Route defects to supplier

A defect doesn’t disappear — it gets routed. Once step 4 of the return wizard sends a unit to with supplier (or holds it for inspection), the unit lands in the Defect Inventory queue with its own lifecycle: pending → with supplier → resolved.

Updated 4 May 2026·For v1.6.100·5 min read 🐞 #40 · v1.6.100

returns · defect inventory queue

The defect inventory list

Open Returns → Defect Inventory to see every unit that step 3 of the wizard tagged as Defect. Four summary tiles sit across the top — total items, pending, with supplier, resolved — so you know at a glance how much work is queued.

The list itself shows one row per defect unit with these columns:

• Product — name, with chips for serialised units and batch numbers.
• Quantity — 1 for serials, the original return quantity for batched / quantity-tracked lines.
• Reason — the defect notes captured at step 4 (or the wizard’s general notes as fallback).
• Status — colour-coded badge (see below).
• Date added — when the wizard created the row.
• Actions — quick-route to supplier, mark as sent, mark as resolved, or remove.

A search box and a status filter (All / Pending / With supplier / Resolved) sit above the table. The status filter is the fast path to the daily question “what do I need to ship today?” — set it to Pending and you see only units waiting for a routing decision.

The RMA flow

1

Defect lands in inventory

When the wizard completes, every defect-flagged unit is inserted into defect_inventory_items with status pending. Serialised units have their serialized_items.status set to defect so the POS picker won’t offer them for sale, and an egress audit row is written to inventory_transactions (cost + invoice id stamped — see the callout below).

2

Bulk-select pending rows

Tick the checkbox on each pending row. The header checkbox selects every selectable row in the current view; rows already routed to a supplier are not selectable.

3

Assign to a supplier

Click Route to supplier. Pick a supplier from the dropdown, add optional RMA notes (carrier reference, serial range, photos) and confirm. A supplier_return_transactions row is created for each selected unit and the defect rows flip from pending → with supplier.

4

Mark as sent with reference

Once the parcel actually leaves your shop, hit the truck icon on each row to flip it from awaiting shipment to sent to supplier. This is the line that tells your accountant “the goods are physically gone”.

5

Supplier credits or replaces

When the supplier responds — credit note, replacement unit, or formal rejection — record the outcome on the supplier’s RMA queue. A cash credit reduces the supplier’s balance; a replacement unit comes in via the supplier-return service as fresh stock at the original cost.

6

Close as resolved

Hit the green check on the row to flip it to resolved. The unit is now closed; the row stays in the list as the audit trail.

Status semantics

Pending

Just landed from the wizard. No supplier assigned yet — the unit is sitting in your defect bin awaiting a routing decision (or your tech’s diagnosis).

With supplier — awaiting shipment

A supplier was picked but the parcel hasn’t physically left yet. Useful when you batch multiple RMAs into a single weekly shipment.

With supplier — sent to supplier

The parcel is in transit or already at the supplier. You’re waiting on their response.

Resolved (credit)

Supplier issued a cash credit against your balance. Recorded via the cash-return path on the supplier RMA service — reduces what you owe them, posts the supplier-side journal entry.

Resolved (replacement)

Supplier shipped a fresh unit. The replacement arrives as an ingress on inventory_transactions at the product’s current cost; the defect row closes.

Resolved (dispose)

The supplier rejected the claim, or you decided not to chase it. The unit is written off — no further accounting movement, just the row stays as a record.

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What posts when

The egress already happened at the wizard’s step 5: cost moved out of inventory (1200) into the appropriate COGS line (5010 for non-bonus, 5020 for bonus), with the invoice id and per-line cost stamped on the audit row. Routing to supplier here is an operational state change — it does not post a fresh JE on the inventory side. The supplier’s credit or replacement is its own JE later: a cash credit reduces accounts payable / supplier balance; a replacement posts an ingress at the product’s cost. Defect Inventory is the bridge between the two.

Bulk routing

Most shops accumulate a week of defects before shipping. Filter the list to Pending, tick the rows for one supplier, click Route to supplier, pick the supplier once, add a single shared note (RMA-2026-04 weekly batch), confirm. Every selected unit is routed in one transaction — no per-row clicking. Repeat per supplier.

✦

Serial cost is captured at egress, not at routing

🐞 #40 · v1.6.100 ensured the defect-egress write captures the per-line cost and the originating invoice id. That fix means the cost column on the Inventory Moves report shows real numbers for defects, not blanks. Historical rows created before v1.6.100 had NULL cost — the v75 backfill repopulates them by joining back to the originating sale’s egress, so legacy reports self-heal on upgrade.

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Don't delete a routed row

The trash icon only appears on pending and resolved rows for a reason. Once a unit is with supplier, deleting the defect row would orphan the supplier RMA transaction — the supplier still expects a credit or a replacement. If a supplier rejects a claim, close it as resolved (dispose) instead of removing the row.

Related

• The 5-step return wizard — where defects originate at step 4
• Item dispositions — restock vs defect vs dispose at step 3
• Suppliers overview — the master supplier list and balances
• Supplier payments — how a supplier credit reduces what you owe
• Release notes — v1.6.100 — defect-egress cost + invoice id fix and the v75 backfill