ERPProcurement
Procurement
Procurement module automates the entire procurement process, including an internal request for products/services, approval and publication of an electronic request for proposals (RFP), submission of proposals by suppliers, automatic or manual selection of the best offer, automatic creation of the order, order approval and automatic sendout to supplier, quality control and inventory entry.
The suppliers have access to their own easy-to-use console where they can review their RFPs, Proposals, placed Orders, attached documents, etc. They are informed by e-mail of each step in the process referring to them, e.g. when an RFP is published, their Proposal is either rejected, or an Order is placed.
These two parts are completely separated. It is not possible for suppliers to access the employees’ sub modules and vice versa.
Image below displays the view of the procurement module visible by employees/users. Partners, Items , Documents and Procurement administration modules are available on the main menu. Available modules are transparently added to the user interface so that all ERP modules are accessible via the left main menu.
Common search operations
Search mode unlocks the form input fields so the user can enter search criteria. Wildcard characters, such as ‘*’ and ‘_’, are allowed in text boxes. Some fields require that you select from the available drop-down list or click the magnifying glass icon to lookup the available values in the system.
Search can be triggered via the Search button, or by pressing Enter. Results are shown in an overlay panel beneath the Search button.
Furthermore, user can choose to filter data via standardized filters on result table. Wildcards are not allowed here. Sort is enabled only on some business object attributes. Search example on partners screen is given above (search criteria: [name = An*, country = Croatia]).
Common add/edit operations
Add mode is visually similar to the search mode, all the input fields are enabled and ready for user input. Fields that are marked with bolded labels are required fields, while others can be left blank. Lookup elements are selected in the same manner as in search mode via the magnifying glass icon.
For final save user has to press the Save button . If for some reason save operation is not allowed, user will be notified with system-generated message which appears in upper right corner. Example is shown below.
Below is an example of adding a new partner into the database:
Notice that additional information can be found/entered on the tabbed area below the main form. Among other things, it is common to enter a mailing address for persons or business entities. In the address section of the form, you are able to input the exact geographic coordinates of the location, which is then used by the system to insert a Google map view of the nearby area.
Note: The easiest way to find the exact coordinates is via Google Maps. Enter the address in Google Maps search bar and wait until it loads it. Then right click on the location icon and select “What's here?” option. Longitude and latitude will instantly appear on Google Maps search bar which can be copy-pasted to the application.
Partners
Partner sub module is used for administering business partners. These functions are typically performed by the Procurement Administrator, and after the initial data entry, seldom change. Recommended best practices suggest that all administration functions should be done centrally, by a single person/department.
As indicated on the left menu, partners can be loaded in two different modes: search and new. The way it was described previously.
Note: Standard application modes throughout all screens are: search, view, edit, add new. View mode disables all input fields and the user is only allowed to view business objects. In search mode, the fields are enabled and allow the user to enter search criteria. In edit and add modes fields are enabled and allow the user to entered new values or change existing values.
View Partner Information
Complete Partner information is divided in several tabs. The top section shows key identifiers for a business entity, while additional details are located on tabs at the bottom of screen.
Contact information
Initially, when you add a new partner to the database, you are only required to enter the country where the business is located. When editing an existing partner record, you may add other contact information, such as phone, fax, email, website, etc. New contact can be added by pressing the 'New contact' button which opens a dialog for selecting contact type and entering value and description.
Note: Just below contact value a faded label shows valid input format for selected contact type.
Application accounts
Second tab contains information about partner application’s accounts, see image below. Each partner can have one or more application accounts or ERP application users. These users can login to the Supplier module of the ERP application with the username assigned by the Procurement Admin and the password generated by the system. Partner accounts can be created & edited only by specific roles in the organization, namely the Procurement administrator & the System administrator. Upon creation, each partner account is automatically given the Supplier role, which limits their access to the application. They are allowed to see statuses of RFP documents in which they are listed as potential suppliers. They can also submit offers related to a specific RFP document and review their statuses.
To create a new account click the 'New account button' and fill in the pop-up dialog (see below).
All fields are mandatory and the user has to define a unique username and provide a unique email address for each account. Click Save to insert the new account in the database or Cancel to close the pop-up dialog and discard the data. After creating the account, a new random password will be automatically generated and sent to the provided email address.
Note: Available partner accounts are displayed in a table on the Application accounts tab. Last column of the table shows possible actions a user may choose:
- Edit: Opens the account pop-up dialog to allow changes. (see Selection A)
- Delete: Deletes the account from the database. (see Selection B)
- Generates new password: Generates new password and sends it to the provided email address. (see Selection C)
Delete Partener
- When partner is selected, button „Delete“ appears in edit mode and allows deleting selected partner. Delete is allowed only for partners without items and accounts. For example, partner on picture below, it couldn't be deleted because of that reason. User gets message on screen about that.
Delete Partener
- Button "Back" appears in view mode and allows quick search of other partners while some partner is allready selected.