Purchase suggestions and Internal replenishment suggestions can be created to supply items that are not in season. Even if a season profile is in use, the system can still suggest to buy, for example, snow spades in summer or lawn mowers in winter. This functionality, which deals with the possibility to block items from being included on a purchase suggestion and internal replenishment suggestion, is applied when Purchase suggestions and Internal replenishment suggestions are created automatically by the system via the Create purchase suggestions and Create internal replenishment suggestions menu items. The purchase suggestion creation and internal replenishment suggestion creation processes will search for blocks before creating the line.
This functionality is used in the following processes:
- Create purchase suggestion
- Create internal replenishment suggestion
- Purchase suggestion simulation
The following depicts the set-up instructions.
Note that the set-up instructions for everything required to automatically create a Purchase suggestion and Internal replenishment suggestion are not outlined below. Ensure your system is set up with everything that is needed.
| Tables/Files |
To do |
| Work with companies |
Make sure the Inventory Control application is activated. |
| Work with items |
Make sure the item/warehouse used in the automatically created suggestions are activated for Warehouse Management, i.e., the Activate WHM field on the Item file maintenance, Warehouse management panel is set to YES.
For automatically created purchase suggestions, make sure your items have the following defined:
- Planning method field set to 1 (Purchase suggestion) or 6 (Purchase sugg, Supply plan) on the Item file maintenance, Inventory information panel. (Note: If that field is set to 6 then the Item must be activated for supply plan, i.e. the Supply plan field on Item file maintenance, Inventory management panel must be set to YES.)
- Item type field set to 3 or 4 on the Item file maintenance, Manufacturing info panel if the MFG application is activated. If that application is not activated, then this field is not applicable.
- Handling status field on the Item file maintenance, Warehouses panel is set to a handling code that denotes that purchase is allowed (i.e., Valid for purchase order).
For automatically created internal replenishment suggestions, make sure your items have the following defined:
- Supplied from whs field on the Item file maintenance, Inventory management panel for your item and warehouse combination. The value in this field is retrieved from Work with warehouses, but may be overridden here. Enter the warehouse code indicating the warehouse from which this item in this warehouse is supplied.
- Planned from whs field set to 2 (Supplying warehouse) on the Item file maintenance, Inventory management panel for your item and warehouse combination.
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| Work with suggestion blocks |
Per suggestion block you define the rules for blocking items from being included on an automatically created purchase suggestion and internal replenishment suggestion. You will eventually connect the applicable suggestion block to the Suggestion block field on the Item file maintenance, Inventory management panel for the Item and Warehouse combination.
Add as many suggestion blocks as required, and complete the following fields:
- Block
- Description
- Buy to sales order
- If you set this field to NO, then the item/warehouse that is linked to this suggestion block on the Item file maintenance, Inventory management panel, will always be blocked from inclusion on automatically created purchase suggestions and automatically created internal replenishment suggestions.
If you set this field to YES, then the item/warehouse that is linked to this suggestion block on the Item file maintenance, Inventory management panel will be blocked from inclusion on automatically created purchase suggestions and automatically created internal replenishment suggestions, with the following exception: The block will be ignored if there are sales orders for this item waiting to be picked, and the item has a Handling status (on Item file maintenance/Warehouses panel) that indicates that purchase is allowed (i.e., Valid for purchase order). If those conditions are met, the item will appear on the suggestion anyway, with just enough quantity to cover what is already sold, (i.e., the suggestion line will be created if available quantity is below zero, and the quantity to supply will be set to the absolute value of the negative available quantity).
- Date comparison
- This field determines if the block dates (entered on the Detail panel) should reflect the Suggestion run date (Today) or the Expected arrival date (Today + planning time). Enter the applicable panel value code.
Valid codes are:
| Code |
Description |
| 1 |
The dates on the block are compared to the day when the purchase suggestion creation program is run (today). |
| 2 |
The dates on the block are compared to the day of the expected arrival date (today + planning time) |
Access the Detail panel by clicking the Details option on the initial panel. On the Work with suggestion blocks, Details panel, add the from and to date(s) (MMDD) denoting the validity period of the suggestion block.
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Item file
(Inventory management panel for the applicable item/warehouse combination) |
Connect the applicable suggestion block code in the following field:
- Suggestion block
- Enter the applicable suggestion block from Work with suggestion blocks if you want to apply a suggestion block for this item to this warehouse in the Create purchase suggestions and Create internal replenishment suggestions routines.
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