The Blanket Sales Orders Subsystem (BSO) is an optional feature of the FACTS system. It is located on the Orders menu (Sales Orders>Blanket Sales Orders). Blanket Sales Orders provides you with a method of delivering future order merchandise on time to the customer. The objective of the BSO sub-module is to provide timely response to customers while minimizing internal costs and maximizing internal controls on orders with multiple shipments. This flexible module allows unlimited future shipments based on customer needs.
Blanket Sales Orders provides the ability to accept and handle orders where the customer requires fulfillment with multiple shipments at specified future ship dates. For example, a customer wants to receive 1,000 gallons of paint over the next five months, in five equal shipments, with delivery guaranteed on the first of each month. Simply create the blanket sales order, answer a few questions about the release dates and quantities, and the releases of all five shipments will be calculated. Individual sales orders will be created for each release at the appropriate time based on the customer request dates and the item’s lead-time. The sales orders generated are then subject to the normal sales order processing.
You can access these programs from the Blanket Sales Orders menu.
Blanket Order Entry is used to create a blanket order that allows release dates to be scheduled per line-item. Since releases are by item, the releases of a given blanket order may be set up to release all line-items together, or some items on the blanket order may ship at different time from other items.
A blanket order entry consists of three sections: the header, where you enter the customer number, expiration date, etc.; the line-item entry, where you enter each item, price, quantity, and so on; the requested release dates entry; and the ending routine, also known as the footer, in which and the customer’s credit limit can be checked. During entry of a BSO, you can change, add, insert, or delete line items at any time, or delete entire unreleased or incomplete BSO documents. Temporary items and catalog items are among the additional features available in the Blanket SO Entry Program.
Inquiries include Interchange, Catalog, Customer Item, and Past Sales. Release requests may be made for an individual line item or all line items on a document. A BSO Acknowledgment may be printed.
Blanket Order Acknowledgment (SOP710) is used to print and reprint the blanket order acknowledgment, which can be given to the customer as an order confirmation. Blanket Order Acknowledgment information includes item number, item descriptions, request dates, request status, total order quantity, order quantity per release request, and blanket order expiration date. This program uses the invoice parameters in SO Document Print Control F/M to control the print formats.
Blanket Order Inquiry (SOI710) is used to inquire into the status of any open or completed blanket order. The inquiry is especially useful for locating orders for a given warehouse, customer, or item. The actual document may be displayed in detail through this program. The Blanket Order Inquiry program is the Document Inquiry in Blanket Order view.
You can inquire by document number. Displayed information includes document number, type, status, and entry date, customer number and name, ship-to number, document total, and designated warehouse salesperson, and order priority. If the View Description 1 option is "off", a memo will now display in the Full Description column (at the end of the browser). If the View Description 1 option is "on", the memo will now display in the Description column.
For open blanket orders, document and line notes are available to view or edit, based on your user security access. For past documents, notes are only available to view/edit (, based on your user security access) from the Invoice view (accessed by the Invoice button) of Document Inquiry.
Documents that are archived in UnForm are available for viewing from literally hundreds of programs throughout FACTS. Throughout the Document Inquiry view, look for buttons or hyperlinks that refer to Archived Doc, Archived Pick, Archived Inv, Archived BSO, to view the archived document that contains a line in the inquiry browser .
Blanket Order Report is used to list release requests on open blanket orders and determine if any releases need to be processed. This program provides a report of all orders currently on file in the BSO subsystem. This report is designed to track the status of the entire blanket document as well as the status of each individual request on the order document. It provides the user with information from the blanket document, as well as, information from any related sales order document when applicable.
Report information includes the following: document number, return entry date, customer number, return warehouse, header ship complete, order priority, document line number, item and description, reason code, disposition code, return quantity, unit of measure, price and pricing unit of measure, price extension, line status, document total, and credit memo or sales order document number (when applicable), or vendor number, name, vendor return document, line number and status (when applicable). This report differs from the Returns Analysis Report in that it includes pricing information.
Blanket Order Removal is used to remove completed BSO documents that do not need to remain on the system. This program automatically removes completed BSO documents, including notes, based on your entries. This program skips any BSO document tied to an active SO document. This program is especially useful for removing large numbers of documents, e.g., all documents for a specific customer, or particular warehouse based upon document completion date.
Blanket Order Release Register is used to determine, for each blanket order, whether the next release of each item is called for based on the release basis, the current date, and the customer request date of the next release. If the next scheduled release meets all the criteria, it will appear on the release register. This program automatically generates sales orders and/or purchase orders based on the BSO document release request dates. The program cannot process expired documents, documents on hold and locked documents. The Blanket Order Release Register processes rush orders before BSO documents with a normal or service hold order status. The program steps through the next scheduled request for each document line-item, taking the request date, subtracting any additional days padding from the line entry and from the header, and subtract either the lead time for the item or the number of days from the Sales Order Static Control F/M. For lines flagged for immediate release, the system will not release all other requests with the same request date.
The Blanket Order Entry program creates an order similar to an order created through Sales Order Entry. However, it also allows release dates to be scheduled per line-item. Since releases are by item, the releases of a given blanket order may be set up to release all line-items together, or some items on the blanket order may ship at different time from other items. The system allows great flexibility when scheduling releases. Optionally, an order acknowledgment may be printed.
The Blanket Order Release Register is run on a regular schedule, perhaps daily. This program determines, for each blanket order, whether the next release of each item is called for based on the release basis, the current date, and the customer request date of the next release. If the next scheduled release meets all the criteria, it will appear on the release register. When the release register is updated, this release is created as a sales order.
As the created sales orders are processed, the original blanket sales order is updated so that all release history on the blanket sales order is available. The Daily Sales Register updates blanket sales order information as blanket-generated sales orders are updated. Blanket order processing is complete when the last release of the order is processed.
Release Basis
The release basis determines when the next release must take place, based on the request date. Regardless of the release basis selected, when the system calculates that a release should take place, the system will release all items that have the same request date as one sales order.
Longest Lead Time
Longest lead-time is the longest average lead-time of all the items on the blanket order, which have the same request date. To ensure that inventory is available for a requested shipment, the system must attempt to commit merchandise based on the longest average lead-time for those items.
Fixed Days
When fixed number of days is used for the release calculation, sales orders will be created this number of days prior to the request date. For example, in order to maintain customer service levels, you may always commit goods two weeks prior to the request date. The two weeks allows time to special order, restock or transfer goods into the warehouse. In this example, fixed days would be set to 14 days.
Greater of Longest Lead Time and Fixed Number of Days
The system looks at the longest lead-time and the fixed number of days, and selects the greater of the two to determine when to release the sales order. This is the most common method for calculating the release basis.
The setup required to begin using the Blanket Sales Order program is minimal; however, there are several questions that you should consider prior to set up. Your answers to these questions will determine how you set up your system controls, in accordance with your company’s policies and procedures.
• Do you want item usage figures to be updated by the BSO subsystem?
• How do you determine on what date a sales order should be created to ensure that items are shipped in a timely fashion? Do you calculate release dates based on item lead-time, by a fixed number of days, or by the greater of the two?
• What is the normal lead-time for the most commonly ordered nonstock items?
1. Enter the Blanket Sales Order. Generate the blanket order document number and complete the customer information in the header section document entry. Add line items, memo lines, release request dates and complete the Blanket order by entering the document memo.
2. Acknowledge the customer’s order. From within BSO document entry or from the BSO menu, print the order acknowledgment for the customer to use as confirmation of the order.
3. BSO Document Inquiry and/or Report Analysis: Check the status of current and completed BSO documents through SO Customer Inquiry, SO Quick-Look Inquiry, Item Inquiry, TeleFACTS Inquiry, and Blanket Sales Order Inquiry. Use the BSO Inquiry to obtain the associated Sales Order Document # as releases are processed. Use the SO Inquiry to check the status of individual Sales Orders.
4. Run the Blanket Order Report to list release requests on open blanket orders and determine if any releases need to be processed. This report can also be used to determine which Sales Order documents are related to BSO release requests and the status of those releases.
5. Run the Blanket Order Release Register. The release register will print a list of items ready for processing. If you choose to update the Blanket Order Release Register, sales order(s) will be created for each BSO, containing all items scheduled to be released. As the order is shipped, the Daily Sales Register will update the BSO document.
6. Remove the Completed Blanket Order Document. Run Blanket Order Removal as needed to remove completed BSO documents that do not need to remain on the system.
Sales Order documents generated from the BSO register adhere to the credit check method specified in the AR Customer F/M. The Sales Order document, if placed on hold, is clearly marked indicating hold status and a message also displays so that these documents can be reviewed prior to updating the release register. For additional credit check processing details, such as disputed invoice processing, adding customers on-the-fly, or displaying customer aging , refer to the Customer Credit Check topic.
If the SO Control F/M flag, Allow Serial/Lot Assignment in OE is selected, any line items or BOM components that require serial or lot numbers are clearly marked.
For BOM items for which all components cannot be committed, the maximum amount of finished items for which all components can be committed will be calculated, and only those that must be backordered will be backordered.
For Direct Shipped lines, purchase orders will be created using the FACTS standard routines. For warehouse ship backordered lines, suggested purchase order(s) will be created automatically.
As Sales Order documents are created, records will be added to the Ready to Print (SOOPRX) file for all documents that are not placed on hold.
The Blanket Sales Release Register recalculates the commission percentage for non-user override commissions.
In Order Entry, Confirmation Entry and Direct Invoice Entry, FACTS provides automatic freight calculations using freight schedules or quoted freight, based on control settings in Ship Via F/M, AR Customer Maintenance and SO Static Control F/M (SOF980). Blanket sales orders allow for multiple shipping warehouses but have no freight amount field. When blanket sales orders are released, the system sets the document freight method from the customer record.
If the default Freight Method is Quoted:
If "Default Quoted Freight with Calculated Freight in Order Entry" is set to "No" on the SO Static Control F/M Freight tab, then FACTS sets the order quoted freight field to zero.
If "Default Quoted Freight with Calculated Freight in Order Entry" on the SO Static Control F/M Freight tab, is to "Yes", then freight is calculated for each shipping warehouse and displayed in the quoted freight field.
If the default Freight Method is calculated:
If "Default Quoted Freight with Calculated Freight in Order Entry" on the SO Static Control F/M Freight tab, is to "Yes", the freight will be calculated for each shipping warehouse and stored in the SOFRWH records.
If "Default Quoted Freight with Calculated Freight in Order Entry" on the SO Static Control F/M Freight tab, is to "No", then the freight in each SOFRWH record is set to zero.