Other Types of Sales Documents and Methods for Creating a Sales Order

A sales quote, blanket sales order, and return order represent other types of sales documents, and provide an alternative method for creating a sales order. A sales order can also be created by an inbound Biztalk sales order transaction.

Sales Quotes

A sales quote specifies the item, quantity and UM, sales price, and planned shipment date for one or more line items, and acts like a sales order in many ways. For example, it uses the same approaches for pricing and discounting, cross reference identifiers, item substitutions, copy document, order- related text, and statistics. However, a quote cannot use order promising logic or reservations . A sales quote can be defined for an existing customer or a contact. A contact can be created on the fly, and a new customer can be created on the fly from the contact information.

A sales quote can be converted or copied to a sales order. When converting a quote, the system automatically assigns a separate sales order number, creates the same line items as the quote, and deletes the quote. Copying the quote allows multiple usage of the quotation.

An inbound Biztalk document can identify a request for sales quote. This information provides the basis for creating a sales quote that can be reviewed and modified, and then sent back to the customer as accepted or rejected. The inbound document identifies the line items to be quoted, such as the item, quantity, and UM. The rules for exchanging information determine whether the inbound requests should be manually accepted or used to automatically create a sales quote. In either case, a designated user can be notified via e-mail upon receipt of an inbound Biztalk request for sales quote.

A sales quote can be printed or faxed, printed to file and attached to an e-mail, or sent via a Biztalk outbound document. An agreement concerning the outbound document must be previously defined for the customer as part of the setup information for Biztalk partners .

Blanket Sales Orders

A blanket sales order specifies the item price and aggregate quantity for one or more line items, where each line items aggregate quantity provides the basis for pricing and line discounts . Each sales order line item related to a blanket order inherits the item price and consumes the aggregate quantity. The cumulative sales order quantities cannot exceed the aggregate quantity.

Each line item on a blanket order also specifies a shipment date that represents an approximation of when the aggregate quantity will be shipped. Planning calculations treat a blanket order as a demand that reflects the specified shipment date and the unconsumed aggregate quantity. In this sense, a blanket sales order represents a sales forecast by customer that is consumed by related sales orders. The related sales orders do not consume an items sales forecast.

The user can convert a blanket sales order into a sales order, based on a user-specified quantity (termed the quantity to ship ) for applicable line items. This is sometimes referred to as a release against the blanket sales order . The system automatically assigns a separate sales order number, and identifies the originating blanket sales order and line number on each sales order line item. An alternative approach involves manual identification of the blanket sales order on a sales order line item. In either case, the system tracks the cumulative quantity shipped and invoiced for the blanket sales order.

The statistics for a blanket sales order include calculated totals for sales, cost, and the profit amount and percentage, calculated totals for quantity, volume, net weight, and gross weight, and calculated tax amounts segmented by tax identifier. The same statistics are also summarized for posted shipments and invoices related to the blanket sales order. The blanket sales order window provides access to detailed information about related transactions, such as shipments, invoices, returns, and credit memos.

Return Orders for Handling Customer Returns

A return order has a unique identifier that represents the return authorization number. A return order specifies a customer and bill-to-customer, and one or more line items. Each line item identifies an item, quantity and UM, price, ship-to location, and planned delivery date. A lot and serial number can be preassigned to incoming material (reflecting item tracking policies). The user can optionally designate return reason codes and the applicable document such as a posted invoice. A printed return order provides a return authorization document.

The process of handling customer returns can vary significantly dependingon the circumstances. A simple process, for example, involves creating a return order for specified items and quantities, receiving the returned goods, and posting the receipt to update inventory balances and create a credit memo. This simple process provides the foundation for additional steps. For example, after creation of the return order, the user can optionally create return-related documents such as a new sales order for sending the same items as a replacement. Sending a different item as a replacement requires additional steps to add a line item to the return order (with a negative quantity) and then generate a sales order for sending the replacement item. For purchased items being returned from the customer, the user can optionally create a new purchase return order (for returning the customers returned goods to the responsible vendor), and/or a new purchase order (for getting replacement items from the vendor). These examples illustrate a few of the variations in handling customer returns.

Creating a Sales Order from a Biztalk Inbound Document

An inbound Biztalk sales order document can be used for creating a sales order, with a designated user notified via e-mail upon document receipt. The inbound transaction must be previously authorized for the customer as part of the setup information for Biztalk partners. The inbound document contains sales order header information such as the sold-to and bill-to customer, as well as line item information about the item, quantity and UM, and ship-from site. Each line item also contains the price and discount information reflecting the customer agreements. The Biztalk partner setup information defines several rules for exchanging information:

Basis for Item Identification. The rule determines whether the customers transactions identify the internal item number or the common item number.
Manually Accept vs. Automatically Create the Sales Order . Manual acceptance requires a review of the pending inbound sales orders and a decision to accept or reject each sales order.
Convert a Previous Quote to a Sales Order. The referenced sales quote gets deleted and replaced with the sales order information.