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Initial Setup

From installation to the first automatic supplier purchase order — the full path in seven stations.

Step 1: Install the apps

  1. Install the merchantCENTRAL hub (AD merchantCENTRAL) first and complete its Assisted Setup
  2. Install at least one supplier connector (e.g. AD merchantCENTRAL Supplier Jarltech)
  3. Install AD merchantCENTRAL Trading

Hub first

If you open the Trading setup wizard before the hub is configured, it takes you to the hub setup automatically — the order is enforced.

Step 2: Check offers and vendors

Trading can only choose between offers that exist. Two things have to be right first:

  • The connector is importing offers. Check the hub page Supplier Data — there have to be rows with a price and stock
  • Distributors are mapped to vendors. Without the mapping Trading knows no vendor to order from. The mapping lives on the hub page Supplier Card

The most common cause of "No Vendor Found"

Offers are there, but the distributor is not mapped to a Business Central vendor. Trading then finds nothing even though the data looks complete.

Step 3: Activate the license

Trading is module TRADING. The status is in the License fact box on the Trading Setup page; a demo can be started there. A sandbox needs a licence or a running demo too - it is simply never billed.

Step 4: Enter supplier conditions

Trading compares on landed cost, not on goods value. Freight, insurance and discount per vendor are maintained in the Supplier Cost Setup — the same table the Price Engine uses.

Without conditions Trading only compares goods values

That is not wrong, but incomplete: a vendor 2 cheaper on goods and 15 more expensive on freight then wins undeservedly. Freight is charged once per order, not per line.

Step 5: Set the level to "Simulate"

Open Assisted Setup → Set up merchantCENTRAL Trading (or search for Trading Setup):

  • Switch Enabled on
  • Automation Level to Simulate
  • Pick a Sourcing Strategy — usually Single Vendor (Total Cost)

Every field in detail: Trading Setup (Reference)

The wizard writes only on \"Finish\"

The setup wizard collects all your entries and writes them to the setup only when you finish. Cancelling with X or Esc discards everything — the existing setup stays untouched.

Step 6: Set the gates

The minimum before anything gets ordered at all:

Field Starting recommendation
Minimum Margin % your usual floor, e.g. 5
Max. Offer Age (Hours) above your supplier's longest import interval, e.g. 48
Max. Order Value (LCY) a value at which you want to look
Max. Value per Vendor and Day (LCY) your usual daily volume plus headroom

The same step also carries the fields of the risk gate — the fraud protection before the automatic order:

Field Starting recommendation
Check Order Risk leave it on (default for new installations)
Trust Marketplace Orders leave it on — marketplaces guarantee the payout
Trusted after Paid Invoices the default 2 is a good start
Risk Check from Order Value (LCY) 0 = check every order; set a de-minimis threshold later if needed

Afterwards enter your paid payment methods (e.g. PayPal, prepayment) as Trust rules in the Order Risk Rules — otherwise every non-marketplace order from a new customer waits for approval.

Full detail: Safety Gates and Risk Gate

Step 7: Triggers and job queue

  • Switch on Source on Sales Order Release or Source on Marketplace Order Import — whichever matches how your orders arrive
  • Create a job queue entry for codeunit ALN MCTR Job Queue, interval 15 to 60 minutes

And then?

Let Trading run on Simulate for a few days and open the sourcing log. It records every decision — including the vendors that lost and why.

Once nothing surprising is left there, move up: Create Purchase Order → Transmit with Approval → Full Automation. The recommended path describes this in detail.

Checklist

  • [ ] Hub installed and configured
  • [ ] At least one supplier connector importing offers
  • [ ] Distributors mapped to Business Central vendors
  • [ ] Trading installed, license or demo active
  • [ ] Supplier conditions (freight, insurance, discount) maintained
  • [ ] Enabled on, automation level at Simulate
  • [ ] Minimum margin, offer age, order value and daily limit set
  • [ ] Risk gate reviewed, paid payment methods entered as Trust rules
  • [ ] Trigger chosen, job queue entry created
  • [ ] After the first runs: open the sourcing log, check the Show Exceptions Only view