Use the Buyers Control Center Detail screen to view detailed information about the replenishment path; make changes, or create purchase orders, transfers or returns. You can double click a line in the Buyers Control Center to access this screen.
The Buyers Control Center Detail screen is essentially a working purchase order (PO). Each time a recalculate is run for this ARP, the working PO is updated with the new information – quantities can change, new items can appear, and items can be dropped, all based on the current replenishment controls and quantities in the warehouse.
The items that appear in the list by default are the items that “should” be purchased, typically all replenished items in this ARP that are below line point. The items are prioritized based on the same priority values explained from the summary screen, with the higher priority items appearing first.
The buyer, warehouse, vendor, and purchasing line (if any), and rank information display in the header, as well as target and current information in dollars, weight, and cubes, variances, and percentage of the target that has been achieved. You can use the Rank drop down to further filter the stock replenished items that appear in the browser.
In the Options/Header Values section you can limit the browser display using the following options. Select the Include Non-Replenish Items checkbox to include special order or non-replenishment items in the browser lines below. Select the Import Suggested Special Orders checkbox to include special order suggested purchase order lines in the browser display.
The Show Items Above Line Point option allows you to see all of the items in this ARP, even if they are not ready to be ordered. Items that are not ready to be ordered will be displayed with a Purchase Quantity of 0, but it can be useful to see all of the items in the ARP, and it allows you to investigate why FACTS is not recommending you purchase an item.
The Last Replenishment Doc field displays the last PO Number and Order Date for the document. Use the drill down icon for quick access to the source document.
You can also modify the adjusted review cycle value. Press F1 to restore the adjusted review cycle value.
The Replenish Action drop down allows you to determine the type of buy to perform:
Line Buy--Normal replenishment based on the current system values / settings for an ARP.
Emergency Line Buy--A purchase / transfer that is based on the remaining days in the review cycle to fill an urgent need.
Below Order Point--The items within an ARP that are below the Order Point will be included in the buy / transfer. All other items for the selected ARP will be excluded. This can be used for daily purchasing / transfers.
You can also enter freight cost in this section.
For returns and purchases (procurement), the GL Department is required if PO to GL Posting F/M is using the department for any setting.
For transfers, you can enter the Ship Via to indicate the carrier for the transfer. You can leave this field blank, however, a blank field will not create a transfer when using the Create Transfer button because a valid Ship Via must be provided in order to create a transfer. The Ship Via value will pass to the created transfer ticket.
Line Buys, Emergency Buys, Below Order Point Buys
There are 3 basic types of orders: Line Buys, Emergency Buys, and Below Order Point buys.
A line buy is the default type of buy. When it’s determined that it’s time to place a PO (because there are worthy items below Order Point), a line buy will select all items that are below line point and recommend an order to bring them all back to line point.
The idea here is that since you’re placing a PO anyway, you should go ahead and order anything you know you’ll need for the review cycle.
An emergency buy is used to bring in only those items and quantities you need before it’s time to place the next regular PO with this vendor. If the ARP’s review cycle is 14 days, and it’s been 10 days since the last PO, an emergency buy will calculate the PO for the remaining 4 days – i.e. what you need to buy to cover the next 4 days.
The idea here is to avoid interrupting the review cycle by placing a small PO to take care of any current crises. Buying for the remaining time in the review cycle hopefully prevents having to do another emergency buy in a couple of days.
The Emergency Buy option establishes a Temporary Review Cycle value, which is the Days Remaining in the Review Cycle versus only showing products below Line Point that are also below Order Point.
If the date difference in days on the past PO record is greater than the number of days in the Review Cycle, then calculated Temporary Review Cycle value is greater than the Review Cycle value for the ARP, and the Emergency Buy option is disabled.
You can re-sort the grid by clicking on the column headers.
To change the amount you want to purchase, simply change the value in the green “Purchase” column, but note that manual changes to the purchase quantity will not survive a recalculation unless the “Override” checkbox is selected.
To exclude an item from being purchased, you can either set the purchase quantity to 0, or you can un-select the “Buy” checkbox. This field also will not survive a recalculate unless Override is selected.
You can also manually add items to the working PO by going to the last line in the grid and typing in the item number.
Many of the cells in the column grid are “clickable”, allowing you to drill down to further information about that cell – these cells have a magnifying glass image on them.
Buy – This checkbox indicates which items will be included on the purchase order when placed.
Override – This checkbox should be used if you make manual changes to the Purchase quantity or the Buy checkbox, and you want to be sure those manual changes remain even after a recalculation. Selecting override can be problematic because there could be important changes as a result of the recalculate, and they will be ignored.
Item and Item Description – You can directly add items by going to the open line at the bottom of the grid and typing the item number or clicking the “…” button to access item search. You are not allowed to change the item description on this screen, and you cannot change the item number on an existing line. You can also enter temporary items by specifying the temporary item number the in the Item field. When the system displays the question: "Is this a temporary item?" Answer Yes to display the required line fields for the temporary item.
Notes and Resources buttons – The next two columns provide access to item notes and item resources (Supplemental Resource Manager). The buttons will be yellow if there are existing notes or resources on file.
Special Order – This cell in the grid indicates whether that line is a special order tie to a sales order or transfer. When manually adding an item, you can select this to establish a special order tie. For existing special order lines, this cell will be a button with the document number and line number it is tied to. Clicking the button will take you to the appropriate document inquiry and load the document for viewing.
Temporary - This cell in the grid indicates whether that line is a temporary item for a return. When manually adding or editing a temporary item, you can select this to enter or modify the required fields for the temporary item.
Recommended – This is the quantity FACTS replenishment calculated as the value that should be ordered. To see how FACTS arrived at this value, select the “Show Math” button while any cell for the line in question is highlighted. If a surplus stock transfer has been initiated to bring in excess stock from another warehouse, this cell will be yellow.
Net Available – This is the current net available quantity in the warehouse. Clicking this cell displays the Open Docs View for this warehouse and item.
Purchase – This is the current value that would be ordered if you were to create the PO. This value defaults to the recommended value, but can be changed.
UM – This is a drop-box with all available buying UMs for the item. This will default to the default buying UM. This value cannot be changed on a special order line, as it must match the UM on the associated document.
Cost, Cost UM and Extension – The cost and cost UM are defaulted based on current costs and cost contracts. You can change the cost as needed for Procurement and Returns activities only. (Note that you cannot modify Cost information for Transfers.) Updated costs will not survive a recalculate unless Override is selected. Extension is simply the total cost based on the quantity in the Purchase column.
Lead Time – This is the current average lead time days for this item. Clicking on the cell will display the past receipts for this item and warehouse.
Weight and Ext. Weight – Weight is displayed from the item and UM identified, and the extension is the total weight based on the quantity in the Purchase column. Clicking on the Weight cell will display the item’s units of measure.
On Order and Backorder – These are the current quantities on order and back-ordered for this item in this warehouse. Clicking the On Order cell displays all relevant order documents, and clicking on the Backordered cell displays all open documents for the item.
Order Pt, Line Pt, EOQ – These values are the current calculated replenishment values for this item. Additional details on these values are available on the “Show Math” screen.
AMU – AMU is the current calculated ADU times 30. FACTS calculates usage on a daily basis, but it is easier to understand when displayed as a “monthly” value. Clicking on this cell displays the usage summary view. Additional details about AMU are available on the “Show Math” screen.
Surplus – This is the sum of all available surplus stock in other warehouses. If a number is displayed, the cell will be yellow, and clicking it will display the warehouses and the amount of surplus stock in each. This screen allows the user to initiate a surplus transfer which will in turn reduce the recommended order quantity for this PO.
Usage Mtd, Rank, Item Class, ARP – These fields are for reference only and display the item’s usage method, rank in the warehouse, item class, and normal ARP (useful if you are purchasing the item from an alternate source).
This screen presents you with the list of items that “should” be ordered. “Should” of course is based on what you want to accomplish. For example, options at the top of the BCC detail screen allow you to exclude special order lines and non-replenished items.
Grid & Right-Click Menu Options
The ability to export the contents of the BCC grid list to Excel is available. A right-click option, Export current contents to Excel, on the BASIC menu, is available for List box and Enhanced Grid controls. This functionality is controlled by the Export to Excel security setting in User Code F/M.
You can also change the grid column width and order. The changes will be saved and restored. To change the placement of a column in the grid, simply drag the column using the column header to where you want it to be displayed. You should be mindful that sometimes columns should be together (e.g. Units and the UM). If you separate columns that logically belong together, you must be mindful of the fact that they are separated. To set the columns back the default settings, right-click on the grid or list box and select 'Reset column settings to default' from the pop up menu.
You can also access the following options from the right-click menu:
Show Math to access the replenishment calculations for the Recommend Order Quantity (ROQ).
Set All Buy (or Transfer) to No to turn off all checked lines for the Buy or Transfer checkbox in the grid.
Prompt Options to access options for the highlighted field, such as field security, based on the user's security settings.
Lost Sales Entry to access Lost Sales for the item in the grid.
To make a procurement target for a source, you can adjust the Review Cycle in the Adjusted Review Cycle field. The Adjusted Review Cycle will then establish a Temporary Line Point. New items will appear in the listing if their replenishment needs fall into the new Temporary Line Point. Consequently, if an item’s parameters do not fall into the Temporary Line Point, it will be removed from the list. When indicated in the Item F/M, the ROQ for an item will be applied to the Recommended Quantity. Items that have been flagged as “Required” will remain in the BCC for processing unless remove by the buyer directly or a full Refresh is performed for the Vendor / Warehouse.
In the browser, the items that have approved replenishment sources for the buyer, warehouse, vendor, and purchasing line (if any) are displayed. A replenishment source is the current Approved Replenishment Path (ARP). Each ARP is available for view in a detailed level with the item’s details available for procurement decisions. Upon selecting a replenishment source / Purchase Line, the BCC will list the items ready for replenishment.
Browser Information includes the item number and description as well as the ability to add items, recommended and purchase quantities with multiple units of measure (if available for the item), including costing and extension values, surplus stock if available, suggested outstanding, available, on order and backorder quantities, with the ability to view details, order point, line point, economic order quantity, average monthly usage, with the ability to modify usage, usage method, item class and the approved replenishment path vendor.
From the Buyers Control Center Detail screen you can perform a number of tasks and access numerous screens.
Warehouse transfers are handled by the BCC in the same way as purchases, with a few differences in the detail screen. Included on the detail for transfers are some additional columns that can be helpful:
From Avail – This is the current quantity available in the ‘From’ warehouse.
From On Ord – This is the current quantity on order in the ‘From’ warehouse – i.e. the amount that should be coming in to the ‘From’ warehouse.
From BackOrd – This is the current quantity back-ordered in the ‘From’ warehouse.
These values help you understand what you may actually be able to get from the Distribution Center. However, it’s important to request the amount you actually need, as the presence of back-ordered amounts in the Distribution Center will trigger the purchasers in the Distribution Center to order more.
If you reduce your transfer request to match what is available in the Distribution Center and lose sales as a result of having inadequate stock, it’s critical that you record the lost sales – otherwise the Distribution Center never gets visibility that they failed to stock enough quantity, and the problem will not be corrected.
You cannot modify cost information for Transfers.
Reviewing and Updating Lead Time
Using the Lead Time Review screen you can make any adjustments necessary to prior lead times for purchase order and transfer type documents. Documents can be filtered by Abnormal or Ignored lead times or All lead time documents can be reviewed. Using the Lead Time Review, the average lead time will be updated to reflect the changes and the replenishment variables will be updated to the appropriate values.
Modifying Purchasing or Transfer Quantity Information
The order quantity for individual lines can be entered as a Purchase or Transfer Quantity. This quantity is used to create the Purchase Order or Transfer and allows for a specific one-time quantity adjustment. When more than one Buying UM is available to an item, the alternate UM can be utilized for the Purchase Quantity. If the Adjusted Review Cycle is changed, these quantities will be discarded and recalculated by the system. In addition, individual items can also be manually added to the list for procurement and order quantity specified. If the items are refreshed or the review cycle is changed, these items will appear based on their replenishment parameters and / or the required flag for the item.
Using Surplus Inventory to fill Replenishment
Surplus selection is enabled by setting the Use Surplus flag in PO Static Control F/M. When the flag is set, the Buyers Control Center will display two additional columns for Surplus and Surplus Suggested Outstanding for each item.
When surplus stock is available in a warehouse for an item that is being replenished on a PO or a Transfer for another warehouse, the BCC will make the buyer aware of the presence of the surplus stock by changing the color of the Surplus cell to yellow.
If you are not seeing the surplus, check the “Use Surplus” setting in PO Static Control F/M – it must be selected to activate this functionality.
Clicking on the yellow Surplus cell presents you with a list of the alternate warehouses that have surplus and the quantities.
Notice in the screen above that the Recommended column for I136 was changed to yellow, indicating that a surplus transfer is being used to partially fill the recommended quantity, and the Purchase column has been reduced by the surplus transfer amount and also changed to yellow.
The Sugg. Outstanding column now shows the total outstanding surplus transfers for that item.
Creating the transfer tickets for these quantities is done by the buyer responsible for the transfers. They will see the suggested transfers when they select the Transfer activity from the BCC main screen.
The Buyers Control Center integrates with the Customer and Vendor Returns system to show items for transfer to a consolidation warehouse, transfer to an alternate warehouse, or return to a vendor. The items are displayed when the Activity is changed to Returns and subsequent purchase orders or transfers can then be created for processing.
The integration with the Customer and Vendor Returns system allows the Buyers Control Center to maintain proper document and item flow. The Customer and Vendor Returns system will supply the action code for the item’s return processing method. The Buyers Control Center will prompt for actions as defined by these settings. The action can be a direct return to the vendor or returning of the item to a consolidation warehouse as an example. Once the appropriate action has been taken, the Customer and Vendor Returns system will be updated to reflect the new status of the item.
On the BCC Detail screen, you can enter temporary item in BCC Return Grid and manage temporary items entered from the Customer Returns System in the Sales Orders module.You can also enter temporary items by specifying the temporary item number the in the Item field. When the system displays the question: "Is this a temporary item?" Answer Yes to display the required line fields for the temporary item. Refer to the following topics for additional information: PO Returns Processing for Temporary Items and Adding temporary items to returns in the BCC.
Note: The addition of a consolidation warehouse for an item will prompt the buyer if deviating from the designated return path. The system will display an alert message and allow the buyer to continue processing as needed. The consolidation warehouse is maintained in the Vendor File Maintenance and if omitted, warehouse transfers for item returns will not generate this message.
General Processing Information
Select the Buy checkbox and enter a purchase quantity to buy an item not already selected through replenishment processing.
You can also limit the browser display by rank, remove non-replacement items or include/remove special orders.
If you want to enter the purchase quantity and exclude a line from recalculation when you modify other filter settings such as the adjusted review cycle or recalculate replenishment values, click Override, and the line will be excluded from recalculation.
The Set All Buy or Transfer to No turns off all checked lines.
Select the Emergency Buy checkbox to limit the lines displayed in the browser to only those items with quantities below order point.
Once it’s determined that we need to order an item, the next question is “how much should we order?” The answer to this question brings in many different values and settings.The BCC will do the math for you and present the recommended order quantity (ROQ) in the green Purchase column.
To help you understand how FACTS came up with the ROQ, we have added the “Show Math” option. Click on any cell in the row you want to see the math for, and click the Show Math button. The display will include all of the information FACTS used to determine the amount to order.
You can also select View>Replenishment Math to see values and detailed calculations for a warehouse/item combination for the replenishment line highlighted in the browser. Replenishment Math information includes calculations for: Order Point, Line Point, Order Quantity and Recommend Order Quantity, as well as suggested surplus transfers.
It is important to become very familiar with this screen, as it will help reinforce what all the numbers mean and how they impact the final results. Here is a sample of the data that could be displayed in the Show Math screen:
Usage
------------
Usage Method: T - Trend
Rank: A
Approved Replenishment Path (ARP): Vendor -> World Materials Handling Co. (V116)
Costing Method: LIFO
Record Establish Date: 07/06/2009
Usage Months: 3.0000
-
Raw Trend Percent = (Bucket 3 / Bucket 1) * 100
Raw Trend Percent = (595 / 165) * 100
Raw Trend Percent: 360.61%
-
Prior Year Hit Dates: 04/30/2011 - 04/29/2012
Prior Year Hits Required: 3
Current Year Hit Dates: 04/30/2012 - 04/29/2013
Current Year Hits Required: 3
-
Prior and Current Year Hits achieved
Minimum Trend Percent: 50%
Maximum Trend Percent: 250%
-
Trend Dates: (01/30/2012 - 04/29/2012) vs. (01/29/2013 - 04/29/2013)
Trend Usage: 165 EA vs. 595 EA
Trend %: 250.00%
Trend Usage Dates: 04/30/2012 - 07/29/2012
For items with the Usage Method set to Trend on the Usage view of the Warehouse/Item Maintenance (ICF920) program and one of the Seasonal Lead time Advance for Vendor ARPs and Seasonal Lead time Advance for Transfer ARPs parameters has been implemented in the Replenishment Parameter Maintenance (ICF990) program, the Trend Usage Dates line on the Show Match screen will also display “(adjusted by the average lead time of x days”) to indicate the Trend Usage Date has been adjusted to reflect lead time.
Trend Usage: 390 EA
AMU = (Trend Usage * Trend%) / Usage Months
AMU = (390 * 250.00%) / 3 = 325.0000 EA
-
AMU: 325.0000 EA
ADU = AMU / 30
ADU = 325.0000 / 30
ADU: 10.8334 EA
-
Threshold Minimum: 180.0000 EA
-
Effective AMU: 325.0000 EA
Effective ADU: 10.8334 EA
------------
Order Point
------------
Average Lead Time (LT): 82
Safety Stock Percent (SS%): 50
Safety Stock Days Supply (SSD) = LT * (SS% / 100)
SSD = 82 * (50/100) = 41 days
Average Daily Usage (ADU): 10.8333 EA
-
Safety Stock Quantity (SSQ) = ADU * SSD
SSQ Calculated = 10.8333 * 41 = 444.1667 EA
Safety Stock Minimum Days: 7
Safety Stock Maximum Days: 30
Safety Stock Quantity Minimum = 7 * 10.8333 = 75.8331 EA
Safety Stock Quantity Maximum = 30 * 10.8333 = 324.9990 EA
Safety Stock Quantity: 324.999 EA
-
Calc OP = (LT * ADU) + SSQ
Calc OP = (82 * 10.8333) + 324.999
Calc OP = 1214 EA (rounded to stocking)
-
T-Min Order Point: 600 EA
-
Average Shipment Quantity (ASQ): 76 EA
-
5-high ASQ (5HI): 90 EA
5HI Values: (80 + 80 + 100 + 100) / 4, 200 dropped
-
Selecting Order Point
Calculated: 1214, ASQ: 76, 5HI: 90, T-Min: 600
CALC selected
OP: 1214 EA
------------
Line Point
------------
Line Point = Order Point + (Review Cycle * ADU)
Line Point = 1213.3323 + (21 * 10.8334)
Line Point: 1441 EA (rounded to stocking)
------------
Recommended Order Quantity (ROQ)
------------
Temp Line Point in use: 1441 EA
Net Available: (On Hand - Committed - Backorder + On Order)
Net Available: (0 - 0 - 0 + 0) = 0 EA
Line Point: 1441 EA
Up to Line Point: Line Point - Net Available
Up to Line Point = 1441 - 0 = 1441 EA
-
Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)
------------
Average Daily Usage (ADU): 10.8333 EA
Average Monthly Usage (AMU): 324.9990 EA
Product Cost: 2.470/EA
R Cost: 5.000
K Cost%: 30
Calculated EOQ: sqr((24 * AMU * R_Cost) / ((K_Cost / 100) * Cost))
Calculated EOQ: sqr((24 * 324.9990 * 5.000) / ((30 / 100) * 2.470))
Calculated EOQ: 229 EA
Minimum Days Supply (MinDS): 7
Minimum Supply EOQ = (MinDS * ADU)
Minimum Supply EOQ = (7 * 10.8333) = 75.8331 EA
Maximum Days Supply (MaxDS): 180
Maximum Supply EOQ = (MaxDS * ADU)
Maximum Supply EOQ = (180 * 10.8333) = 1949.994 EA
Effective EOQ: 229 EA
-
For items that have the suggested order quantity set to round up to a minimum order quantity (by setting one of the Minimum Order Quantity for ARP Vendor or Minimum Order Quantity for ARP Transfer parameters in the Replenishment Parameter Maintenance (ICF990)), the amount, buying UM, and 'Minimum Order Qty Applied' also display in the Show Math dialog.
Comparing Up To Line Point to EOQ: Up To Line Point selected
Calculated ROQ: 1441 EA
Rounding to 5 EA
Effective ROQ: 1445 EA
------------
The steps to arriving at the ROQ are:
- calculate the correct usage
- calculate the order point (which could be adjusted with an OP Adjuster)
- calculate a good line point (which is dependent on the review cycle)
- order enough to get to line point
- increase to EOQ (explained below) if applicable
- apply rounding
Buying targets are typically established by a vendor or a purchasing manager, and are used to help secure the lowest costs for shipping, the best pricing discounts, or best use of space when placing orders. Buying targets are setup in Review Cycle Setup, and can be established for Cost, Weight and/or Cubes.
For buying targets to be used, the proper information must be maintained – i.e. accurate costs, weights and cubes must be entered for each item.
Buying targets are displayed in the BCC detail screen. As you make changes to the purchase quantities, etc., the buying targets are updated and displayed.
Making buying targets regularly depends on using proper review cycles and following good procedures. Buyers will often manually increase the purchase quantities of popular items when trying to make a buying target (i.e. “top off the truck”), but this causes a number of problems:
These popular items are the ones you rely on to make your targets, and when you become overstocked on them, it’s more difficult to make target the next time.
You are ignoring items that are likely to drop below order point sooner than the popular items, making it more likely that you will have to do an emergency buy before the review cycle is through.
Adjusted Review Cycle
Instead of simply guessing what to order more of, you can modify the “Adjusted Review Cycle” field on the BCC detail screen. Increasing the review cycle will recalculate all of the items in the ARP based on the new review cycle (i.e. it will suggest a line buy for more days). This will proportionately increase the quantities of all items in the ARP and potentially bring in items that were not even considered at the original review cycle value.
Increase the adjusted review cycle until the buying target is reached.
By making targets this way, the next time you need to place an order for this ARP, the line will be balanced, and you will be less likely to need to go back to this vendor for an emergency buy.
When you return to the Buyers Control Center after reviewing or modifying a replenishment line in the Buyers Control Center detail screen, the replenishment line you accessed displays at the top of the browser with the warehouse highlighted.
See Also
Buyers Control Center Detail Procedures
Buyers Control Center Detail Screen
Buyers Control Center On Order View
Buyers Control Center Open Docs View
Buyers Control Center Package View
Buyers Control Center Restocking View
Buyers Control Center Usage View
Buyers Control Center Transfer History View