Comprehensive guide to managing inventory purchases in Nubras ERP.
Purchasing Overview
The purchasing module in Nubras ERP helps you manage the procurement of inventory items, from requisition to receipt. Effective purchasing ensures you have the right materials at the right time while optimizing costs and maintaining supplier relationships.
Key Concepts
- Purchase Requisition: Internal request for materials
- Request for Quotation (RFQ): Formal request for supplier pricing
- Purchase Order (PO): Formal order sent to supplier
- Goods Receipt: Recording of received materials
- Invoice Matching: Reconciling invoices with receipts
- Supplier Management: Maintaining supplier information and performance
- Approval Workflow: Process for authorizing purchases
Purchasing Process
- Identify Need: Determine material requirements
- Reorder point triggered
- Production requirement
- Manual requisition
- Create Purchase Requisition: Document material needs
- Specify items and quantities
- Set required dates
- Submit for approval
- Supplier Selection: Choose appropriate vendor
- Request quotes if needed
- Compare pricing and terms
- Select best option
- Create Purchase Order: Formalize the order
- Generate PO document
- Get necessary approvals
- Send to supplier
- Receive Materials: Process incoming shipments
- Verify against PO
- Inspect quality
- Record receipt
- Process Invoice: Handle supplier billing
- Match with PO and receipt
- Resolve discrepancies
- Approve for payment
Purchasing Module Navigation
Accessing Purchasing Features
Main Navigation
- Inventory > Purchasing
- Dashboard: Overview of purchasing activities
- Purchase Orders: Manage all POs
- Requisitions: Handle internal requests
- Receiving: Process incoming shipments
- Suppliers: Manage vendor information
- Reports: Access purchasing reports
- Settings: Configure purchasing options
Quick Actions
- Create New Purchase Order
- Record Goods Receipt
- Create Supplier
- Generate Purchase Report
- View Open Orders
- Check Expected Deliveries
Purchasing Dashboard:
The purchasing dashboard provides a quick overview of your purchasing activities:
- Open Orders: Count and value of pending purchase orders
- Expected Deliveries: Upcoming receipts by date
- Pending Approvals: Orders requiring authorization
- Recent Activity: Latest purchasing transactions
- Spend Analysis: Purchasing trends and metrics
- Supplier Performance: Key vendor metrics
Key Benefits
Cost Control
- Centralized purchasing
- Price comparison tools
- Spend analysis
- Budget enforcement
- Approval workflows
- Contract compliance
Efficiency
- Automated reordering
- Streamlined workflows
- Template-based ordering
- Mobile approvals
- Batch processing
- Integration with inventory
Visibility
- Real-time order status
- Comprehensive audit trail
- Supplier performance metrics
- Spend analytics
- Delivery tracking
- Integrated reporting
Important
Effective purchasing requires close coordination between inventory management, finance, and operations. Ensure your purchasing policies align with overall inventory strategy and financial goals. Regularly review purchasing performance to identify opportunities for improvement in cost, efficiency, and supplier relationships.
Purchase Orders
Purchase orders (POs) are formal documents sent to suppliers to request products or services. They specify what you want to buy, quantities, agreed prices, delivery dates, and payment terms. In Nubras ERP, purchase orders help you track and manage your procurement process from order to receipt.
Creating Purchase Orders
Purchase Order Creation Process
- Access the Purchase Order Form:
- Navigate to Inventory > Purchasing > Purchase Orders
- Click "Create Purchase Order"
- Or convert from a requisition or RFQ
- Enter Header Information:
- Select supplier from the dropdown
- Enter PO date and expected delivery date
- Select delivery location
- Choose payment terms
- Add reference numbers if applicable
- Add Line Items:
- Click "Add Item" to add each product
- Select item from inventory catalog
- Enter quantity and confirm unit price
- Add item-specific delivery dates if needed
- Include any line item notes
- Apply Taxes and Shipping:
- Select applicable tax rates
- Add shipping charges if known
- Include any additional fees
- Review calculated totals
- Add Notes and Attachments:
- Include special instructions
- Attach relevant documents
- Add internal notes if needed
- Submit for Approval:
- Save as draft or submit directly
- System routes for approval based on rules
- Track approval status
- Send to Supplier:
- After approval, send PO to supplier
- Email directly from the system
- Print or export as PDF if needed
- Record confirmation from supplier
Purchase Order Types
Standard Purchase Order
One-time order for specific items.
Characteristics:
- Single delivery date
- Specific quantities
- Fixed pricing
- Complete upon full delivery
Best For:
- One-time purchases
- Specific project needs
- Non-recurring items
- Immediate requirements
Blanket Purchase Order
Long-term agreement for multiple deliveries.
Characteristics:
- Extended time period
- Multiple scheduled deliveries
- Predetermined pricing
- Release orders against master
Best For:
- Regular recurring needs
- Volume discount opportunities
- Stable pricing requirements
- Strategic supplier relationships
Purchase Order Management
Managing the PO Lifecycle
PO Status Tracking
Monitor purchase orders through their lifecycle:
- Draft: Initial creation, not yet submitted
- Pending Approval: Awaiting authorization
- Approved: Authorized but not yet sent
- Sent: Transmitted to supplier
- Acknowledged: Confirmed by supplier
- Partially Received: Some items delivered
- Fully Received: All items delivered
- Partially Invoiced: Some items billed
- Fully Invoiced: All items billed
- Closed: Completed and finalized
- Cancelled: Terminated before completion
PO Modifications
Making changes to existing purchase orders:
- Navigate to the PO you need to modify
- Click "Edit" or "Create Change Order"
- Make necessary changes:
- Add or remove line items
- Change quantities or prices
- Update delivery dates
- Modify shipping or payment terms
- Save changes and submit for approval if required
- System creates change order record
- Send updated PO to supplier
- Record supplier acknowledgment
Best Practice
Establish clear purchase order policies and communicate them to all stakeholders. Define when POs are required, approval thresholds, and acceptable modifications. Regularly review open POs to identify and address delays or issues. Consider implementing performance metrics for the purchasing process, such as PO cycle time and first-time approval rate.
Receiving Inventory
The receiving process in Nubras ERP handles the receipt of materials against purchase orders, ensuring that what you ordered is what you received. Proper receiving procedures maintain inventory accuracy, support quality control, and facilitate timely supplier payments.
Receiving Process
Step-by-Step Receiving Workflow
- Prepare for Receipt:
- Review expected deliveries
- Prepare receiving area
- Gather necessary equipment
- Print receiving documents if needed
- Initial Receipt:
- Accept delivery from carrier
- Count packages or pallets
- Note any visible damage
- Sign carrier documentation
- Create Goods Receipt:
- Navigate to Inventory > Purchasing > Receiving
- Click "Create Goods Receipt"
- Select the related purchase order
- System loads expected items
- Detailed Inspection:
- Unpack and count items
- Check against packing slip
- Inspect for damage or quality issues
- Verify specifications and measurements
- Record Receipt Details:
- Enter actual quantities received
- Note any discrepancies
- Record lot or batch numbers if applicable
- Document quality inspection results
- Complete Receipt:
- Submit the goods receipt
- System updates inventory quantities
- PO status updates automatically
- Generate receipt documentation
- Post-Receipt Activities:
- Move items to storage locations
- Update bin locations in system
- Forward documentation to accounting
- Initiate supplier communication if needed
Handling Receipt Scenarios
Partial Deliveries
When suppliers deliver only part of an order.
Process:
- Select the related PO
- Enter actual quantities received
- Leave remaining quantities open
- Note expected delivery for remainder
- Submit as partial receipt
System Actions:
- Updates inventory for received items
- Marks PO as "Partially Received"
- Maintains open quantities for future receipts
- Updates expected delivery schedule
Quality Issues
When received items have quality problems.
Process:
- Document specific quality issues
- Take photos if applicable
- Choose handling option:
- Reject and return
- Accept with quality note
- Accept with price adjustment
- Hold for quality review
- Create quality incident report
- Initiate supplier communication
System Actions:
- Flags affected inventory
- Updates supplier quality metrics
- Tracks resolution process
- Links to supplier corrective actions
Best Practice
Establish clear receiving procedures and train all personnel involved in the process. Document receipt issues promptly and communicate with suppliers about discrepancies. Consider implementing cycle counting during the receiving process to verify inventory accuracy. Regularly review receiving metrics to identify opportunities for process improvement.
Supplier Management
Effective supplier management in Nubras ERP helps you build and maintain productive relationships with your vendors. By tracking supplier information, performance, and interactions, you can make better purchasing decisions, negotiate favorable terms, and ensure reliable material supply.
Supplier Information
Managing Supplier Records
Supplier Setup
Creating and maintaining supplier records:
- Navigate to Inventory > Purchasing > Suppliers
- Click "Create Supplier"
- Enter basic information:
- Supplier name and code
- Contact information
- Address details
- Tax identification
- Currency
- Add business details:
- Supplier type/category
- Industry classification
- Business relationship
- Company size
- Set up financial information:
- Payment terms
- Bank details
- Credit limit
- Tax settings
- Configure purchasing parameters:
- Lead times
- Minimum order quantities
- Order multiples
- Shipping methods
- Add contacts:
- Primary contact
- Sales representative
- Accounting contact
- Technical support
- Set up approval and status
Supplier Categories
Organizing suppliers for better management:
- By Material Type:
- Raw material suppliers
- Packaging suppliers
- Equipment suppliers
- Service providers
- By Relationship:
- Strategic partners
- Preferred suppliers
- Approved suppliers
- One-time suppliers
Supplier Performance
Performance Metrics
Key indicators for measuring supplier performance.
Delivery Performance:
- On-time delivery rate
- Lead time consistency
- Order fill rate
- Delivery accuracy
Quality Performance:
- Defect rate
- Inspection pass rate
- Return rate
- Quality incident frequency
Performance Improvement
Addressing supplier performance issues.
Issue Management:
- Identify performance gaps
- Document specific issues
- Communicate concerns to supplier
- Request corrective action
- Track resolution progress
Improvement Plans:
- Collaborative improvement goals
- Specific action items
- Timeline and milestones
- Progress review schedule
- Success criteria
Best Practice
Develop a structured approach to supplier management based on supplier segmentation. Invest more time and resources in strategic supplier relationships while streamlining interactions with transactional suppliers. Regularly review supplier performance and provide constructive feedback. Consider establishing a cross-functional supplier management team for key suppliers to ensure all aspects of the relationship are effectively managed.