Product Line Setup - General field descriptions
Fields are presented in alphabetical order within each section.
Click a link to view field descriptions for that section:
General
- Auto Merge
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If you have certain product lines that are replenished consistently, select the Auto Merge field. When this field is selected, and the target is met, the product line review will be accepted and merged without manual intervention.
As reports are created in PO RRAR, they are reviewed to see if the product line is set as an auto merge product line. The target is checked to see if it is met. If it is, the PO RRAR Acceptance header is automatically accepted and records are created for the PO RRAR Merge.
Report Scheduler must be running to implement this feature. By using a stored report, you may select the options for the automatic printing of purchase orders. The options that control the auto merge default from a stored report for PO RRAR Merge.
Note: This stored report must be named @automrg. Report Scheduler must be active for this function to execute properly. Printers specified cannot be void or blank, or processing will be stopped. - Buyer
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The buyer responsible for purchasing the products in this product line. This person has primary responsibility for reviewing the line and determining which products qualify for the current order. This field is required if you are setting up a regular product line record. If you are establishing a central purchasing product line record and left the Whse field blank, this field is not required.
Buyers are set up in SA Table Code Value Setup. The buyer's name appears to the right of the field after you specify a valid buyer.
- Consolidate Lines / Consolidate Whses
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These fields are instrumental in implementing Central Purchasing. There are several related setups that must be considered in conjunction with these fields before Central Purchasing is implemented.
These fields are initially cleared. If you are not implementing central purchasing, accept the default. The following will be the result of the way the fields are set.
If Consolidate Lines = Cleared; Consolidate Whses = Cleared, then the PO RRAR function will create one purchase order for each product line per warehouse. This is the standard PO RRAR processing functionality.
If Consolidate Lines = Selected; Consolidate Whses = Selected, then you can use the central vendor buying method. This indicates that every PO RRAR report (selected for merging) with the same vendor and warehouse should be combined into a single purchase order.
For example, if you have three product lines for a given vendor and each one has the Consolidate Lines field selected and the Consolidate Whses field cleared, they are combined into a single purchase order. The vendor would probably still have separate target buy amounts for each product line but will allow a single purchase order for all the products on the reports.
Report # Vendor Warehouse Product Line New PO # 101 Acme Denver Tools 1001 102 Acme Denver Hardware 1001 103 Acme Denver Supplies 1001 In this example, all three reports will be combined into a single purchase order because all three are for the same vendor and warehouse, but different product lines.
If Consolidate Line = Selected; Consolidate Whses = Cleared, then you can use the central vendor buying method to consolidate RRARs with the same vendor into a single purchase order. Any discounts or rebates on one or multiple reports are consolidated based on the calculated value of the discount on each RRAR. This is true even if you are merging lines in the same warehouse.
If Consolidate Lines = Cleared; Consolidate Whses = Selected and = Blanket, then you can use the central purchasing method. Each PO RRAR report with the same vendor and product line (regardless of the warehouse) will be combined into a single purchase order. Because there will be a PO RRAR for each warehouse when the purchase order is created, the PO RRAR Merge will create Blanket (BL) and Blanket Release (BR) purchase orders, as indicated by the -Blanket. When each warehouse receives the merchandise, it will be received against a Blanket Release (BR) purchase order.
The central purchasing user will need the ability to specify a target buy level that is associated with a certain vendor and product line, regardless of the warehouse. In this case, they can create a Product Lines Setup record that does not contain a warehouse. The vendor involved may offer better buying incentives that could only be achieved when buying for more than one warehouse.
Report # Vendor Warehouse Product Line New PO # 101 Acme Denver Tools 1001-01(BR) 102 Acme Los Angeles Tools 1001-02(BR) 103 Acme Chicago Tools 1001-03(BR) 104 Acme Denver Hardware 1002-01(BR) 105 Acme Los Angeles Hardware 1002-02(BR) 105 Acme Chicago Hardware 1002-03(BR) In the example above, the first three PO RRAR reports are for the same vendor and product line, but different warehouses. A Blanket (BL) purchase order (#1001-00) is created to order the line items for the first three PO RRAR reports. Three Blanket Release (BR) purchase orders with different suffixes are created (#1001-01, 1001-02, 1001-03). Because the Consolidate Lines field is cleared, there will be separate purchase orders for each product line.
A second Blanket (BL) purchase order is created for the hardware product line (#1002-00). Three Blanket Release (BR) purchase orders are created for each warehouse (#1002-01, 1002-02, 1002-03). All PO RRAR reports for the same vendor and product line are combined, creating a Blanket (BL) purchase order.
If Consolidate Lines = Selected, Consolidate Whses = Selected; and = Blanket, then you can use the central purchasing method. This is similar to the previously defined condition, except all PO RRAR reports with the same vendor, regardless of warehouse and product line, will be combined into a single purchase order. This condition will also create Blanket (BL) and Blanket Release (BR) purchase orders. For a given vendor, all PO RRAR reports for the same warehouse, regardless of the product line, will be combined into a Blanket Release (BR). This condition will allow you to buy centrally if your vendor will allow you to combine all the product lines into a single purchase order.
Report # Vendor Warehouse Product Line New PO # 101 Acme Denver Tools 1001-01(BR) 102 Acme Los Angeles Tools 1001-02(BR) 103 Acme Chicago Tools 1001-03(BR) 104 Acme Denver Hardware 1001-01(BR) 105 Acme Los Angeles Hardware 1001-02(BR) 106 Acme Chicago Hardware 1001-03(BR) In the example above, six reports are for the same vendor. A Blanket (BL) purchase order (1001-00) is created to list the line items for all six reports; then there are three Blanket Release (BR) purchase orders from the Blanket (BL) purchase order. Each release represents a different warehouse's portion of the combined quantity:
- #1001-01 Denver
- #1001-02 Los Angeles
- #1001-03 Chicago
If Consolidate Lines = Cleared, Consolidate Whses = Selected and = Transfer, then you can use central warehousing. This indicates that every PO RRAR report with the same vendor and product line, regardless of the warehouse, should be combined. A regular purchase order will be created for the central warehouse that is indicated on the SA Table Code Value Setup - Buyer. All line items are combined. Separate warehouse transfers are created for each warehouse, with the central warehouse (Denver) indicated as the ship-from warehouse.
Report # Vendor Warehouse Product Line New WT # New PO # 101 Acme Seattle Tools 5 1001 Denver 102 Acme Los Angeles Tools 6 1001 Denver 103 Acme Chicago Tools 7 1001 Denver 104 Acme Seattle Hardware 8 1002 Denver 105 Acme Los Angeles Hardware 9 1002 Denver 106 Acme Chicago Hardware 10 1002 Denver In this example, the SA Table Code Value Setup- Buyer record specified the central warehouse as Denver. The first three PO RRAR reports are for the same vendor and product line but different warehouses. A purchase order that contains the line items from all three PO RRAR reports is created (#1001) for the central warehouse. The last three PO RRAR reports are for the same vendor and product line, but different warehouses. A purchase order that contains the line items from all three PO RRAR reports is created (#1002) for the central warehouse. Separate warehouse transfers are created for each of the warehouses. The ship-from warehouse is Denver, and the ship-to warehouses are the warehouses indicated on the PO RRAR. Since the Consolidate Lines field is cleared, there is a separate order for each product line. The second set of orders for the second product line is similar to the first set.
The warehouse transfer orders will be tied to the purchase order that is created for the central warehouse. When the merchandise arrives at the central warehouse and the purchase order is received, the warehouse transfers will be released through Sales Entry Processing Back Order Fill and shipped to the respective warehouses.
If Consolidate Lines = Selected, Consolidate Whses = Selected, and = Transfer, then you can also use central warehousing. This is similar to the previous option, with the exception that all PO RRAR reports with the same vendor, regardless of warehouse and product line, will be combined. This will also create a regular purchase order for the central warehouse and create warehouse transfers for each of the warehouses that need to be replenished.
Report # Vendor Warehouse Product Line New WT # New PO # 101 Acme Seattle Tools 5 1001 Denver 102 Acme Los Angeles Tools 6 1001 Denver 103 Acme Chicago Tools 7 1001 Denver 104 Acme Seattle Hardware 8 1001 Denver 105 Acme Los Angeles Hardware 9 1001 Denver 106 Acme Chicago Hardware 10 1001 Denver In this example, all six PO RRAR reports are for the same vendor. A regular purchase order is created for the central warehouse to cover line items for all six reports. One warehouse transfer for each branch warehouse is created to transfer the merchandise from the central warehouse.
If special or nonstock lines exist in a product line that is not scheduled for review, then a line item is created. The Cons Lines (consolidated lines) and Whses (consolidated warehouses) fields are cleared because a Product Lines Setup check is not performed. The PO RRAR would not automatically be eligible for combining with other PO RRAR reports because the options are cleared. You would have to manually change the Cons Lines and Whses if you want to combine reports.
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Note: Rush PO RRAR reports cannot be consolidated.
- Description
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A short explanation of the products grouped in the product line.
- Frozen Review
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Each time the Product Administration Review Cycle Adjustment Report is run, the review controls for non-frozen product lines are reset. When you set a product line as frozen, the report will calculate the new review cycle and print it on the report but will not actually update the Review Cycle Days field. Because the new review cycle prints on the report, you can manually make the changes if you want. If you want to keep the review cycle permanent, instead of allowing it to be reset by Product Administration Review Cycle Adjustment, select this option.
The product line can be frozen for a temporary length of time as well. A temporary freeze can be used to allow a little additional time to show what will happen on a questionable product line. The controls can be frozen to accumulate another month or two of history to indicate whether or not the line will be profitable.
- Order Below LP
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This option impacts the way Purchase Entry Recommended Replenishment Action Report functions. Clear this option and products are recommended for ordering when the purchase net available (PNA) is less than or equal to the line point. Select this option and products are not recommended for ordering until the PNA falls below line point.
This option is also used for Transfer Entry Recommended Replenishment Action Report. To stop products from ordering at line point, select the check box for the product in the receiving warehouse.
- Receiving Tolerance to Cancel Remaining PO Quantity
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Used during Purchase Entry Receipt of Inventory. For all items not received on each purchase order, you can move all remaining quantities to a back order, new purchase order, or cancel them. However, if the percentage value of the remaining quantity to receive on the purchase order is less than the Rcving Tolerance to Cancel percentage, the remainder of the purchase order is canceled.
If you handle the quantities on each line item according to the tolerance level set for each product line, the tolerance level is compared to the remaining percentage of quantities remaining on the line to determine if they should be canceled. If the tolerance level is 2% and the quantity not received is less than or equal to the tolerance, the quantity not received will automatically be canceled.
- RRAR < 1/2 Unit Rounding
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Specify u for up to round the order quantity up when the order quantity is less than half a standard pack. Leave the field blank for no rounding. If rounding up occurs, the following messages appears.
**The Order Qty is Less Than ½ of a SP; Rounded Up to 1 Standard Pack**
Note: SP is the standard pack from Warehouse Products Setup.This field is also used when the standard pack is blank. Purchase Entry Recommended Replenishment Action Report does rounding for the buying unit. A different message appears:
**The Order Qty is Less Than ½ of a BU Rounded Up to 1**
Note: BU is the buying unit from Product Warehouse Product Setup. - Ship From
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Maintain the ship-from number for each product line. It must be a valid record in Vendor Ship From Setup. This number is transferred to the PO RRAR when it is being generated.
Review Cycle / Seasonality
- Days In
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The review cycle for a product line refers to the frequency with which it is scanned to determine whether or not an order should be placed with the supplier. The review cycle for a non-seasonal product is calculated as follows during Product Administration Review Cycle Adjustment Report:
365 divided by ( Total Annual Purchases) = Review Cycle Total Order Purchasing Target
For example:
365 divided by ($350,000 purchased in the last 12 months ) = 7.3 days
$7,000 Truckload Order gets freight paid
The $350,000 represents the annual purchases from Vendor Setup- Product for this particular vendor, who is willing to prepay freight charges if you purchase $7,000 per order. In this example, the review cycle turns out to be approximately once a week.
Note: The product line history can be recorded on Vendor Purchase History Setup. However, if target types are changed during the year, the history that is recorded will be incorrect.Properly determined review cycles, and the corresponding line points, offer a predictable, consistent, cost effective approach that minimizes the loss of line buying savings to excessive inventory carrying costs.
There is a review cycle of 14 when you first set up a product line. The Product Administration Review Cycle Adjustment Report recalculates the review cycle based on the purchases year-to-date and the target buy level. The report should be performed once a quarter. When you first set up the product line, change the default to the number of days you are currently using for this line.
- Days Out
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When a product line is out of season, it is not necessary to scan it as often to determine purchasing requirements. The Product Administration Review Cycle Adjustment Report determines the proper review cycle but initially you must manually enter it.
- Last Review
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The last review date is updated each time the Product Administration Month End Processing is performed. If the last review date plus review days is equal to or less than today's date, the product line is reviewed. If not, an order has already been placed for this product line and it does not need to be reviewed during this pass.
- Season Begin
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Seasonal product lines contain those products that sell much better in one time of year than another. Generally, it is a product line where 80 percent of the annual sales fall in six (or less) consecutive months. The PO RRAR will look back at the equivalent sales history for each product to develop usage predictions and to set ordering controls for both seasonal and off-season periods.
The Season Begin is the date the season is considered to begin. It is assumed to begin on the first day of the month.
- Season End
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The month the season ends. The season is assumed to end on the last day of the month entered.
- Transfer
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The expected review cycle for replenishment for this product when the ARP on the Product Warehouse Product Setup record is Warehouse. It is used in Product Administration Month End Processing to calculate the new Product Warehouse Product Setup Line Point.
The calculation first determines the review cycle average for the month:
Review cycle average = Transfer value / 28 rounded to 2 decimal places
Then use this review cycle average in the line point calculation:
New Warehouse Products Setup Line Point = (Warehouse Products Setup order point + (Usage rate * Review cycle average))rounded to 2 decimal places
Purchase Levels
- Discount
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The target discount multipliers, which are always a percentage, for this record. Up to nine discount multipliers can be entered. The multiplier can be based on gross prices with the target discount being added to the order discount on the purchase order header, or the multiplier can be based on net prices with the target discount being distributed to each line item during Purchase Entry RRAR Merge Process. This is based on the Merge Gross Prices or Merge Net Prices option.
The discounts are determined in the following manner:
- If the order quantity is equal to target buy 1, or up to but not equal to target buy 2, use discount multiplier 1.
- If the order quantity is equal to target buy 2, or up to but not equal to target buy 3, use discount multiplier 2.
- If the order quantity is equal to target buy 3, or up to but not equal to target buy 4, use discount multiplier 3.
The same pattern continues for the remaining target buys.
- Freight Consolidation
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Indicate if you want this product line to have a freight consolidation code as a default when PO RRARs are created for this product line. Freight consolidation codes are user defined and set up in SA Table Code Value Setup.
- Min Buy Type
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Determines what the minimum buy amount specified in the previous field is based upon. Valid options are Quantity, Weight, Amount, or Cubes. Each time products are ordered from the line, they should exceed the minimum buy amount for the purchase order to be placed unless special arrangements have been made with your vendor.
- Minimum Buy
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The minimum amount necessary to justify the purchase order creation. This is generally the amount necessary for the supplier to cover the cost of processing and delivering your order.
This appears on the Purchase Demand Center Entry - Totals screen and on the PO RRAR report for informational purposes. If the purchase order does not meet the vendor's minimum requirement, it should not be placed. However, if the purchase order is created from a Purchase Entry RRAR Merge Process, and the minimum buy is not reached, an exception message appears on the Purchase Entry RRAR Merge Process Report.
- Target Buy
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Enter up to nine break points in ascending order. These are the various targets offered by the vendor for this product line. During PO RRAR Acceptance you will be alerted when you are below your target level but not when you are close to the next level. The PO RRAR Merge will create purchase orders that reflect the discounted prices based on the target you have selected. If you have elected to bring the discount over as a whole order discount, PO RRAR Merge will produce correct purchase orders.
Target levels are used when calculating review cycles. If target levels are not offered by the vendor or you do not use them, they must be set manually or you must manually set your review cycle.
Note: The method for determining the correct discount is different than the method used to determine the Price/Discounting price and discount levels. Do not confuse the two. The discounts for product lines begin with a starting point of target level 1 and go up to the next level to qualify for the first discount. You may consider making target level 1 the same as your minimum order. The Price/Discounting records begin with zero and go up through the first level but does not include it to qualify for the first price and discount level. - Target Buy Level
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The level you are trying to achieve (1-9) is used by the PO RRAR as the actual target buy you are aiming for. The remaining target buy levels are considered informational. If another target buy level is desired, it must be manually changed.
After the PO RRAR is complete, you can review each line for acceptance. A message appears if this product line has not reached the desired target buy level. At that point the line can be rejected or adjustments can be made to reach the buy level.
- Target Type
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Determines what the target buy should be based upon. Valid options are Quantity, Weight, Amount, or Cubes. Each time an order is placed for the product line, it must qualify with the target type selected to receive the special discounts.
- Trend Pct
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A percent value used to override the trend percentage that is calculated during Product Administration Month End Processing. The trend percentage is applied to the usage calculation for only those products that qualify for a seasonal trend adjustment. Products that qualify have the Usage Control option in Product Warehouse Product Setup - Ordering set to Trend %.
If this percentage falls outside the range entered in the Product Administration Month End Processing Upper or Lower Trend Percentage Cap for Prods options, it will not be used. Rather, the upper or lower cap will be used.
If you leave the default of zero, the trend percentage that is calculated automatically during Product Administration Month End Processing will be used to determine usage.
If you are using Seasonal Demand Trending, this option is ignored. Seasonal Demand Trending is an alternative method of calculating a seasonal trend percentage based on early and late seasonal demand. In order to apply the Seasonal Demand Trending calculation when calculating usage for products, choose Trend %as the usage method in Warehouse Products Setup, and set Use Seasonal Trending option in Product Replenishment Setup - Usage to Yes. Refer to the Seasonal Demand Trending help topic for more information.
Cores
- Vendor Core Chg
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The cost used on purchase orders for implied and dirty core products. When this option is selected, the Cost Used for Vendor PO Cost on Implied/Dirty Cores, Vendor Core Chg Yes option in SA Admin Options > Products > Costs is used to determine a cost when you enter a purchase order.
When you receive the purchase order and this option is selected, core variances are posted rather than a core liability.
When this option is not selected, and you enter a remanufactured core product on a purchase order, the associated implied core cost defaults to zero.
When you receive the implied core product, a journal entry increases the value of the inventory at the implied market cost, which is always used to update the General Ledger for implied core products.
Purchasing Parameters - Vendor
- Carrying Cost
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Used if the order method for this product is economic order quantity (EOQ). EOQ compares the cost of carrying inventory with the cost of going through a purchase order replenishment cycle, thereby finding the quantity to purchase that will develop the lowest outgoing cost for the item.
The value in this field is used by Product Administration Month End Processing.
- Max Weeks Supply
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Use this field and the corresponding Min Weeks Supply to adjust the calculated EOQ quantity, if needed.
- Min Weeks Supply
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Use this field and the corresponding Max Weeks Supply to adjust the calculated EOQ quantity, if needed.
- Replenish Cost
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The cost of going through the replenishment cycle using purchase orders. It is calculated to a cost per base unit. If you define a replenishment cost at the product line level, it will override the replenishment cost specified on the Product Warehouse Description Setup record.
- Use ROQ?
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Select yes in this field and the replenishment (RRAR) process uses the vendor’s recommended order quantity or out-of-season order quantity for Warehouse Products Setup as the quantity it recommends to purchase. The setting for the RRAR option, Apply Halfway Rounding Rules?, applies to this order quantity.
Enter no and the RRAR always uses the standard line point minus purchasing net available formula to calculate the quantity it recommends to purchase.
Purchasing Parameters - Transfer
- Carrying Cost
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Used if the order method for this product is economic order quantity (EOQ). EOQ compares the cost of carrying inventory with the cost of going through a warehouse transfer replenishment cycle, thereby finding the quantity to purchase that will develop the lowest outgoing cost for the item. Carrying costs defined at the product line level in Product Setup override the carrying cost specified on the Product Warehouse Descriptions Setup record.
The value in this field is used by Product Administration Month End Processing Report and by the warehouse transfer replenishment processes.
- Max Weeks Supply
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Use this field and the corresponding Min Weeks Supply to adjust the calculated EOQ quantity, if needed.
- Min Weeks Supply
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Use this field and the corresponding Max Weeks Supply to adjust the calculated EOQ quantity, if needed.
- Replenish Cost
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The cost of going through the replenishment cycle using warehouse transfers. It is calculated to a cost per base unit. If you define a replenishment cost at the product line level, it will override the replenishment cost specified on the Product Warehouse Description Setup record.
- Use ROQ?
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Yes in this field means the replenishment (RRAR) process will use the vendor’s recommended order quantity or out-of-season order quantity from Product Warehouse Product Setup as the quantity it recommends to be transferred. The setting for the RRAR option, Apply Halfway Rounding Rules?, will apply to this quantity. Specify no and the RRAR will always use the line point minus purchasing net available formula to calculate the quantity to be transferred.