Purchase Usage Analysis Report overview
Function acronym: PORBU
Use this report to segregate items that experienced usage variations, numerous stock outs, incorrect order quantities, or are misclassified seasonal or nonseasonal products. When you run the report, you determine which periods to use. If a full month of data is not available for the current month, it is not included.
Usage is the most important factor for every inventory decision that must be made. It is the most important element for reasonably predicting good service levels coordinated with profitable turn rates. The usage must be expressed in units that are related to a time period for each active, stocked product in your warehouse. If usage estimates are prepared with incorrect data or in a careless manner, your inventory control is compromised.
Usage patterns are constantly changing. Unusual sales or transfers can cause usage patterns to be erratic. This report lists the products that experienced the percentage change you specify. The percentage change is calculated for products that experienced either a negative or positive change.
Stock out situations result in lost revenue or an increase in customer back orders and require analysis. Is this a seasonal product at the end of the season? Is it a planned situation with products that have zero order points? Or is it because of incorrect usage numbers? This report locates the products that experienced stock outs for the time period you designate.
If the prior month’s usage is 0 (zero), then it still qualifies as a usage trend change. In the Products Where Usage Trend Changed by X% over the Last XX Months section for non-seasonal products, the prior month is compared to XX + 1 months ago. If usage for both periods is zero, the product is not listed. If usage for the prior month is zero, -999% is displayed. If usage for XX + 1 months ago is zero, 999% is displayed, otherwise the actual percentage is calculated and displayed.
Usage period
If January is your current month and you accept the default of 6 in the Over The Last X Months field, December is considered the first month, November the second month, and so on. See the table below.
| Month | Position |
|---|---|
| January | Current Month |
| December | 1st Month |
| November | 2nd Month |
| October | 3rd Month |
| September | 4th Month |
| August | 5th Month |
| July | 6th Month |
| June | 7th Month |
Product Inquiry Replenishment history must exist for the number of months you choose. The Product Inquiry-Replenishment-Usage First Merge and Last Merge date fields are used to determine if adequate history is available.
Seasonal products
Products are considered seasonal if 80% of the annual sales occur in 6 consecutive months or less. Seasonal products use an equivalent period from last season's history to calculate usage. If you have products that are classified as seasonal, but do not meet the 80% in six months criteria, usage rates may be inaccurately predicted. The opposite holds true for products that meet the 80% in six months’ criteria. Misclassifications defeat the purpose of inventory control. The PO Usage Analysis Report helps you isolate the misclassifications according to the parameters you enter.
If you have a seasonal product with season dates established in both Product Line Setup and Product Warehouse Product Setup, the Product Warehouse Product Setupsetting takes precedence over the Product Line Setup season settings. If the season dates in Product Line Setup or Product Warehouse Product Setup do not match the season dates determined by the Purchase Usage Analysis Report, an exception message is generated to notify you of the difference.