Locations
Manage shipping, receiving, and facility locations for your organization. Locations provide standardized ship-to addresses for purchase orders, ensuring consistency and integration with external systems.
Overview
Silkline supports two approaches for managing ship-to addresses on orders:
Free-form addresses — Users manually enter ship-to addresses as text for each order
Structured locations — Users select from predefined locations, ensuring consistency
The structured locations approach is especially valuable for organizations with:
Multiple facilities or warehouses
Standard receiving locations
Integration requirements (e.g., NetSuite, First Resonance ION)
Need for reporting by location
Enable Structured Locations
Silkline Admin Only: Only users with Silkline Admin permissions can enable or disable structured locations. Contact a Silkline administrator if you need to enable this feature.
To enable structured locations:
Navigate to Organization Settings → Locations
Toggle Use structured locations for ship-to addresses
Once enabled:
Orders will use a location dropdown instead of free-form address fields
Locations can be synced from your integrations (NetSuite, ION)
A default ship-to location can be configured
How It Works
Disabled
Orders use free-form Ship To Address text field. Users manually enter addresses for each order.
Enabled
Orders use Ship To Location dropdown. Users select from predefined locations managed in settings.
Creating Locations
Locations are created through integrations with external systems. Silkline currently supports location syncing from:
NetSuite
When NetSuite integration is configured:
Locations are automatically synced from NetSuite location records
Location names and addresses are imported
Orders synced from NetSuite include their NetSuite location reference
First Resonance (ION)
When ION integration is configured:
Locations are automatically synced from ION
Both ship-to and bill-to addresses can be imported
Custom ION location attributes can be mapped
Manual Location Creation: Manual location creation is not currently supported. Locations must be created in your integrated system (NetSuite or ION) and will automatically sync to Silkline.
Location Properties
Each location contains:
Name
Unique identifier for the location
Address
Full shipping address (street, city, state, zip)
Status
Active or Archived
Created
Date the location was first synced to Silkline
Default Ship-To Location
When structured locations are enabled, you can set a default ship-to location that will be automatically pre-selected when creating new orders.
To set a default ship-to location:
Navigate to Organization Settings → Locations
In the Default Ship-To Location section, select a location from the dropdown
This location will now be pre-filled on new order forms
Best Practice: Set your most frequently used location as the default to save time when creating orders.
Viewing Locations
The View Locations section displays all locations synced to your organization:
Location cards show the name, address, and status
Archived locations are marked with an "Archived" badge
Locations are sorted alphabetically by name
Location Status
Active — Available for selection on new orders
Archived — Hidden from order dropdowns but preserved for historical orders
Using Locations on Orders
When structured locations are enabled, the order form includes a Ship To Location field:
Creating Orders
Start creating a new purchase order
In the Ship To Location dropdown, select the appropriate location
The selected location's address is automatically applied to the order
Editing Orders
The ship-to location can be changed on existing orders:
Open the order for editing
Change the Ship To Location dropdown
The order's ship-to address updates to match the new location
Changing a location's address in your external system (NetSuite/ION) does not automatically update historical orders. Only new orders will use the updated address.
Integration Behavior
NetSuite
Sync Direction: NetSuite → Silkline (ingest only)
Updates: Changes to NetSuite locations sync to Silkline automatically
Orders: Orders created in Silkline can reference NetSuite locations
Writeback: When orders are written back to NetSuite, the location reference is preserved
First Resonance (ION)
Sync Direction: Bidirectional (ION ↔ Silkline)
Updates: Changes in either system sync automatically
Orders: Orders reference ION locations for procurement workflows
Custom Attributes: ION location attributes can be mapped to custom fields
Switching Between Modes
You can switch between free-form addresses and structured locations at any time:
Disabling Structured Locations
If you disable structured locations after using them:
Existing orders retain their location references
New orders will use free-form ship-to address fields
Location data remains available if you re-enable the feature
Enabling Structured Locations
If you enable structured locations:
Existing orders with free-form addresses remain unchanged
New orders will use the location dropdown
Locations must be synced from your integration before they can be used
Important: When switching modes, carefully review existing orders to ensure ship-to addresses are correct.
Archiving Locations
Locations cannot be deleted to preserve data integrity for historical orders. Instead, locations can be archived:
Archiving is managed in your external system (NetSuite/ION)
Archived locations are hidden from order dropdowns
Historical orders still display the archived location
Archived locations can be unarchived by updating the external system
Common Use Cases
Multiple Facilities
Organizations with multiple receiving facilities can create locations for each:
Department-Specific Locations
Create locations for different departments within the same facility:
Project-Based Locations
Temporary project sites can be tracked as locations:
Once the project is complete, the location can be archived while preserving order history.
Reporting by Location
When structured locations are enabled, you can:
Filter orders by ship-to location
Generate spending reports by facility
Track delivery performance by location
Analyze procurement patterns across sites
Troubleshooting
Locations Not Syncing
If locations from your integration aren't appearing:
Verify the integration is active and connected
Check that locations are properly configured in the external system
Ensure the integration has permission to sync location data
Contact Silkline support if locations still don't sync
Wrong Address on Orders
If an order has an incorrect ship-to address:
For future orders: Update the location in your external system (NetSuite/ION)
For existing orders: Edit the order and select the correct location
The address will update to match the selected location
Can't Find Expected Location
If a location you expect doesn't appear in the dropdown:
Verify it exists in your external system
Check if it's archived in the external system
Ensure the integration has synced recently
Refresh the page to load latest locations
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