Flexible purchase order processing

You can automate the processing of purchase orders. For each activity that is linked to an order type, you can specify its execution mode: automatic or manual.

The execution of the order procedure activities can start when a user approves the order. After approval of an order, all automatic activities are executed successively until an activity is defined as nonautomatic. After you manually executed the nonautomatic activity, LN executes the next automatic activity, and so on.

To enable flexible order processing, you must first specify the following data:

Purchase order types and purchase order type activities.
Default devices to which (error) reports for a user are printed.

Purchase order types and activities

Specify 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, LN automatically links the following 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 Order with Delivery Information (tdpur4222m000). This activity is only available and mandatory for the direct delivery order type.
Process 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 Cost or Service in the Items - General (tcibd0501m000) session and for which the Release to Warehouse check box is selected in the Item - 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, 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)

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, LN automatically skips/removes this activity. You can view the 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

Specify a default device to which reports are printed for the user in the User Profiles (tdpur0143m000) session.

When you insert a user profile in the User Profiles (tdpur0143m000) session, 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 User Profiles (tdpur0143m000) session. The Device in the Default Devices by User (tdpur0140m000) session is defaulted from the Device in the 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 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, LN always uses the device that is entered in the Device field of the 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.

Purchase order status and flexible purchase order processing

Flexible purchase order processing starts when a 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.

Purchase order line (detail) changes

When a line (detail) of an approved purchase order is modified, the order header status changes to Modified. The modified purchase order line is now excluded from the automatic execution of order activities. You must re-approve the purchase order.

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.
When all line details are approved, LN also approves the Total line. When one or more line details are unapproved, LN also unapproves the Total line. This applies to line details and back order lines.
When the line detail is a backorder line, LN automatically approves the backorder line when the backorder line’s Ordered Quantity does not exceed the Potential Backorder Quantity, as displayed in the Potential Purchase Back Orders (tdpur4101m700) session. If the ordered quantity exceeds the potential backorder quantity or if the back order line is changed, you must manually approve the backorder line.

Example

Order type sequence	Activity	Automatic
1	Print Purchase Orders (tdpur4401m000)	Yes
2	Release Purchase Orders to Warehousing (tdpur4246m000)	Yes
4	Process 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, LN automatically executes the activity Release Purchase Orders to Warehousing (tdpur4246m000). However, you must manually process the purchase order in the Process Purchase Orders (tdpur4223m000) session.