| Flexible purchase order processing |  |
| In ERP LN, the processing of purchase orders can be automated. For each activity that is linked to an order type, you can indicate its execution mode. Flexible purchase order processing enables you to: Indicate for the purchase order type what activities must be executed automatically and what activities require manual intervention. Enter a default device to which the (error) reports for a certain activity must be sent. The execution of the order procedure activities can start when a user approves the order, either in a batch session, or by clicking a button that approves the particular order. After approval of an order, all automatic activities are executed successively until an activity is defined as not automatic. After you executed the non-automatic activity manually, ERP LN executes the next automatic activity, and so on. As a result, for each order type you can indicate the activities that you want to automate and the activities that need your interference. To enable flexible order processing, you must first define the master data. Master data Before orders can be processed flexibly, you must define the following data: Purchase order types and purchase order type activities. Default devices to which reports are printed. Purchase order types and activities Define purchase order types and link activities to these order types in the Purchase Order Type - Activities (tdpur0694m000) session. You must indicate which of the activities must be executed automatically and which manually, by selecting or clearing the Automatic check box. Mandatory activities When you create an order type in the Purchase Order Type - Activities (tdpur0560m000) session, ERP LN automatically links the following predefined mandatory activities to the order type in the Activity field of the Purchase Order Type - Activities (tdpur0560m000) session: Generate Supply Orders for Subcontracting (tdpur4216m000). This activity is only available and mandatory for the subcontracting order type. Release Purchase Orders to Warehousing (tdpur4246m000). Purchase Receipts (tdpur4106m000). Update Sales / Service Order with Delivery Information (tdpur4222m000). This activity is only available and mandatory for the direct delivery order type. Process Delivered Purchase Orders (tdpur4223m000). Note For the consignment payment order type, the activities Release Purchase Orders to Warehousing (tdpur4246m000), and Purchase Receipts (tdpur4106m000) are not linked. For the direct delivery order type, the activity Release Purchase Orders to Warehousing (tdpur4246m000) is not linked. Although the activities Release Purchase Orders to Warehousing (tdpur4246m000) and Purchase Receipts (tdpur4106m000) can both be linked as a mandatory activity to the order type, either the Release Purchase Orders to Warehousing (tdpur4246m000) activity or the Purchase Receipts (tdpur4106m000) activity is executed during the order procedure. You cannot execute both activities for the purchase order. This applies to purchase orders with an (administrative) cost or service item. A purchase order is released to Warehousing if it contains an item whose Item Type is set to Cost or Service in the Item - General (tcibd0101s000) session and for which the Release to Warehouse check box is selected in the Items - Purchase (tdipu0101m000) session. If the Release to Warehouse check box is cleared, you must manually maintain the receipts for the purchase order in the Purchase Receipts (tdpur4106m000) session. Optional activities To support you in setting up a flexible order processing procedure, in addition to the mandatory activities, ERP LN also links the following optional activities to the Activity field, which you can delete again in the Purchase Order Type - Activities (tdpur0560m000) session: Print Purchase Orders (tdpur4401m000) Generate Freight Orders (tdpur4220m000) Print Claims (tdpur4420m000) Print Return Notes (tdpur4411m000) Print Purchase Invoices (tdpur4404m000) Note For the consignment payment order type and the collect order type, the activity Generate Freight Orders (tdpur4220m000) cannot be linked. When you link Generate Freight Orders (tdpur4220m000) as an activity to the order type, execution of this activity is actually controlled on the purchase order line, or the purchase order line detail. For more information on the Generate Freight Orders (tdpur4220m000) activity, refer to Integration Freight Order Control and Purchase Control. Important! You must make sure that the list of activities that is linked to an order type is extensive enough to cover all processes that can apply during execution of the order procedure. If an activity is not applicable to the order type, ERP LN automatically skips/removes this activity. You can view the actual activities that are linked to the purchase order line (detail) and the status of the activities in the Purchase Order Activities (tdpur4113m000) session. Default devices Define a default device to which reports are printed for the user in the Purchase User Profiles (tdpur0143m000) session. When you insert a user profile in the Purchase User Profiles (tdpur0143m000) session, ERP LN automatically inserts the following printing sessions in the Default Devices by User (tdpur0140m000) session: Print Request for Quotations (tdpur1401m000). Print RFQ Reminders (tdpur1402m000). Print Letter for Unsuccessful Bidders (tdpur1410m000). Print Purchase Contract Acknowledgments (tdpur3405m000). Print Purchase Contract Termination Letters (tdpur3406m000). Print Purchase Orders (tdpur4401m000). Print Return Notes (tdpur4411m000). Print Claims (tdpur4420m000). For each printing session, you can define the device that is used for printing in the Default Devices by User (tdpur0140m000) session. You can start this session by clicking Default Devices by User on the appropriate menu of the Purchase User Profiles (tdpur0143m000) session. The Device in the Default Devices by User (tdpur0140m000) session is defaulted from the Device in the Purchase User Profiles (tdpur0143m000) session, but can be overwritten in the Default Devices by User (tdpur0140m000) session. The device search path for printing external documents is as follows: From the Default Devices by User (tdpur0140m000) session. From the Purchase Order Type - Activities (tdpur0560m000) session. If no device can be found, you must select a device from a pop-up screen. The device search path for printing internal documents is as follows: From the Purchase User Profiles (tdpur0143m000) session. From the Purchase Order Type - Activities (tdpur0560m000) session. If no device can be found, you must select a device from a pop-up screen. Note If an error report is printed, ERP LN always uses the device that is entered in the Device field of the Purchase User Profiles (tdpur0143m000) session. If no device is entered, you must select a device from a pop-up screen. For automatically executed activities, no process reports are printed. Relation between purchase order status and flexible purchase order processing The starting moment on which the defined order procedure activities are executed, is when the purchase order receives the Approved status. You can approve purchase orders by: Running the Approve Purchase Orders (tdpur4210m100) session, in which you can approve a range of purchase orders. Selecting a purchase order and clicking Approve on the appropriate menu of the Purchase Orders (tdpur4100m000) session, or the Purchase Order - Lines (tdpur4100m900) session. Note Only orders that are Approved are taken into account in the flexible order processing functionality. Example
Order type sequence | Activity | Automatic
--- | --- | ---
1 | Print Purchase Orders (tdpur4401m000) | Yes
2 | Release Purchase Orders to Warehousing (tdpur4246m000) | Yes
4 | Process Delivered Purchase Orders (tdpur4223m000) | No
Because Print Purchase Orders (tdpur4401m000) is an automatic activity, the purchase order is printed as soon as it is approved. Next, ERP LN automatically executes the activity Release Purchase Orders to Warehousing (tdpur4246m000). However, you must manually process the purchase order in the Process Delivered Purchase Orders (tdpur4223m000) session. Purchase order line changes If a line of an approved purchase order is modified, the order header status changes to Modified and ERP LN clears the Approved check box in the Purchase Order Lines (tdpur4101m000) session. As a result, the unapproved purchase order line is excluded from the automatic execution of order activities. To re-approve the purchase order line, click Approve on the appropriate menu of the Purchase Order - Lines (tdpur4100m900) session. As a result, ERP LN selects the Approved check box in the Purchase Order Lines (tdpur4101m000) session and changes the purchase order header status to Approved again. Purchase order line detail changes When an approved purchase order line changes to a Total line with line details, the Total line and line details remain approved. The reason for this is that the new line details are a copy of the approved purchase order line. You must manually approve a line detail that is added or modified. The purchase order header status that, as a result, was set to Modified, changes to Approved again. When all line details are approved, ERP LN also approves the Total line. When one or more line details are unapproved, ERP LN also unapproves the Total line. This applies to both line details, and back order lines. When a Total line is approved, ERP LN also approves the linked line details. When the line detail is a back order line, ERP LN automatically approves the back order line when the back order line’s Ordered Quantity does not exceed the Potential Back Order Quantity, as displayed in the Potential Purchase Back Orders (tdpur4101m700) session. If the ordered quantity exceeds the potential back order quantity, or if the back order line is changed, you must approve the back order line manually. Related topics Purchase organizational data Overview of purchase order handling Direct delivery sales orders Overview of subcontracting |