Nonstock controls

With nonstock products, you can provide the inventory your customer needs without the overhead of a regular stocked product. Nonstocks also offer flexibility in handling when you are considering converting them to stock, or when they stay in your warehouse longer than expected. Using the nonstock controls in Distribution SX.e, you can handle nonstock items routinely and exercise total control over the process to maximize your profits and your customers' satisfaction.

Without these controls, nonstocks might end up on a shelf with other miscellaneous items, dead stock, and damaged goods to be forgotten or thrown away. If a customer called to order one of these nonstocks, you would place another request with the buyer because you forgot the item had been ordered months ago.

By following established guidelines for handling nonstocks, the buyer can efficiently obtain the product to fill orders. When you do not stock the item, you can keep costs down and offer a wider variety of products to your customers. These controls are established for nonstocks:

  • You can require that a sales order or warehouse transfer be tied to any nonstock entered on a PO. Select the Order or WT Required When Non-stock Item Entered on PO option in SA Administrator Options-Documents-Purchase Orders-Entry Defaults. Nonstock items can only be purchased when the entire quantity is sold first.
  • When you enter a nonstock product in Sales Order Entry, the Nonstock window is displayed. The information you specify in the Nonstock window is included on the assigned buyer’s replenishment report so the buyer can obtain the item from the appropriate vendor. Ask your customer for specific details to ensure efficient handling.
  • When you enter a nonstock product, you can see if surplus quantity is available for the product in the ordering warehouse or in another warehouse, avoiding another order with the vendor and increasing your surplus inventory.
  • You can limit whether an operator can override the shipped quantity of an order in Sales Order Entry. The SA Operator Setup-Entry Overrides option, Non Stock Qty Ship Override in OE, controls whether the operator is allowed to make changes to the quantity shipped, decrease the quantity only, or make no changes to this quantity.
  • Nonstocks can be assigned to a bin location to enable their tracking within the warehouse. This primary bin location is stored on the Product Adjust Non-stock/Direct Order Entry record along with quantities for the product. You can apply security controls in SA Operator Setup that enable your operators with inquiry only (level 2) security for Product Adjust Non-stock/Direct Order Entry. This security level allows them to change bin locations when product is moved in the warehouse.
  • When nonstock items are received, warehouse personnel know which order to allocate the goods to and where to place excess inventory that is not shipped immediately.
  • Any changes that might have occurred, such as a price change, are included on the customer’s invoice.
  • You can use Event Manager to notify your managers when order ties are created or broken, or when a nonstock item should be reviewed for conversion to stock.
  • Nonstocks can be converted to stock inventory or created as an Order-as-needed - Nonstock (OAN-NS) product.