misplaced inventory, and inaccurate on-hand inventory. Every missed check-in is not just a logistical error—it’s lost margin, lost sales opportunities, and diminished customer trust.
Industry context: Furniture retailers struggle with inventory valuation and aging stock. Efficient receiving processes help safeguard margins, maintain accurate inventory book values, and avoid costly phantom inventory, as highlighted by a recent Furniture Today article.
STORIS solution:
STORIS includes tools for factoring freight into PO costing, enabling better margin visibility and cost tracking. A warehouse management system with barcode scanning—integrated into the receiving workflow—helps detect discrepancies early and validate deliveries accurately.
Case in Point – How STORIS Users Benefit
At Seldens Designer Home Furnishings, STORIS eliminated manual PO workflows. Orders now email vendors directly, and receiving logs immediately flag missing items. This streamlined fulfillment has cut turnaround time and improved order accuracy—even when combining stock and special orders in the same transaction.
No More Purchase Order Mistakes
Effective merchandising and purchasing are the backbone of successful home furnishings retail. With every SKU priced high, shipped non-standardized, and sometimes customized, purchase order errors are costly. STORIS addresses these pain points with home‑goods‑specific features—supplier templates, SKU-level validation, lead-time forecasting, freight costing, and unified processing.
From independent stores to Top 100 retailers, STORIS gives home furnishings sellers the tools to avoid purchase order mistakes, reduce costs, improve customer service, and boost inventory accuracy. The result is stronger vendor relationships, improved margins, and happier customers who receive exactly what they expect—on time.
See STORIS in action. Request a demo through [email protected], call (888) 478‑6747, or visit www.storis.com to connect with an Account Executive and explore industry-specific purchasing solutions.
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