「受注」と「発注」meaning in specific sentences

Question

I'm confusing about the meaning of 受注 and 発注 in some specific sentences. I understand the meaning of both words in case it stands alone:

受注 means "receive (an) order"

発注 means "make (an) order"

But in the following 2 sentences:

取引先からの発注がある

and

取引先からの受注がある

Google Translate translates both in to "There is an order from the business partner". But I think there is a difference between "who make" and "who receive" the order in these two sentences. Actually I don't know between Our company and Our business partner, which one is making and which one is receiving the order in each sentence.

Can someone please help me with it? お願いいたします。

Answer 1

Those two sentences describe the same event. That is, "they" (取引先) made an order, and "we" received that order. 発注 is used when "they made" is important, while 受注 is used when "we received" is important. They are two aspects of the same event. Both sentences clearly say 取引先から, so there is no ambiguity regarding who made the order.

Although not necessary, it's possible to translate them differently:

• 取引先からの発注がある。
  There is an order the business partner made (to us).
• 取引先からの受注がある。
  There is an order we received from the business partner.

Admittedly, the difference may seem subtle in your case, but compare the following examples:

• 取引先からの発注が遅れている。
  → The business partner has not made the order.
• 取引先からの受注が遅れている。
  → The business partner has made the order, but we have not recognized or handled it yet (due to a system failure, etc).