Processing Flexibility

The Order Processing application supports several types of transactions, allowing users to tailor the basic application areas to more closely meet their unique requirements.  The transactions supported by Order Processing include:

·      Order Entry and Maintenance.

·      Automatic Order Entry.

·      Quote Order Entry and Maintenance.

·      Blanket Order Processing.

·      Backorder Processing.

·      Automatic Order Release Processing.

·      Customer Charge or Credit Processing.

·      Customer/Item Relationship Maintenance.

·      Sales Order Data Entry.

·      Open Order Shipping and Billing, and Postbilling.

·      Online Inquiry.

The method of order processing used by the system is flexible and depends on the type of order entered.  The Order Processing application supports the following transaction types:

·      Regular Sales Order Entry and Maintenance.  Records and updates a customer's order before shipping and billing.  Inventory is reserved or backordered at time of entry.

·      Automatic Sales Order Entry (Electronic Data Interchange).  Sales orders received electronically via EDI are automatically posted to the sales order files by the Batch Sales Order Entry program.

·      Regular Quote Order Entry and Maintenance.  Records and updates a customer's quote order.

·      Blanket Sales Order Entry and Maintenance.  Records and maintains a customer order for goods to be shipped over a period of time.  Although inventory is not reserved for blanket orders at time of entry, both inventory availability and credit checking are performed at the time of release.

·      Blanket Order Release.  Enters a customer's request to ship specified quantities of goods to a single location on a specified date, according to the prices and terms of the blanket order.

·      Backorder Release.  Creates an order to ship all or part of a previously entered order that was backordered.  Multiple backorder releases may be issued to complete the shipment of a single order line.  Inventory is reserved at the time of backorder and is reduced when the backorder is shipped and billed.

·      Customer Charges or Credits.  Debit memos or credit memos can be used to adjust a customer's account.  An adjustment code identifies the cause of the transaction and the files to be updated.

·      Automatic Order Release.  Creates blanket orders and backorders automatically and reserves inventory for credit held, ship complete, and future orders.

·      Open Order Shipping and Billing, and Postbilling.  Only one of these two billing methods can be selected for each customer order.  Open order shipping and billing requires prior entry of the sales order while postbilling does not.  Exhibit 1 contrasts some of the key features of the two methods.

·      Customer/Item Relationship Maintenance.  Defines the customer/item relationship with its quality control specifications for the customer and the item.  The quality control specifications will be applied to any order for this customer.  Allows you to specify multiple names the customer uses to refer to the internal MAC-PAC part.

·      EDI Sales Order Data Entry.  Regular and multi-site sales orders can be entered quickly online.  Sales orders entered through this conversation, which is located in the EDI menu, will be written to existing data entry files which will then be processed by the EDI Sales Order Generation program.  This process will create sales order records and write them to the sales order master files.  The sales orders will be available for maintenance and inquiry only after the EDI Sales Order Generation program has run.

·      Online Inquiry.  Users can review the details of a sales order, a quote order, an invoice, or a memo online.  Financial details for a sales order can also be reviewed as well as a list of all of the debit/credit memos, return authorizations, and invoices for a particular part number on a sales order or for an entire sales order.  Several types of inquiries can be used (for example, to identify all orders for a customer or all lines for a part).

The Order Processing application also offers flexibility in the way these transactions are processed.  Some of these features are described below:

Each of these transaction types allows one header and a maximum of 999 lines.  The header contains address and order level information.  Each order header must have at least one line.  All order types can have any number of lines processed as sample/no charge items.  All order types can also be designated as direct shipment orders.  In addition, each order header and each line may have up to 99 comment lines associated with it.  All orders may have a shipment type of warehouse or direct.  A warehouse shipment type indicates that the order will be sourced from inventory in one of the company's warehouses.  A shipment type of direct indicates that the customer order will have goods shipped to a single location directly from the vendor.  This order may require a direct shipment purchase order to be issued to the appropriate vendor.

To speed the order entry process, you can copy information from either a quote order, a standing order, an existing sales order, or sales history when entering new orders.  You can perform this process on the Function Select, Single-Line, and Multi-Line entry screens by selecting the Order Copy function.  Order header information can be copied in addition to the order line information.  You can choose the information you want to copy.  For example, you can copy only parts and quantities or you can copy additional information such as prices.  The default flags for the Order Copy Prompt window are specified on Reference File category I68 and can be overridden.  You can either copy all order lines or you can display the Order Copy List window and select only the order lines that you want to copy.  From this window, you can also view current inventory availability and change the line item quantities.

Once the lines are copied into the order, they can be maintained as if they were entered manually.  A standing order number can be entered on the Customer Master file and may be used to create a template or a profile of frequently ordered items for a customer.  This order number will default to the Order Copy Prompt window and can be overridden when you perform the copy.

You will also be able to perform quote conversion from the Sales Order Entry Function Select screen.  Pressing F7 - Convert Quote on this screen will display the Quote Conversion window allowing you to enter an existing quote order to be converted.  You will also have the following options:  copy dates, enter a customer purchase order number, enter a sales order number, display options, and close the quote upon conversion.

From the Sales Order or Quote Order Maintenance conversations, you will have the option to select the following types of order entry processing:  display header, rapid entry, stay on multi-line, recap totals, deferred pricing,  and default all lines.  These options can be selected on the Order Maintenance Options window which is displayed by pressing F14 - Maintenance Options on the Sales Order or Quote Order Maintenance Function Select screens.  If you choose not to change any of these options during order entry, the default values specified on Reference File category I68 will be used during order processing.  The processing for each of these options is described below.

From the Sales Order Maintenance conversation, you can also view additional information about a sales order through two command keys.  By pressing F11 - Sales Order History Inquiry, the Sales Order History Inquiry Select screen is displayed.  If you specify an order number on this screen and press Enter, a list of all the debit/credit memos, return authorizations, and invoices for the entire sales order.  You can also display the information at order level and part number.  By pressing F16 - SO Financial Inquiry, the Order Financial Detail window is displayed.  This window provides financial detail information pertaining to the sales order lines.

The header is displayed if an add transaction is being processed for a direct distribution order or if the information entered on the Function Select screen for a changed or closed order is different than the posted information on the order.  However, you can specify whether to display the header when entering, maintaining, or closing an order by setting the Display Header flag on Reference File category I68 to 'Y'.  If you enter a 'N', then the Multi-site screen will be displayed.  You may override this flag on the Order Maintenance Options window.

On the Multi-Line screen, you have the option to display only the Part Number and Order Quantity fields for rapid entry processing.  This option is specified on Reference File category I68.  Enter a 'Y' to display only the Part Number and Order Quantity fields or an 'N' to display all fields on the screen.  You can override this default option on the Order Maintenance Options window.  Once you are on the Multi-Line screen, you can use F18 to toggle between the full and partial display of these fields.

Another option available on Reference File category I68 is whether to stay on the Multi-Line screen or go to the Recap screen when the part number and order quantity are entered on the Multi-Line screen.  If you enter a 'Y', the Multi-Line screen will be redisplayed after Enter is pressed.  The Recap screen is displayed when F11 is pressed.  If you enter a 'N', the Recap screen is displayed after Enter is pressed, unless another screen is required to enter more order lines.  You can override this option on the Order Maintenance Options window.

If you decide to go to the Recap screen, you will have the option to display the Order Totals or the Order Summary windows.  The type of window that will be displayed is specified on Reference File category I68.  The information displayed on these windows will be dependent of whether the Control Totals have been updated.  You can override this option on the Order Maintenance Options window.  Enter an 'S' to display the Summary Totals window, a 'T' to display the Order Totals window, or an 'N' if you don't want the totals displayed.

The Deferred Pricing option is used to define whether the line has been priced or if pricing has been deferred.  If pricing has been deferred, the price will be determined through the Control Total Update program (OP225E).  The Default All Lines option indicates if you want to default the requested dock date, requested ship date, promised ship date, and expected receipt date to all order lines from the order header.

When creating sales orders or quote orders, an operator can list one of four types of parts:  stocked inventory, nonstandard/non-stocked, bundled/kitted, and referenced.  Stocked inventory parts indicate that the entered part number exists on the Warehouse Balance File and is defined as a stocked part.  Non-stocked parts can be modified; an operator can change the description and the unit cost.  Use of a reference part allows the entry of special charges.  Bundled/kitted parts are a group of stocked inventory items that are sold together for a special price.

To help companies automatically enforce their pricing policy, several methods of verifying the total bill are provided.  These methods include listing the quantity shipped multiplied by the net price, freight charges, tax charges, and cash discounts.

The standard or list price for a part may be reduced on a line by line basis by applying the discount allowable to a line item.

Freight and handling charges can be added to a customer's order to defray the costs of transporting and processing the order.  An operator can enter these amounts at order entry or shipping and billing time, or during order maintenance.  A Bill of Lading may also be requested for a shipment release either online or off-line (from the Order Processing Distribution Control Menu).  If an operator sets the BOL print flag to Y (yes) on the Shipping/Billing Header screen (OP120S02), a bill of lading is generated for the shipment.

Tax processing is based on customer and part data and stored tax percentages.  Taxes are calculated by the system.  Both sales, value added tax, and goods and services calculations are supported.

The system automatically computes cash discounts by referencing the customer's payment terms code and the amount subject to a cash discount. 

Sales commissions, although not a charge or credit, may be coded on a salesperson and part basis.  Reporting on commissions, including the commission document, is not provided in a standard report.  However, specific user reporting on a customized basis may be derived from the commission values stored in the system.

      Key Features of Order Processing Methods