Source a line item

Vision enables you to source products from your company's other warehouses (or stores). You can also source products from outside vendors by creating immediate, active purchase orders. Such orders bypass the standard purchasing cycle.

For example, let's say you are entering a new order on the Customer Service tab, and the active warehouse prohibits backorders. The customer wants to order a product but the warehouse does not have any of that product available (or not enough of the product is available to fill the order).

You can source all or part of the line item from one or more other warehouses by creating one-step transfer orders. If you source line item from another warehouse:

In addition, you can source a line item from an outside vendor (not including wholesalers), creating an immediate, active purchase order.

At End-of-Day, if any products are still backordered and unsourced, 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.

Note: If you have sourced part of a line item from one or more warehouses, you may not want to source the remainder from an outside vendor until the sourced part has been accounted for (i.e., each warehouse that received a transfer order for the line item has verified or canceled that transfer order). This allows you to re-source a line item to a different warehouse if a warehouse that received a transfer order had to cancel the transfer order. It also ensures that you create only one purchase order for the entire quantity needed.

The Source Line dialog box is where you source a line item from another warehouse and/or from an outside vendor. The Source Line dialog box also enables you to check the availability of the product in different warehouses and view transfer order information such as the transfer order number and whether the product has been verified at the warehouse receiving the transfer order.

To source a line item

  1. Open the Source Line dialog box from the Customer Service tab if you have not already done so. (For instructions on how to do this, please refer to Open the Source Line dialog box.)

  2. Check the Product Purchase Order Information area. If a replenishment purchase order for the ordered product has been placed through the standard purchasing cycle, the purchase order is listed here. The date that the purchase order is scheduled to arrive in the active warehouse is shown.

  3. Check the Warehouse Availability area, which contains a list of each warehouse that meets the following requirements:

  4. The line item is a stock or temporary product for this warehouse.

  5. The line item, or a portion of it, is available to source (uncommitted) from this warehouse.

  6. The quantity shown in the Available To Source column is based on the ordering unit of measure.

Be aware that if a warehouse included in the Warehouse Availability area has a minimum sell unit of measure, there may be limits to the quantity you can source.

For example, if the transfer unit of measure multiple is greater than the ordering unit of measure multiple, then the transfer quantity must be a multiple of the transfer unit measure multiple. If it is not, then when you click Accept Line on the Source Line dialog box, the system displays a Host Error pop-up window to warn you that it cannot be done.

If the transfer unit of measure multiple is less than the ordering unit of measure multiple, the system displays a Host Error pop-up window to warn you that it cannot be done.

Click Host Error pop-up window for transfer warehouse to see sample screen shots and learn more.

  1. If you decide that you do not want to source the product from another warehouse or from an outside vendor (perhaps none of your other warehouses has quantity available, and you do not want to purchase it from an outside vendor), you can do one of two things:

  2. Click the Remove Line button. The system closes the Source Line dialog box and removes the entire line item from the order.

— or —

  1. Click the Exit button. The system warns you that the warehouse has been set up to prohibit the carrying of backorders. In addition, the system permits you to override this setting if you have the proper security privileges. (Click Overview of line item sourcing to learn more about overriding the warehouse backorder setting.)

  1. If you do want to source the product, it is typically best to first try to source it from other warehouses if other warehouses have the product available:

  1. The drop-down list in the Warehouse Source for Transfer Order area comprises the same warehouses included in the Warehouse Availability area. In this drop-down list, select the warehouse from which you would like to source the product.

  2. In the field next to the drop-down list, type the quantity you would like to source from the warehouse. Then click the Add button.

You can continue adding additional warehouses in the Warehouse Source for Transfer Order area as needed. Keep in mind that you can source a quantity greater than the backorder quantity (if you do not want to deplete the inventory at the warehouse associated with the current order); however, you cannot source a quantity greater than the difference between the order quantity and any already verified quantity.

Note: The Warehouse Source for Transfer Order area is a work area. You can add and remove warehouses as necessary to build your transfer order. Transfer orders are not created until you click the Accept Line button.

  1. If you cannot source the entire quantity from one or more other warehouses, then you might want to try to purchase the remaining quantity from an outside vendor. In the Vendor Source for Purchase Order area, you can specify the vendor and drop ship status:

  1. In the Vendor drop-down list, select the vendor from whom you would like to purchase this product. The drop-down list includes only vendors; no wholesalers are included.

  2. If this product should be a direct ship product, select the Drop Ship check box. (Note that the Drop Ship check box is not available unless you first select a vendor from the Vendor drop-down list.)

Note: 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 the ordering unit of measure multiple by a vendor.

  1. Once you have completed sourcing the line item, click the Accept Line button.

If you did not source the entire backordered quantity, the system warns you that the warehouse has been set up to prohibit the carrying of backorders. In addition, the system permits you to override this setting if you have the proper security privileges. (Click Overview of line item sourcing to learn more about overriding the warehouse backorder setting.)

When you accept a new order that has line items that have been sourced from other warehouses, the transfer order number is shown in a pop-up window, along with the order number. If any line item has been sourced by an outside vendor, the purchase order number is shown in the pop-up window. (Click Order number pop-up window with sourcing message to see a sample.)

Related Topics

Overview of line item sourcing

Sample sourcing scenarios

Open the Source Line dialog box