Linking Suppliers to Companies and Merging Duplicate Suppliers

When you upload a spend file into Emitwise, you’ll often spot several rows that clearly refer to the same organisation (“ACME LTD”, “Acme Ltd – UK”, “ACME PLC”) and others that belong to different legal entities within a single group. 

Emitwise gives you two tools to tidy things up:

• Link a supplier to a company record
  • Connects a supplier row from your data to a single, canonical company record inside Emitwise.
  • Typical use-case: “ACME LTD” in your ERP → Acme Group PLC company profile.
• Merge suppliers
  • Combines two or more supplier rows into one, then links that unified row to a single company record.
  • Typical use-case: Duplicate supplier names, or subsidiaries reporting emissions only at parent level.

 

1. Core concepts

Supplier: A row that comes directly from your spend or vendor-master data (e.g. supplier ID, cost centre, local description). It exists only in your Emitwise workspace.

Company:  A master record in Emitwise's company database, enriched with public data and any emissions the organisation has shared.

Because of this separation:

• Two suppliers cannot be linked to the same company record at the same time. 
• If you try, Emitwise prompts you to merge those suppliers instead.

 

2. Linking a supplier to a company record

1. Open Supplier Directory → locate the row you want to clean. 
2. Click the row to open the supplier side panel.
3. In the side panel, navigate to the Details tab.
4. Search the global company database. 
5. Select the correct company record to link it. 
   
   
6. The supplier row now inherits the company’s name, logo, and any available emissions or scorecard data.
   
   

 

2a. Reviewing and approving suggested company matches

Emitwise automatically analyzes your supplier data and uses publicly available data to suggest the most likely company match for each row.

In any supplier table, you’ll see icons that indicate whether a supplier has a suggested company match. If there is one, the row will also display details from the suggested company record—such as its name, website, industry, HQ, decarbonization score, targets—so you can preview the match at a glance

Each match comes with a confidence score:

• High-confidence matches are shown with a blue icon and are usually safe to approve.
• Medium-confidence matches are still worth reviewing — Emitwise highlights the reason for the suggestion so you can make an informed decision.

To review and approve matches:

1. Use the Supplier match status filter to narrow down to suppliers with high or medium-confidence matches.
2. Click on a supplier to open the side panel.
3. Go to the Details tab.
4. Review the suggested company record.
5. Click Approve match to confirm, or Reject match to search for a better one—or create a new company record.

This process helps you ensure suppliers are linked to the correct organisations, which unlocks richer data and avoids confusion later in your workflow.

 

3. Merging duplicate suppliers

1. In any supplier table, or in a supplier side panel, locate one of the duplicates and click the ••• action menu on the far-right.
2. Select Merge supplier. A Merge suppliers window opens with this supplier on the left side.  
3. In the “…will be merged into” dropdown (right side), search for and choose the supplier you want to keep as the primary record.  
4. Review both panels—spend, aliases, engagement lists, custom fields—to be sure you’re merging the correct pair.  
5. Click Merge. The left-hand supplier’s data rolls into the primary record on the right, which stays in your directory and (if applicable) remains linked to its company record.

 

4. Undoing a merge by removing an alias

If you’ve accidentally merged two suppliers, you can unmerge them by removing one of the aliases:

1. Find the merged supplier and open its Details tab.

2. Look for the Aliases section at the top.

3. Click the small x on the alias you want to separate.

4. A confirmation modal will appear. Click Unlink alias to proceed.

This action will:

• Restore the alias as a separate supplier row in your directory.
• Carry over all its associated data: spend, custom fields, and emissions.
• Remove the link between that supplier and the current company record.

 

5. FAQs & troubleshooting

• What happens to historical spend after a merge?
  All historical transactions move under the primary supplier, so your year-on-year analysis stays intact.
• I linked the wrong company—how do I fix it?
  Open the supplier, and use Select a different company to search and link a different company. Or create a new company record to link to this supplier.
• Why can’t two suppliers link to the same company record?
  Engagement status, questionnaires, and emissions are tracked at the company level. Allowing duplicates would double-count responses and confuse progress tracking. If they are the same supplier, merge the supplier records.
• Will I be able to map parent-child relationships without merging?
  Yes. Emitwise is building a hierarchical company model so you can link suppliers to regional or child entities without merging (roadmap for 2025).

 

6. Next steps

• Review your top-spend suppliers and link them to the right company record.  
• Merge obvious duplicates.

By linking and merging wisely, you’ll maintain a clean supplier list, avoid double counting, and unlock richer, company-level insights across Procurewise and the wider Emitwise suite.