Training

Article11/28/20238 min read

This exercise will help you to get a better understanding of the Drink-it Logistics App. The exercise can be performed in the CRONUS DIT DEMO company.

Note

Create a copy of this company to keep your CRONUS DIT DEMO in the original state. In the copy you can do all the exercises that are included in the training.

Exercise 8 - Relation with other apps

Some features are enabled from other Drink-it Apps, but form a relevant part in the integrated ‘Order2Cash’ process (a ‘day in a live’ process), therefor they are mentioned here in this Logistics training document.

1. Return Entry (Empty Goods Management)

Beverage companies who (buy and) sell products in returnable packaging items face returns of empty goods. The Return Entry menu is embedded in the Route Planning Worksheet and explained in the training chapters for Logistics.

2. Backorders

Beverage companies often sell to customers in a recurring pattern, like a weekly order. Backorders are often not followed up on an existing order, as a new order will be made next week and the customer will just order it again then.

Backorder lines also disturb the overview on sales orders, especially with large numbers of orders per day. A normal ‘day in a live’ process is that orders are created, picked, shipped, returned empties added and in the end invoiced. Invoiced orders are removed then, so the order list gives a clean overview on all pending (new) orders.

Nevertheless, actions should be taken on order lines that are not available, or only partly available. The Backorder Sales Lines page provides you an overview, including a FactBox with the customer’s details (phone no., mail address) to help you contact the customer to inform him and to ask for follow up.

Search for Sales orders.

2.1 Create a new sales order for customer NAME1, on your route NAME2, shipment date: tomorrow.

  • Your item NAME Beer Crate 20x50CL: 80 CRATES
  • Your item NAME Beer Can 6x33CL: 160 TRAYS

2.2 Create a new sales order for customer NAME2, on your route NAME2, shipment date: tomorrow.

  • Your item NAME Beer Crate 20x50CL: 40 CRATES
  • Your item NAME Beer Can 6x33CL: 160 TRAYS

After picking you have been informed that your item NAME Beer Can 6x33CL is not available anymore.

Search for Backorder Sales Lines. Set a filter on your item NAME Beer Can 6x33CL.

  • Set the Qty to Ship on each order line to 0.
  • You may want to call your customer or send an email, use the fact box for that.
  • Customer2 decides to skip that item, as he will order again next week and can wait for that (the item is expected to be available then).
    • Set field Backorder Type to No Backorder
  • Customer1 demands that the goods are delivered asap
    • Set field Backorder Type to Backorder via Blanket order when you want the order to be closed (removed) after shipping and invoicing and you follow up on the remaining backorder line by a blanket sales order (and a new sales order out of that)
    • When you set/leave the field Backorder Type to Backorder via order the order will stay open until you shipped and invoiced this backorder line (as in standard BC).

The backorder type can be set by default in the Reason codes. The default reason code for the sales order is defined in Foundation Setup.

When you are finished, select your sales order lines and click on action Process backorder.

The sales order lines do not show anymore in this page.

Open the sales orders for your customers NAME1 and NAME2. Select the line for the item, notice that the Quantity has been adjusted (made zero in this case) (page Inspection on the Line: search for field Original Quantity; this information will also be saved in the posted sales shipment line).

Search for Blanket Sales Orders. Open the last blanket order, the one created for your customer NAME1. Select the line (page Inspection on the Line: search for field Original order; this information will also be saved in the new order and the posted sales shipment line). Quantities in blanket sales order lines are recognized in item availability pages and requisition functions. You can create a sales order in following ways

  • Push: click on the Make order action in the Blanket sales order
  • Pull: open the Order Entry page from an existing (new) sales order and click on Get Blanket order lines.

Just as Backorders, the Order Entry page is a feature from Drink-it Advanced Sales Management

Note

In case of warehouse activities, the backorder lines also show the Whs. Qty to Ship field, calculated from warehouse shipment lines. The Process backorder function will be based on that value then.

3. Periodic Invoice and -Credit Memos (Foundation)

In the training Route delivery sales orders we have shown a scenario where the driver brings the invoice to customers who have to pay cash on delivery, and deducts amounts for deposit over returned empty goods (and possibly also amounts over full goods that the customer did not accept) manually on the invoice. Most companies do not want that nowadays and prefer the ‘suspended’ credit on deposit procedure: credit returned deposit on the next (week’s) invoice. This training will show how.

In addition, some customers demand a periodic invoice, eg a weekly or monthly invoice. Such ‘combined shipments’ invoices are created by a separate batch job, through a sales invoice document, rather than invoicing from the order.

Most companies prefer one way of working for all and invoice all sales shipments by this periodic activity, also the ones getting a daily invoice.

Drink-it Foundation contains functions Create Periodic Invoices and Create Period Credit Memos that replace standard BC functions Combine shipments/return receipts.

Search for Foundation setup, FastTab Application:

  • Field Prevent Invoice from Combined Shpt. Sales Order should be on.

Search for Customers and filter on your customers.

  • Set on FastTab Foundation.
    • Your customer NAME1 field Invoice Period to Day
    • Your customer NAME2 and NAME3: leave it blank
    • Your customer NAME4 Invoice Period to Month
  • On FastTab Shipment
    • Check for your customer NAME2 and NAME3 that field Combine Shipments is on
    • w(for customer NAME1 and NAME2 this automatically comes from the invoice period)
  • FastTab Logistics
    • Default Route for all your customers is your route NAME1.

Search for Sales orders.

3.1 Create a sales order for your customer NAME2 and NAME3

  • with one line: item EMPTY DE CRATE 20x50CL; Quantity -/-40 (so a return)
  • Release the order and post the shipment from the order document (F9)

Set your workdate one week ahead (via My Settings)

Search for Sales orders.

Create a new sales order for your customers in the same way as in the training Route delivery sales orders. Tomorrow in this case means one day after your workdate.

Release them all.

Open the Route Planning Worksheet with a filter on your routes and the shipment date of ‘tomorrow’.

  • Select the route planning line of your orders.
  • Batch post the shipment for all orders of this route planning no.

The cash on delivery invoices are created from the route planning worksheet. Select the route planning line and click on action Create Periodic Invoices.

  • Select Invoice Period = blank
  • Set an additional filter on sales orders with Payment Method = CASH

Search for Sales invoices.

View the ones you just created (only for your customer NAME2 and NAME3). They contain the delivery of today and the returned empty goods of last week and show the amount that the customer has to pay to the driver.
Select your invoices and Batch post them.

Open the Route Planning Worksheet with a filter on your routes and the shipment date of ‘tomorrow’.

  • Add returned items to all orders, as in the training Route delivery sales orders.
  • Batch post sales orders for the route planning no.

The rest of the daily invoices are crated at day-end, when all returns are completed.
Search for Create Periodic Invoices.

  • Posting date: ‘tomorrow’
  • Starting date: leave blank
  • Ending date: ‘tomorrow’
  • Select Invoice Period = Day

Search for Sales invoices and view the one you just created (should be only for your customer NAME1). It contains the delivery of today and the returned empty goods of today. Post the invoice (F9).

Search for Sales Orders.

Click in the list function Delete Invoiced Sales orders. After that you should not see this week’s order of your customer NAME1 anymore.

For the orders of your customers NAME2 and NAME3: the returns will be invoiced next week and the order be removed then.

The invoice for your customer NAME4 will be created after month end by the same function Create Periodic Invoices, just with Invoice Period = Month.

Note

In cases returns are in place and customers expect a clean invoice with deliveries and the returns on it, you could invoice an order too soon when running the Create Periodic Invoices batch job at the end of the day. Perhaps for some routes or orders the returns were not registered yet. In that case you better run that batch job with an additional filter on the Logistic Status (‘Ready to invoice’) and make sure this status is set by the logistics department after finishing a route.