In Part I of this two-part series, I discussed three different tools available when using the EnterpriseIQ software to assist with the purchasing process:
- The AKA Buying tab allows you to record and store all information pertaining to purchasing a given material or part from a particular vendor - vendor item number, pricing information, lead days, etc.
- The Materials Exceptions feature provides a concise list of all materials that need to be purchased for upcoming jobs, in addition to providing such information as past due purchase orders (POs) and materials below restocking levels.
- In the Purchase Order module, the Budget Comparison tool provides a handy way to double-check that expense-type purchases won't tip you over that period's budget.
In Part II of this series, I'm moving on to discuss what happens after the material/parts have already arrived at your receiving dock. This is when you evaluate your suppliers and have to manage any issues that may have cropped up during the purchasing process.
The Vendor Performance Analysis report is a quick and easy method to rate your vendors based on the shipments that you've received from them. The EnterpriseIQ ERP and MES solution will run an evaluation for you using four different criterion based on the defined individual component rates and weights, and then provide a total rating value for the vendor. The criteria that the system uses includes:
- On Time Delivery (How closely did the actual receiving date match the promise date that the vendor gave you?)
- Quality of Parts (What percentage of the parts received were rejected?)
- Quantity of Parts (How accurate was the shipment quantity compared to the PO quantity?)
- Price (How closely did the purchase price match the standard cost of the item?)
Given this information, you can keep a close eye on your vendors to address any issues in the early stages before they become a big problem that disrupts your supply chain flow and holds up production or reduces the quality of parts you're able to provide your customers.
When it comes to managing rejected/returned items, the Vendor RMA (Return Material Authorization) module provides a tool for handling the rejection process and keeping a record of it. The RMA can be linked to a specific purchase order receipt or just to a particular inventory item if the specific receipt number isn't known. Return codes can be assigned to each item on an RMA for easy analysis of how often parts are returned for different reasons.
Once you've recorded that the parts have actually been returned, you can generate the shipping paperwork and the debit memo to your vendor right from the RMA module. The system will also ask you if you wish for it to automatically update the original PO to indicate that replacement parts will be shipped.
A significant part of becoming more proficient at any job is simply knowing and learning about the tools that are available for you to utilize. Hopefully, the five different tools highlighted in this two-part series will provide you with that extra advantage to be just that much better of a buyer for your company.
This guest blog post was written by Training Specialist, Breana Dixon.
