Getting Started with Solar Eclipse Purchasing Release 9.0.2
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Table of Contents Purchasing Overview... 1 Warehouse Schemes Principles... 2 Distributive Purchasing... 2 Central Purchasing... 2 Central Warehousing... 3 Central Distribution... 4 Defining Warehouse Schemes... 4 For Example... 5 Purchasing Processes... 6 Setup Requirements for Purchase Order Entry... 7 Control Maintenance Records... 7 Authorization Keys... 8 Setup Requirements for POE Substitutes... 10 Control Maintenance Records... 10 Setup Requirements for Projected Inventory Level... 11 Authorization Keys... 11 Setup Requirements for Minimum Order Cycle Days... 12 Control Maintenance Records... 12 Authorization Keys... 12 Setup Requirements for Procurement... 13 Control Maintenance Records... 13 Authorization Keys... 14 Accessible Branches... 14 Setup Requirements for Consignments... 15 Control Maintenance Records... 15 Additional Vendor Setup... 15 Setup Requirements for Buy Line Maintenance... 16 Control Maintenance Records... 16 Authorization Keys... 16 Setup Requirements for Returned Goods... 17 Control Maintenance Records... 17 Authorization Keys... 18 Index... 19 i
Purchasing Overview Your inventory is your most valuable asset. In hard-goods distribution, making a profit relies on the ability to balance inventory costs with customer service. In conjunction with Inventory Management, Eclipse Purchasing provides you with the necessary programs to control your inventory investments by using in-depth forecasting and product demand calculations to help you meet customer demand. For more information, see Suggested Purchase Orders Queue Rules and Guidelines and Creating and Managing Procurement Groups. We provide task automation features to optimize your buying power. You can monitor your products as they sell so you can replenish your product supply in various branches and use buy lines to manage your product purchases. Also, we provide options to procure from branch to branch and manage surplus stock. You can manage transfers based on committed sales. For more information, see Creating and Managing Buy Lines and Understanding How Transfers Work. The system helps you group your products so you can purchase them together and satisfy your vendors' requirements. You can also rank your products, which enables you to analyze sales-related data properly and run reports on your purchasing activities. For more information, see Product Ranking Information Uses and Product Ranking Method and Breakpoint Rules. You can calculate product demand using seasonal factors, raw hits, and multiple sales parameters. Exclude exceptional sales as needed, and compensate for lost sales or changing customer demand. You can create flexible procurement schemes for both distributive and centralized purchasing and warehousing that let you respond effectively to demand. For more information, see Calculating the Demand of Products. Purchasing helps you manage your inventory using variable methods such as economic order quantity (EOQ), Min/Max, Order Points, and Line Points. It also provides automatic stock and non-stock determination based on branch or network hits. Eclipse Purchasing balances buying opportunities with carrying costs using the suggested purchase order program to consider vendor targets, line buy discounts, and promotions. For more information, see Suggested Purchase Orders Queue Rules and Guidelines and Displaying and Sorting the Suggested P/O Queue. You can view inventory commitments and replenishment schedules in a future ledger and manage automatic transfers based on days supply, fulfillment requirements, and surplus inventory. Handle returned goods and warranties for products received from customers and vendors. For more information, see Returned Goods Queue, Returning Products, and Replenishing Child Branches. 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 1
Warehouse Schemes Principles Rel. 9.0.2 Warehouse Schemes Principles Eclipse uses four different warehouse schemes: Distributive Purchasing Central Purchasing Central Warehousing Central Distribution Warehouse schemes let you decide the most efficient way to purchase and store the products for your company. For example, if you have a small company it may be more cost effective for each branch to purchase and store its own products. However, if you have a large company with many branches, it might be better to have a central warehouse scheme and store all surplus products in one branch and ship only those items that are needed to the branches. Rules for defining warehouse schemes and an example are provided below. Distributive Purchasing In distributive purchasing a branch does its own purchasing and warehousing. Distributive purchasing is used primarily for single-branch companies. The system generates a Suggested P/O for the branch when that branch needs to replenish its stock. Distributive purchasing's focus lies in each branch being responsible for its own needs. As illustrated in the following figure, every branch purchases and warehouses the products needed for that branch. Central Purchasing In central purchasing, a parent branch coordinates purchasing for one or more child branches. Central purchasing's strength is that these branches combine their purchasing power to meet a vendor target while allowing inventory to go directly to the branches without transfer replenishment costs. Then, each branch receives and warehouses its own stock, as illustrated in the following figure. 2 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Rel. 9.0.2 Getting Started with Solar Eclipse Purchasing The system determines and uses a common order cycle to generate a Suggested P/O that reflects the combined needs of all partner branches. After generating the Suggested P/O, you convert the suggested purchase order to an actual purchase order for each branch. In the central purchasing warehouse scheme, the vendor can determine how the child branches are replenished. If the vendor is willing to deliver to each branch individually, you can use Drop Points Maintenance to indicate how those deliveries are made. Then, the ship branch is different for each child branch, and the purchase order is divided into multiple generations by the system. Use the Combine All Branches on a Central PO function from Buy Line Maintenance, through the Information > Additional Data menu option, to separate the generations into individual purchase orders that print for each branch. If you use Eclipse Forms and you want to configure the form for printing all generations use the Include all generations on this form check box on the Eclipse Forms Maintenance window. When set for a purchase order, the purchase order prints a form that consolidates all generations that use the same drop point. However, if the vendor is willing to separate each branch's items to individual pallets, but only delivers to the parent branch, then you can use the Cross Dock program at the parent branch to distribute the products among the child branches. This is similar to Central Distribution. Central Warehousing In central warehousing, a parent branch coordinates purchasing and storing products for one or more child branches, as illustrated in the figure below. These branches combine their purchasing power to meet a vendor target. In this warehouse scheme, a child branch needs to be replenished when the projected inventory level (PIL) of an item drops below the transfer point for the item at the child branch or below the maximum value for the item in the branch if you use Min/Max Values. Use the Suggested Automatic Transfer program or the Cross Dock program to determine which child branches need replenishment of which items. The program uses a series of calculations and conditions to determine the quantity of stock available at a parent branch for replenishment of child branches. 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 3
Warehouse Schemes Principles Rel. 9.0.2 The system determines and uses a common order cycle to generate a Suggested P/O Queue that reflects the combined needs of the parent branch and its child branches. After generating the Suggested P/O Queue, you can convert the suggested purchase order to an actual purchase order for the parent branch. Central Distribution In central distribution, a grandparent branch coordinates purchasing and storing products for one or more parent branches. A parent branch coordinates storing only for one or more child branches. The branches combine their purchasing power to meet a vendor target. The grandparent branch receives and warehouses the stock for other parent branches, which subsequently replenish child branches. For example, as illustrated in the following figure, Branch 1 purchases and warehouses for all branches. When Branch 1 replenishes Branch 3, it sends enough to meet the needs of both Branch 3 and 4. The system determines and uses a common order cycle to generate a Suggested P/O that reflects the combined needs of the grandparent branch and all the dependent branches. After generating the Suggested P/O, you can convert the suggested purchase order to an actual purchase order for the grandparent branch. The grandparent branch uses the Suggested Auto Transfer program to replenish the parent branches. The parent branches use the Suggested Auto Transfer program to replenish the child branches. Defining Warehouse Schemes Following are the rules for defining warehouse schemes for procurement groups: 4 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Rel. 9.0.2 Getting Started with Solar Eclipse Purchasing Every procurement group must have at least one distributive purchasing branch. This branch can be any branch in the network. More than one branch (or even all branches) can be defined. Other branches can use this purely distributive branch as a central warehouse and/or central purchasing warehouse. If the warehousing branch is not the same as the sales branch, the purchasing branch assigned must match the purchasing branch assigned to the parent warehousing branch. When setting up parent and child branches, the parent/child branch relationship must begin with a parent that is not a child to another branch, and terminate with a child branch that is not a parent to another branch. Otherwise, the configuration would form an impossible supply loop. For Example Following is a sample warehouse scheme set up using the above rules: Sls Br Whs Br Buy Br 1 1 1 Branch 1 is a distributive branch; it sells, warehouses and buys for itself. 2 2 2 Branch 2 is a central distribution branch that purchases for 3 2 2 Branches 3, 4, and 5. It warehouses for Branch 3, which in turn warehouses for Branches 4 and 5. 4 3 2 5 3 2 6 6 6 Branch 6 does central purchasing for Branch 7, but each branch 7 7 6 warehouses its own stock. 8 8 8 Branch 8 is a central warehousing branch that purchases and 9 8 8 warehouses for Branch 9. 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 5
Purchasing Processes Rel. 9.0.2 Purchasing Processes The following are several of the common tasks in the Purchasing program. Purchasing entire buy lines or super buy lines Combining buy lines Creating buy lines Limiting transfer returns from branches Setting minimum order cycle days for buy lines Purchasing for a child branch Purchasing using the Suggested P/O Queue Checking for surplus stock in the branches Creating a purchase order from the Suggested P/O Queue Adding return policies for buy line's products Adding warranty information for buy line's products Searching for emergency purchases on the Suggested P/O Queue Dealing with overdue purchase orders Entering purchase orders Entering legacy purchase orders Expediting purchase orders Tracking how well products sell in a year Replenishing products to branches Adding notes and instructions on purchase orders 6 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Rel. 9.0.2 Getting Started with Solar Eclipse Purchasing Setup Requirements for Purchase Order Entry Following are the control maintenance records and authorization keys used for Purchase Order Entry. Note: You can set up a vendor for a one-time transaction, if necessary. For one-time activation of a vendor, see Setting Vendor Branch Override Capabilities. Control Maintenance Records Set the following control maintenance records: Allow Alternate Branch Bill-To Address Auto Open Multiple Vendor Matrix Cells Automatically Calculate Duty Charges For Purchase Orders Change Both COGS And COMM-COST On Override Check Customer Credit On Procurement Commit Qty From Display Location Confirm Override Of Print Status 'E' On Purchase Orders Copy Procure Comments to P/O PO Header Branch Change Copy To Days Before Ship Date To Reserve Product Default Br Stock Value When A Product Becomes Active Default P/O Procurement Confirmation Queue Sort Default Ship Via For Purchase Orders Direct COGS Always Vendor Price Display Customers/Vendors Who Are Inactive At A Branch - for activating inactive vendors only. Exclude Original Sale Line Item Comment From Returned P/O Forecast Parameters for Demand Calculation Include Directs In Vendor Target Check When Printing A P/O Include Item With Zero Average Cost In Average Cost Calculation Include Tagged Quantities With Cost Calculations Job Queue Default Comment for P/O Expedite Queue Label Printing Default Print Selection For POE Line Item Standard Comments Maximum Difference Percentage from Average Cost in POE - for enabling MAC only. New Nonstock Buy Line Default Notify Buyer When Canceled Item Is On An Open Purchase Order 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 7
Setup Requirements for Purchase Order Entry Rel. 9.0.2 OE Warn If Procuring From Vendor Consignment PO Header Branch Change Copy To Print P/O Receiver Instead of Receiving Register Procure Comments Prompt For Lot ID On Process Of P/O Prompt For Serial Number Entry During Processing Re-sort Purchase Items When Closed For Branch Require Purchase Order Entry Header Screen Entry Set Br/Tr "Suggest On All" Flag To "No" For Lines In Super Buy Lines Shipping Branch Override for POE Update Associated Trackers Upon Invoicing Of Orders Use Vendor Print Status Override On The P/O Side Of A Direct Valid Vendor ASL Types Vendor Freight Terms Maintenance POE Best Cost Check Auto Open Multiple Vendor Matrix Cells Best Cost Check Through All Matrix Cells For Purchase Orders Enable Best Cost Check In Purchase Order Entry POE Prompts Prompt For Lot ID On Process of P/O Prompt For Serial Numbers When Processing Any Type Of Order POE Returns Append Return Comments To Return Goods Queue And Rtrn Gds PO Return Goods Queue Default Select Option Authorization Keys Assign the following authorization keys: FREIGHT.TARGET.OVERRIDE POE.ALLOWED POE.ASL.RELEASE POE.BID.PRC.EDIT POE.CLOSED.CHANGE.VENDOR POE.CLOSED.ORDER.CANCEL 8 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Rel. 9.0.2 Getting Started with Solar Eclipse Purchasing POE.CLOSED.ORDER.EDIT POE.CLOSED.ORDER.OPEN POE.CLOSED.PRC.EDIT POE.CLOSED.QTY.EDIT POE.CONSIGNMENT.ALLOWED - for consignment purchase order approval only. POE.CREDIT.QTY POE.CREDIT.REBILL POE.EDIT.CLOSED.PERIOD POE.EDIT.PAID.MATRL - for editing purchase orders after the material side has been paid. POE.EDIT.VIEW.ONLY.NOTES POE.MAC.OVERRIDE - for enabling MAC only.procurement.confirm POE.OPEN.ORDER.EDIT POE.OPEN.ORDER.PRINT POE.OPEN.PRC.EDIT POE.OPEN.QTY.EDIT POE.ORDER.TO.BID POE.RETURN.COST.EDIT POE.SCHEDULE POE.WRITER.EDIT POE.WRITER.POCOST PROCURE.GROUP.MAINT PROCUREMENT.CONFIRM SOE.CREDIT.RELEASE - for releasing purchase orders on credit hold SUGGESTED.PO.QUEUE SYS.ACTIVITY.CMT.EDIT VEN.DR.AUTH.ONETIME VEND.BR.AUTH.OVRD 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 9
Setup Requirements for POE Substitutes Rel. 9.0.2 Setup Requirements for POE Substitutes Following are the control maintenance records used for POE Substitutes in the Purchasing program. Control Maintenance Records Set the following control maintenance records: Auto Open Substitute Window For Items W/O Avail In POE Default B/O Days For Purchase Orders Default Setting For Bill Incoming Freight To Tagged Sales Order Print Committed Sales Orders On Shipment Receiver Purchase Order Freight Capitalization Default Require Purchase Order Entry Header Screen Entry Shipment Notification Freight Capitalization Default 10 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Rel. 9.0.2 Getting Started with Solar Eclipse Purchasing Setup Requirements for Projected Inventory Level Following are the authorization keys used for Projected Inventory Level in the Purchasing program. Authorization Keys Assign the following authorization keys: AOE.PIL.DAYS.OVRD POE.PIL.DAYS.OVRD SOE.PIL.DAYS.OVRD TOE.PIL.DAYS.OVRD 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 11
Setup Requirements for Minimum Order Cycle Days Rel. 9.0.2 Setup Requirements for Minimum Order Cycle Days Following are the control maintenance records and authorization keys used for Minimum Order Cycle Days in the Purchasing program. Control Maintenance Records Set the following control maintenance records: Minimum Order Cycle Days For Suggested P/O Authorization Keys Assign the following authorization keys: BUYLINE.MAINT 12 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Rel. 9.0.2 Getting Started with Solar Eclipse Purchasing Setup Requirements for Procurement Following are the control maintenance records and authorization keys used for Procurement, along with additional setup requirements. Control Maintenance Records Set the following control maintenance records: Default P/O Procurement Confirmation Queue Sort Default Lead Time Days for Branch Procurement Exclude Procure Comments From OE Group Procurements Procure Items On Original Ship Date Procure Comment New Nonstock Procure Group Default Specific Records for Purchase Order Entry Set the following control maintenance records for the Procurement functionality within Purchase Order Entry: Allow Procurement from Unauthorized Vendor Branches Check Customer Credit On Procurement Copy Comments For Procured Items To Transfers Specific Records for Sales Order Entry Set the following control maintenance records Procurement functionality within Sales Order Entry: Branch That Controls Branch That Receives Credit For The Sale Branch That Receives Credit For The Sale Change Both COGS And COMM-COST On Override Change Ship Date If Required Date Edited On Schedule Screens Create Log Entry When A Transfer Is Shipped Incomplete Default Ship Via For Purchase Orders Default Ship Via For Transfers Order Status Print Status Defaults Prevent Cost Update On Order From Tagged Order If Matrix Override Update Cost On Sales Order From Tagged Purchase Order Update Cost On Sales Order From Tagged Transfer Order User To Get Tracker When A Tag is Broken 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 13
Setup Requirements for Procurement Rel. 9.0.2 Authorization Keys Assign the following authorization keys: POE.ALLOWED PROCURE.GROUP.MAINT PROCUREMENT PROCUREMENT.ALL.BRS PROCUREMENT.CONFIRM PROCUREMENT.OVERRIDE.AVL SUGGESTED.PO.QUEUE Accessible Branches Use the Accessible Branches screen to establish the branches and territories each user has access to, including: Home Branch Home Territory Inventory Inquiry Territory Branches File Maintenance Use the Procure Group field on the Product Maintenance window to specify the procurement group for a product. A procurement group can include various branches and vendors that you procure from when needed. Since a procurement group frequently applies to an entire line, you can use the system's mass load feature to set a group for numerous products. If no procurement group exists for the product, or the buy line, the system uses the DFLT procurement group created during installation. Procurement Group Maintenance Use the Procurement Group Maintenance window to create or edit procurement groups. Use this window to specify the various branches and vendors that can be used for emergency procurements. Vendor Maintenance Many companies use the Vendor Maintenance window to create Buyer Locate vendors that can be included in a procurement group. An order taker uses these vendors to communicate urgency to a buyer. A buyer, in turn, sees the Buyer Locate vendor in the Procurement Confirmation queue and buys accordingly. When creating these vendors, use descriptive names that demonstrate the appropriate urgency to a buyer. Some examples of Buyer Locate vendors might include "Buyer Locate in Two Days" or "Buyer Procure." 14 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Rel. 9.0.2 Getting Started with Solar Eclipse Purchasing Setup Requirements for Consignments Following are the control maintenance records for consignment transactions, along with Additional Vendor Setup requirements. Control Maintenance Records Set the following control maintenance records: Allow Customer Consignment From Multiple Branches Default Vendor Consignment On Transfers Additional Vendor Setup To identify a vendor as a consignment vendor, set the Consignment Inventory field on the Vendor Maintenance window to Yes. For more information, see Entering Miscellaneous Vendor Information. In addition, you need to indicate how the vendor wants to handle consignments in transfers. Select one of the following: No Transfers - The vendor requires that consignment inventory remain in the warehousing branch indicated in the contract. Consigned to Inventory - The vendor requires that you purchase any consigned inventory items that you move to another branch in your company. Consigned to Consigned - The vendor allows you to move consigned inventory to any branch in your company as needed. 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 15
Setup Requirements for Buy Line Maintenance Rel. 9.0.2 Setup Requirements for Buy Line Maintenance Following are the authorization keys used for Buy Line Maintenance. Control Maintenance Records Set the following control maintenance records: Buy Line Maintenance Authorization Levels Default For Excess Grace In Buy Line Maint Default Lead Time Days If Product And Buy Line Have None Default Lead Time Factor If Product And Buy Line Have None New Nonstock Buy Line Default Set Br/Tr "Suggest On All" Flag To "N" For Lines In Super Buy Line Authorization Keys Assign the following authorization keys: BUYLINE.MAINT BUYLINE.MAINT.LEVEL VALID.BLINES 16 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Rel. 9.0.2 Getting Started with Solar Eclipse Purchasing Setup Requirements for Returned Goods Following are the authorization keys used for Returned Goods Maintenance and handling Return Policies: Control Maintenance Records Review the following control maintenance records: Append Return Comments To Product Description Append Return Comments To Returns Goods Queue And Rtrn Gds PO Check History On Sales Order Returns With Cut Product Return Branch View Lot Default Handling Charges For Returns Default Location For F, O, R Type Returns Default Location For S Type Returns Default Return Goods Quantity Types Display Availability On Product Return Page in WOE Display Inventory History If No Order # Entered For Returned Eclipse Forms - Footer Font Size For Return Goods Eclipse Forms - Footer Message For Return Goods Exclude Original Sale Line Item Comment From Returned P/O Exclude SOE Returns from PIL Check Include Original Customer P/O # In SOE Return Comment Maximum Days Allowed For Returns On Nonstock Items Maximum Days Allowed For Returns On Stock Items Post Shipping Freight On Return P/Os (StarShip) Prompt For Serial Numbers On Return Sales Order For O Type Require Reason For Return Code Restrict Quantities On Return Orders To Package Quantity Return Goods Standard Comments Return Items Affect The Required Deposit SOE Return/Credit Default Parameters Sales Order Entry Return Setup Types That Can Be Returned Any Time Update Cost On PO From Tagged Return SO In Return Goods Queue 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 17
Setup Requirements for Returned Goods Rel. 9.0.2 Use Tax Rate From Original Sale Order For Returns Valid Reason For Return Codes WOE Return Policy Content Authorization Keys Review the following authorization keys: SOE.ALLOW.NONRETURN SOE.CREDIT.QTY POE.RETURN.COST.EDIT SOE.RETURN.PROCESS SOE.RGA.REQUIRED SOE.NONRETURN.PROCESS OVERRIDE.RETURN.PAYMENT 18 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Index C central distribution about 4 central purchasing about 2 central warehousing about 3 consignments vendor setting up 15 D distributive purchasing about 2 M minimum order cycle setting up 12 P PIL (projected inventory level) setting up 11 procurements setting up 13 products purchasing about 1 substituting 10 projected inventory level (PIL) setting up 11 purchase orders processes 6 setting up 7 substitutes 10 purchasing about 1 authorization 7 processes 6 W warehouse schemes about 2 2016 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. 19