When is sourcing required?
A:
Sourcing is required when all of the following conditions are met:
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You are entering a new standard order (or changing a quote to a standard order) on the Customer Service tab.
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A line item you have entered is a stock, non-stock, or temporary product.
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The active warehouse does not have the full quantity available for the product. (The active warehouse is the warehouse listed in the Active Data Bar.)
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The active warehouse does not permit backorders.
The system reevaluates the need for sourcing for each line item if you do any of the following:
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On the Product screen, add a new line item by using the Quick Order area.
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Change the active warehouse (by either selecting a customer or switching the warehouse associated with the order).
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Change a quote to a standard order.
If sourcing was already performed on a line item and then you do any of the above, the sourcing information is cleared, and the line item must be re-sourced.
The Source Line dialog box is used to source line items. (Click Source Line dialog box to see a sample.) In some cases, the Source Line dialog box is displayed for you automatically upon entry of a line item that requires sourcing.
If a line item needs to be sourced, the Source image (
) is displayed to the left of the line number in the Current Order listing at the bottom of the Current Order screen. Right-click the line and select Source Line on the shortcut menu.
The Accept Order button is not available until all line items that require sourcing are sourced.
How do I prohibit a warehouse from accepting backorders?
A:
The System Configuration screen on the Vision Configuration tab is where you specify whether a warehouse prohibits backorders. For more information, refer to Specify whether a warehouse should prohibit backorders
If a warehouse is set up to prohibit backorders, can I override that setting and still allow a backorder for a particular order? And if I can override, how does the system treat the unsourced backorder?
A:
To permit a backorder for a warehouse even though that warehouse is set up to prohibit them, you must have the proper security privileges. The Override BO job function needs to be assigned to one of your roles. Roles are assigned to users in the User Maintenance on the Security Maintenance screen of the Vision Configuration tab. For more information, refer to About roles and job functions.
If you do not have the Override BO job function: If you do not have the Override BO job function but you click the Exit button on the Source Line dialog box without sourcing the entire backorder quantity, a warning message is displayed. (Click Cancel? pop-up window to see a sample.) The message says, "This Warehouse prohibits the carrying of backordered quantities, and you do not have permission to override!" The quantity sourced and the quantity remaining left to source are shown. The message also says, "Do you want to kill the remaining backordered quantity?" You have two options:
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To cancel the remaining backordered quantity, click OK. The Source Line dialog box is closed, and the Current Order screen is displayed. The remaining backordered quantity is automatically removed from the line item.
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To source the remaining backordered quantity, click Cancel. You will be returned to the Source Line dialog box to source the remaining backordered quantity.
If you have the Override BO job function: If you have the Override BO job function and you click the Exit button on the Source Line dialog box without sourcing the entire backorder quantity, a warning message is displayed. (Click Carry the backorder? pop-up window to see a sample.) The message says, "This Warehouse prohibits the carrying of backordered quantities!" The quantity sourced and the quantity remaining left to source are shown. The message also says, "Do you want to carry the backorder?" You have three options:
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To allow the backorder for the customer order, click Yes. The Source Line dialog box is closed, and the Current Order screen is shown.
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To kill the remaining backordered quantity, click No. The Source Line dialog box is closed, and the Current Order screen is shown.
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To prohibit the backorder, click Cancel. You will be returned to the Source Line dialog box to source the line item.
If any products are still backordered and unsourced at End-of-Day, the system either (1) creates pending purchase orders (POs) for needed products and places the POs on the Replenishment Action Report or (2) creates a replenishment transfer order to move products from the replenishment warehouse to the warehouse that needs the products. For more information, refer to Overview of inventory replenishment.
If I source a line item by transferring all or part of it from another warehouse, how will that warehouse know about the transfer order?
A:
A picker print queue can be set up for a warehouse:
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On the Vision Configuration tab, click the System Configuration button.
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Click Maintenance Forms folder to expand its contents.
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Click the Warehouse subfolder to expand its contents.
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Click the warehouse whose print queues you would like to set.
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Click the Logistics subfolder. The Logistics screen appears.
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In the Picker Print Queue field, type the name of the print queue that should be used to print pick tickets.
Note: A public IP print queue can be used as the picker print queue; an auxiliary (AUX) print queue cannot be used.
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Click the Accept button to save your change.
Whenever a transfer order is created, the pick ticket will be printed automatically to the specified printer in the warehouse that receives the transfer order.
What happens if I have the ability to override backorders (the Override BO job function is assigned to one of the roles of my user ID) and I partially source from a warehouse and/or an outside vendor? What happens to the rest of the line item?
A:
If any quantity is still backordered and unsourced at End-of-Day, the system goes through the standard purchasing cycle. In this purchasing cycle, the system either (1) creates pending purchase orders (POs) for needed products and places the POs on the Replenishment Action Report or (2) creates a replenishment transfer order to move products from the replenishment warehouse to the warehouse that needs the products. For more information, refer to Overview of inventory replenishment.
Thus, an order line item can have an active transfer, an active sourcing purchase order, and replenishment purchasing activity at the same time.
If you return to the Source Line dialog box for that line item while the Current Order screen is in order maintenance mode for the customer order, you'll see any transfer details in the Warehouse Transfer History area and any sourcing purchase order details in the Purchase Order History area. In addition, you'll see details about the replenishment purchase order in the Product Purchase Order Information area.
Can I add line items to an existing order for a warehouse that is set to prohibit backorders?
A:
If a warehouse is set to prohibit backorders, you cannot add line items to an existing order for that warehouse.
If you try to add a line item to an existing order and then click the Accept Line button on the Current Order screen, a reminder message is displayed in a Line entry error pop-up window. The message informs you that you cannot add lines to an order in order maintenance mode because the warehouse prohibits backorders. (Click Line entry error pop-up window to see a sample.)
This prevents a catch-22 because a stock item added to an existing order, even if there is quantity available, will backorder. You should not have to be forced to source the line. Therefore, if the warehouse is set to prohibit backorders, you need to create a new order instead of adding line items to an existing order.
I set up transfer sourcing for a line item. When I returned to the Source Line dialog box for that line item in order maintenance mode on the Customer Service tab, I noticed that the Available To Source column in the Warehouse Availability area still includes the quantity I sourced. Was that transfer source quantity really committed? Should I be concerned that it will be committed to a different warehouse?
A:
Your transfer source quantity is committed, even though it appears it has not been committed.
If you have sourced a line item completely or partially from a warehouse (click Source Line dialog box to see a sample screen), as soon as you click the Accept Line button, the inventory for that sourced quantity is committed. The quantity that is committed is available for that line item only.
If you return to the Source Line dialog box for that line item, the Warehouse Availability area still includes the committed quantity because it is still available for possible relinquishing for the current line item.
(Otherwise, if you source the entire Availability To Source quantity from a warehouse, the inventory for that warehouse is all committed. Then if you return to the Source Line dialog box, the warehouse would not be included in the Warehouse Availability area or the Warehouse Source for Transfer Order drop-down list, and you would not be able to relinquish part or all of the transfer quantity.)
I noticed on one occasion that the quantity available from a warehouse displayed on the Source Line dialog box does not match that warehouse's quantity displayed on the Product screen of the Customer Service tab. Why don't they match?
A:
When the Sourcing Line dialog box is shown, the quantities are displayed in whatever unit of measure the customer ordered. The quantity available from a warehouse displayed on the Product screen may be shown in a different unit of measure.
For example, let's say a customer orders 2 dozen widgets (unit of measure = dozen). On the Product screen, the quantity available from a particular warehouse is listed as 23 widgets (unit of measure = each). On the Source Line dialog box, however, the quantity for that warehouse is converted to the ordering unit of measure (dozen). Therefore, the quantity listed for that warehouse is 1 (unit of measure = dozen).
Can I source a line item from a vendor if the unit of measure for the quantity ordered does not match the unit of measure for the quantity provided by the vendor?
A:
The unit of measure for the line item ordered by the customer may be different from the line item purchased from the outside vendor. However, the PO unit of measure must be equal to or greater than the ordered unit of measure. This helps prevent partial fulfillment of a PO by a vendor.
If I have a customer order that is on credit hold or operator hold, is sourcing performed for the line items that require it?
A:
Inventory is committed for customer orders that are on credit or operator hold; therefore, the sourcing instructions are set up for the line items on such orders, if necessary. In addition, inventory for the sourcing transfer orders is committed.
The actual sourcing transfer orders and sourcing purchase orders are not created until the holds are removed from the customer order.
Is line item sourcing available in Vision Back Office?
A:
Line item sourcing is available in the Graphical User Interface (GUI) version of Vision only; it is not available in Vision Back Office. Therefore, once you have sourced one or more line items in a customer order in the Vision GUI, you cannot maintain that order in Vision Back Office.
If a customer is set up to prohibit backorders but the warehouse allows backorders, will line item sourcing kick in?
A:
No, line item sourcing is not done in this case. If a customer prohibits backorders but the warehouse does not, any available quantity is shipped and the remainder is canceled.