Supply chain mapping

Supply chain mapping creates transparency by documenting every step in your product’s journey from raw materials to finished goods. Avelero’s journey system supports multi-tier supply chain tracking with flexible operator assignments.

Journey steps overview

A product’s journey consists of multiple steps, each representing a stage in the supply chain. Steps are ordered sequentially and can have one or more operators (facilities, suppliers, or partners) assigned.

Journey step structure

Each journey step includes:

Step type: The production stage (e.g., “Spinning”, “Weaving”, “Dyeing”, “Cutting”, “Sewing”)
Sort index: Position in the journey sequence (0, 1, 2, …)
Operators: One or more facilities that perform this step

Journey steps can be defined at the product level (shared by all variants) or at the variant level (unique to specific variants).

Production step types

Avelero provides standard production step names based on common manufacturing processes:

Raw Materials: Sourcing of base materials
Spinning: Fiber to yarn conversion
Knitting / Weaving: Fabric creation
Dyeing: Color application
Finishing: Fabric treatment and processing
Cutting: Pattern cutting
Sewing: Garment assembly
Packaging: Final packaging
Distribution: Logistics and distribution

You can also create custom step types by typing a name not in the standard list.

Step types are freeform text values. Use consistent naming across your products to maintain data quality and enable supply chain analysis.

Operators catalog

Operators represent facilities, suppliers, manufacturers, or partners in your supply chain. Each operator is created once in your brand catalog and can be reused across multiple journey steps and products.

Operator information

Each operator includes:

Display name: Public-facing name shown in digital passports
Legal name: Official business name
Contact details: Email, phone, website
Address: Full address including country

Navigate to operators

Go to Settings → Operators to manage your operator catalog

Add an operator

Click Add operator and fill in facility details

Complete address information

Enter the full address including country code for map visualization

Use in journey steps

Assign operators to journey steps when editing products

Operator data structure

{
  id: "uuid",
  brandId: "uuid",
  displayName: "Sustainable Textile Mill",
  legalName: "Sustainable Textiles Pvt. Ltd.",
  email: "contact@sustainabletextiles.in",
  phone: "+91-22-1234-5678",
  website: "https://sustainabletextiles.in",
  addressLine1: "Plot 42, Industrial Area",
  addressLine2: "Phase III",
  city: "Mumbai",
  state: "Maharashtra",
  zip: "400001",
  countryCode: "IN"
}

All fields except displayName are optional, but complete data improves transparency and enables features like supply chain maps.

Building a product journey

Journey steps are added in the product editor using an interactive table interface.

Adding journey steps

Open the Journey section

In the product editor, scroll to the Journey section

Add a step

Click Add step to create a new journey row

Select step type

Click the Step column and select a production step type or create a custom one

Assign operators

Click the Operator column and select one or more facilities from your operator catalog

Reorder steps

Drag steps using the grip handle to arrange them in the correct sequence

Journey editor interface

The journey editor provides drag-and-drop reordering:

┌──────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┐
│ Step         │ Operator                        │
├──────────────┼─────────────────────────────────┤
│ ⋮⋮ Spinning  │ [Textile Mill A]                │
│ ⋮⋮ Weaving   │ [Weaving Co.] [Partner Weaver]  │
│ ⋮⋮ Dyeing    │ [Dye House B]                   │
│ ⋮⋮ Sewing    │ [Garment Factory]               │
└──────────────┴─────────────────────────────────┘

Grip handle (⋮⋮): Drag to reorder steps
Step dropdown: Select or create step types
Operator tags: Multiple operators can be assigned per step
Three-dot menu: Delete individual steps

Multi-operator assignments

A single journey step can have multiple operators assigned. This is useful when:

Multiple facilities perform the same step in parallel
A step is split across partner facilities
Backup or secondary suppliers are documented

Example: Multi-facility weaving

Step: Weaving
Operators:
  - Primary Weaving Facility (India)
  - Partner Weaving Co. (Bangladesh)
  - Backup Weaver (Vietnam)

All three operators appear in the digital passport for this step, showing supply chain redundancy and geographic distribution.

The database enforces uniqueness per step: the same operator can only be assigned once per step, but can appear in multiple different steps.

Creating operators inline

You can create new operators without leaving the product editor:

Start typing in the operator field

Click the Operator column and type a name not in your catalog

Click 'Create'

Select the Create “Operator Name” option that appears

Fill operator details

A sheet opens where you can enter contact and address information

Save

The operator is added to your catalog and automatically assigned to the journey step

This workflow helps you build your operator catalog organically as you add products.

Variant-level journey overrides

Some products have variants with different production journeys. Variants can override the product-level journey:

Product: "Seasonal Jacket"
├─ Product journey:
│  1. Weaving → [Mill A]
│  2. Dyeing → [Dye House B]
│  3. Sewing → [Factory C]
│
├─ Variant: "Standard - Blue"
│  └─ Inherits product journey
│
└─ Variant: "Premium - Black"
   └─ Override journey:
      1. Weaving → [Premium Mill X]
      2. Dyeing → [Eco Dye House Y]
      3. Finishing → [Specialty Finisher]
      4. Sewing → [Premium Factory Z]

Important: Variant journey steps completely replace product journey steps—they don’t merge. Adding any journey step to a variant overrides the entire product journey for that variant.

Journey data validation

Unique operator per step

The same operator cannot be assigned twice to the same journey step:

// ✅ Valid
Step 1: Weaving → [Mill A, Mill B]
Step 2: Dyeing → [Mill A, Dye House C]

// ❌ Invalid
Step 1: Weaving → [Mill A, Mill A]  // Duplicate

This is enforced at the database level with a unique constraint on (productId, sortIndex, operatorId).

Operator deletion restrictions

Operators assigned to journey steps cannot be deleted from the catalog:

Database enforces RESTRICT on delete
Remove the operator from all journey steps first
Prevents orphaned journey step references

Automatic reordering

When you reorder journey steps, the sortIndex is automatically updated:

Sort index starts at 0
Steps are numbered sequentially (0, 1, 2, 3, …)
Deleting a step renumbers remaining steps
Drag-and-drop updates sort order immediately

Journey step data model

Product journey steps

{
  id: "uuid",
  productId: "uuid",
  sortIndex: 0,
  stepType: "Spinning",
  operatorId: "uuid",
  createdAt: "timestamp",
  updatedAt: "timestamp"
}

Multiple rows with the same sortIndex represent multiple operators for that step. Each operator gets its own row.

Variant journey steps

{
  id: "uuid",
  variantId: "uuid",
  sortIndex: 0,
  stepType: "Weaving",
  operatorId: "uuid",
  sourceIntegration: "shopify | null",
  sourceExternalId: "external-id | null",
  createdAt: "timestamp"
}

Variant journey steps include source tracking to maintain data lineage when syncing with external systems.

Multi-tier supply chains

Avelero supports complex multi-tier supply chains by allowing unlimited journey steps:

Example: Full textile supply chain

Tier 4: Raw Material Extraction
  → Step 1: Cotton Farming → [Organic Farm Co-op]

Tier 3: Material Processing  
  → Step 2: Ginning → [Cotton Gin Facility]
  → Step 3: Spinning → [Yarn Mill A, Yarn Mill B]

Tier 2: Fabric Production
  → Step 4: Weaving → [Textile Mill]
  → Step 5: Dyeing → [Dye House]
  → Step 6: Finishing → [Finishing Plant]

Tier 1: Product Assembly
  → Step 7: Cutting → [Cutting Room]
  → Step 8: Sewing → [Garment Factory]
  → Step 9: Quality Control → [QC Facility]

Tier 0: Distribution
  → Step 10: Packaging → [Packaging Center]
  → Step 11: Distribution → [Logistics Partner]

Each tier’s operators are fully documented with contact and location data.

Best practices

Map the complete journey

Document every meaningful step from raw materials to finished product. Partial journeys reduce transparency.

Use consistent step names

Standardize step type names across products to enable supply chain analysis and reporting.

Complete operator data

Fill in operator addresses and contact information. This enables map visualizations and builds trust.

Order steps chronologically

Arrange steps in the actual production sequence. This creates a logical narrative for consumers.

Use multi-operator assignments wisely

Assign multiple operators when they actually collaborate on the same step, not for unrelated facilities.

Review and update regularly

Supply chains change. Audit journey data quarterly and update when facilities or processes change.

Common workflows

Copying a journey to another product

Currently, journeys must be manually recreated for each product. To speed this up:

Document your standard journey in a spreadsheet
Create all operators in your catalog first
Build the journey once, then reference it when creating similar products
Future: Bulk import and journey templates are planned features

Updating an operator's address

Go to Settings → Operators
Edit the operator’s information
Save changes

All products using this operator automatically reflect the updated data in their digital passports.

Handling seasonal production changes

If your supply chain changes by season:Option 1: Update the journey steps

Replace operators as the supply chain changes
Keep historical data by creating new products for new seasons

Option 2: Use variant-level journeys

Create variants for different production runs
Override journey at the variant level to show production-specific routes

Option 3: Document with seasons

Create separate products per season
Use the Season field to group related products

Platform Setup

Data Management

Advanced

Supply chain mapping

Journey steps overview

Journey step structure

Production step types

Operators catalog

Operator information

Operator data structure

Building a product journey

Adding journey steps

Journey editor interface

Multi-operator assignments

Creating operators inline

Variant-level journey overrides

Journey data validation

Journey step data model

Product journey steps

Variant journey steps

Multi-tier supply chains

Best practices

Common workflows

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Platform Setup

Data Management

Advanced

Documentation Index

​Journey steps overview

​Journey step structure

​Production step types

​Operators catalog

​Operator information

​Operator data structure

​Building a product journey

​Adding journey steps

​Journey editor interface

​Multi-operator assignments

​Creating operators inline

​Variant-level journey overrides

​Journey data validation

​Journey step data model

​Product journey steps

​Variant journey steps

​Multi-tier supply chains

​Best practices

​Common workflows

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Journey steps overview

Journey step structure

Production step types

Operators catalog

Operator information

Operator data structure

Building a product journey

Adding journey steps

Journey editor interface

Multi-operator assignments

Creating operators inline

Variant-level journey overrides

Journey data validation

Journey step data model

Product journey steps

Variant journey steps

Multi-tier supply chains

Best practices

Common workflows