Price Guidance in the Customer Order Process

Limitations

• Group discounts defined to be calculated at CO entry (when order entry is completed):

  Price guidance performed before completing the CO entry does not take group discounts into account, because they are not calculated yet.

• Group discounts defined to be calculated at invoicing, order total discount, and invoice discount:

  Price guidance does not take these discounts into account, because they are not calculated yet.

Price guidance

The price guidance for a customer order line is displayed in 'Price Guidance. Display' (OIS337), reached by related option 65='Price Guidance. Display' in 'Customer Order. Open Line' (OIS101), 'Customer Order. Open Line Toolbox' (OIS301), or 'Customer Order. Open Line Workbench' (OIS302). These options are only allowed if price guidance is activated on the order type in 'CO Type. Open' (OIS010/I).

A maximum of 99 price guidance levels can be displayed. The price guidance levels are defined in a price guidance model. The guidance prices are retrieved from price list tables connected to each level in the model. The prices are displayed as a net price, taking order lines discounts into considerations, unless 'Net price used' is selected on the price list.

Which model that is applied is controlled by an object control table, where for example 'User' or 'User class' can be defined to control which price guidance prices different users can see.

Use F17='More info' to see cost information such as 'Supplier rebate amount', 'Issued cost amount', 'Margin amount' and 'Margin percentage'.

Price override

Specify a new net price in (OIS337) and use F15='Update' to update the price on the order line. If the order has a discount model with a line allocated to price guidance, the change is stored as a discount on the order line (amount or percentage depending on the discount model line setting in 'Discount Model. Connect Disc Number' (OIS805)). If there is no discount line allocated to price guidance, the new net price is used as the sales price (with price origin 8='Manually entered') and all discounts are set to zero (with status 8='Manually entered').

If there is a discount line allocated to price guidance, only that discount gets status 8='Manually entered' and the order line keeps its price origin.

It is not possible to set a net price that is higher than a price guidance level defined as 'Maximum price'.

Note that the sales price and all discounts are protected from editing when price guidance is activated on the order type. The exception is ECI (Extended Catalog Items) in 'Customer Order. Acquire Sales Item' (OIS145). Here it is possible to edit the price and discounts since there is no good support for ECI in the price guidance. ECI are usually priced through price origin C (calculated price according to sales costing model on the customer order line).

Price authorization required – block the order line

If the specified net price in (OIS337) is below a price guidance level defined as 'Minimum price', you receive a message that you need authorization to sell at this price. The order line is blocked from being processed further until the price is authorized by someone who has the authorization to set such a low price. If activated, application message 433='CO line requires price authorization' can be sent to one or several users to inform that authorization is required.

There are several indications that a line is blocked for further processing:

• The 'Order line stop code' (OLSC) is set to 1-'Price change must be approved'. (Available on views in (OIS101), (OIS301), and (OIS302).)
• 'Pick hold' on the delivery line is set to 5-'Yes, price auth' to indicate that price authorization is required to release the line for picking in 'Delivery. Open Line Toolbox'(MWS411/E).
• The delivery gets delivery status 02-'Alloc failed' and the delivery stop code is set to A03-'Yes, price auth' in 'Delivery. Open Toolbox' (MWS410/E).

When one order line is blocked the other order lines are affected differently depending on the setting of the 'Allocation check' on the dispatch policy in 'Dispatch Policy. Open' (MWS010/G):

• 'Allocation check' is set to 0-'Allocated lines': No other lines are blocked for further processing.
• 'Allocation check' is set to 1-'Joint del lines': Lines with the same joint delivery code are blocked for further processing.
• 'Allocation check' is set to 2-'All order lines': All order lines are blocked for further processing.

Customer order types with next manual function 3 and 4 can only use dispatch policies that has 'Allocation check' set to 2, which means all order lines are blocked for further processing until there are no order lines blocked for price authorization.

The 'Order line stop code' is available in the XML for the order confirmation and quotation.

Price authorization

Any user with authorization to set the price can also authorize the price. This can be done at any workstation. Use F19='Local authorization' in (OIS337) to apply your authorization level to the program and retrieve the price guidance model valid for you. F19 prompts for a user name and PIN code and (OIS337) runs with that user ID until it is closed or another user uses F19.

Use F16='Approve price' to authorize the current price or F15='Update' to change the price. F14='Retrieve price' can be used to launch a new retrieval of sales price per the normal price logic, where the price override is removed.

If the price is below what you are authorized to approve when you attempt to approve the price with F16, you get a message that you will need authorization to sell at this price. If the message is confirmed, the order line remains blocked from being processed further until the price is authorized by someone who has the authorization to set such a low price. If activated, application message 433=‘CO line requires price authorization’ can be sent to one or several users to inform that authorization is required.

You must specify two 'Audit reason codes' in (OIS337/E) if the net price is below a price guidance level defined as 'Audit required' but above the minimum price.

If the function (OIS337) is activated in 'Function. Connect Reason Category' (CRS222)with reason category defined for both audit reasons. It is possible to add either one of the reason codes in (OIS337/E). If not activated, you must enter two audit reason codes in (OIS337/E).

Use F17='More info' to display the last 'Audit reason code' entered for the last modified audit required sales price in (OIS337/G).

It is possible to create a sorting order with the order line stop code (OBOLSC) in 'Customer Order. Open Line Workbench' (OIS302). A sorting option that uses OBOLSC as a 'Select' field in 'M3 File. Create Sorting Options' (CRS021/F) can be used to create a sorting order in (OIS302) which lists order lines that needs to be authorized.

If several order lines are selected in (OIS101) or (OIS302) and related option 65 is used to open (OIS337), the local authorization login is valid until the last of the selected order lines has been processed.

Copy customer order or quotation

Copying sales prices in customer orders to a CO type where ‘Price guidance’ is selected results in blocked lines. Copying blocked lines from a quotation results in blocked lines.

See Copy Sales Prices for Price Guidance.

Preliminary order

Approving a preliminary order raises the status on the customer order from 10 to 22. Order lines that are blocked for price authorization (OLSC is 1) will still be prevented from further processing.

Prepayment

Order lines that are blocked for price authorization (OLSC is 1) cannot be included in a payment proposal or an advance payment document. Once the price is approved, a new proposal or document must be created.

Customer order API (OIS100MI)

When price guidance is activated on the customer order type, OIS337MI should be used to change the price on the order line. OIS337MI can only be used for customer order lines in (OIS101), not batch order lines in 'Batch Order. Open Lines' (OIS276).

• AddBatchLine and SndBatchLine

  Transactions AddBatchLine and SndBatchLine ignore any price or discount that is sent as input if price guidance is activated on the order type.

• AddOrderLine and AddLineBatchEnt

  Transactions AddOrderLine and AddLineBatchEnt will activate the error message 'Field &1 should not be entered.' (S_00645) if any price or discount is sent as input and price guidance is activated on the order type (&1 in the error message is the field name, for example SAPR or DIA1.)