The module Extended order proposal allows you to quickly create purchase orders based on selected criteria. In addition, you can specify the supplier and the product quantities that should be reordered. This means that this module has a greater range of features than the regular order proposal. Generally, there are two different purchasing channels that you can plan for?
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Which parts have to be ordered via purchase orders: This article shows you how it’s done!
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Which parts need to be produced: This is described in more detail in the article on production planning.
To calculate the product quantity that needs to be ordered, you can choose between different calculation bases - those are based on minimum quantities, sales orders and productions.
Tip
Video tutorial: Your head start on the extended order proposal
Are you looking for a quick overview on the functionalities and usage of the extended order proposal in Xentral? Then, our video tutorial is exactly right for you. Take a look right away!
Open the menu Buy > Extended Order Proposal to select the products for the extended order proposal. The first step consists of selecting the products for which the required quantities should be calculated.
Important
For the calculation of your order proposal, you need to save purchase prices for the respective supplier in the product master data. More information on this is available in the article Maintaining product master data.
In the upper section of the menu Buy > Extended order proposal, you can select criteria for the products included in the order proposal.
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Activate the option all products from master data to obtain a general overview of all products maintained in Xentral.
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Alternatively, activate the option show only products added by order proposal to only display the products that need to be reordered - this way, you can maintain a focused overview on the products that have to be reordered.
In addition, you can use further filters, e.g. if you want to plan for productions or only want to create purchase orders. Those filter options are explained in the following table.
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Filter option |
Explanation |
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Production items only |
Only shows products that are not purchased, but manufactured by means of a production. Those products are marked as Production item. Production planning is required to use this option. |
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Only material / without production item |
Here, you can filter for individual components, i.e. products for which the flag Production item is not active since they are purchased. Activate this option if you only wish to create purchase orders. |
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Without orders with purchase orders |
There are sales orders that are directly linked to a corresponding purchase order. Activate this option if those should not be displayed here. |
The products selected with the help of the filters described above are then listed as follows in the overview of the menu Buy > Extended order proposal.
Important
In the beginning, the products displayed are only an empty template and serve as a starting point. The actual calculation only takes place in the next step!
There are different calculation bases (also called calculation runs) which you can execute individually or consecutively. You find it in the Basis field of the menu Buy > Extended order proposal. Take a look at chapter Calculating required quantities to learn how the individual calculation bases work. However, we would first like to show you more filter methods for the calculation in the following table.
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Filter option |
Explanation |
|---|---|
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Supplier |
If you want to calculate the required quantities for a specific supplier, you can use the filter in the Supplier field. All products for which a purchase price has been saved for this supplier. |
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Include days from to |
If you are using sales orders or productions as a basis, you can use this setting to restrict the time period based on the receipt date. For the basis Minimum quantities, this receipt filter is not required. This filter only affects the calculation of the suggested order quantity. It does not affect the quantities displayed in the Requirement for the last X days and Requirement for the next X days. |
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Search field next to the Base field |
If you are using sales orders or productions as a basis, you can select individual receipts here. In this case, only the requirement resulting from this receipt is calculated. You do not need this filter or the Minimum quantities basis. Thus, it is not displayed in this case. |
Important
If you execute multiple calculation runs, you need to pay attention to the proper order so that a correct result can be displayed!
We recommend that you calculate the requirements from productions first. Are you not working with productions? Then start by replenishing minimum quantities.
If you select the option Use only open productions from the drop-down menu Base, the order proposal calculates the requirements resulting from open production orders. Those are components that must be ordered so that your productions can be completed.
You can use the filters Include days from and To in the upper section to determine which productions should be considered for the requirement calculation.
The following information is displayed:
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In case it is a production item: Quantity that is currently being produced
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In case the product is required for productions: The quantity required for currently planned productions in parentheses ().
Use case:
You are selling nuts and are planning the requirements for your production item “Nut Mix”. The nut mix is currently being produced 2x, so that 2 copies of the nut mix can be stocked in once the production is completed. Thus, 2 copies are incoming. This quantity is displayed in the In production column.
In addition, the nut mix is part of a gift set that you are also selling. One production has been started to produce a gift set. Thus, 1 copy is required for another production. It follows that the requirement from open productions is 1 and is displayed in parentheses in the in production column.
In the drop-down menu Base, select the option Minimum quantities and click on Start.
Xentral now checks which quantity has to be purchased to reach the minimum stock saved for the product. The following calculation is executed:
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Minimum storage quantity = Desired buffer (e.g. 100 copies)
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Stock = Current quantity in the warehouse (e.g. 0 pieces)
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Open purchase orders = Quantities that are already ordered but have not been delivered yet (e.g. 5 pieces)
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Requirement = Quantity that still needs to be ordered
Bedarf = Mindestlagermenge - (Lagerbestand + offene Bestellungen)
Bedarf = 100 - (0 + 5) = 95
Let’s take a deeper look at the example to understand how this looks in Xentral in more detail.
In the Details tab of the product master data, the section Stock/Dimensions contains the Min. storage quantity field. Enter the minimum storage quantity here.
In the Warehouse tab, we can see the current stock situation. There are no more products left in stock, but 5 pieces have already been reordered and are awaiting delivery.
If we now execute the calculation based on the minimum quantities, the order proposal results in the suggested quantity of 95 from the sample calculation.
In our example, we add the requirements from open sales orders in the next steps. The following chapter shows you how this works.
We are now adding the requirements arising from open sales orders. To do so, select the option Use only open orders from the drop-down menu Base. Next, you define a time horizon using the fields Include days from and To fields.
Only those sales orders whose order date is in the filtered period and which have not yet been completed are considered for the calculation.
For our sample product, there is a sales order for 2 pieces, which is still open. This open demand is shown in the Warehouse tab in the product master data. In the product itself, we have set a minimum order quantity of 10 pieces in the Details tab.
In addition to the previous calculation, a demand quantity of 10 pieces is now added to our order proposal, resulting from the open orders (2 pieces) and the minimum order quantity (10 pieces). In addition to the previously calculated 95 pieces, a cumulative proposal quantity of 105 pieces now results.
Scroll down and click on Create purchase order(s) to create the purchase order directly.
Do you have sales orders with longer delivery times or with different delivery times of the individual products? Then select the option Use only open orders (desired date, use delivery date) from the drop-down menu Base. The calculation logic is identical to the Use only open orders option: Demands from open sales orders are taken into account. The difference is that the time period is not filtered by the sales order date, but by the respective delivery date.
This calculation basis always takes into account the best possible date – depending on what information is stored in the sales order. The sequence is:
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Delivery date from the sales order line: You can find this information in the sales order under Details > Positions > Column: Delivery date.
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Desired delivery date of the entire sales order: You can find this information in the sales order under Details > General.
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Sales order date (if no delivery date is maintained): You can find this information in the sales order under Details > General.
All products that are included in already completed sales orders are suggested.
This is handy for reordering products that have proven themselves or have been sold regularly, even when there are no open sales orders. Or if you have a seasonal business and want to plan this year's Christmas business based on the previous year.
At the end of the calculation, the order proposal will be displayed in a table. Here you can see all the important information that the system has determined based on your settings. In the following sections, we will explain what each column means and how the result comes about.
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Column name |
Explanation |
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Product no. |
The product number of the product in Xentral. |
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Product |
The designation of the product in Xentral. |
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Warehouse |
Product quantity that is currently in stock (including blocked stock). |
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Min. Stock |
If you have saved a minimum stock quantity in the product master data, this information is displayed here. |
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Min. purchase order |
If you have saved a minimum purchase quantity in the product master data, this information is displayed here. |
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In sales order |
Product quantity included in sales orders that are currently open. |
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In production |
Number of products that are currently in production. If the product is required as a component in another production, this requirement is shown in brackets (). |
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In purchase order (not sent) |
Product quantity that is included in pending purchase orders. If there are sales orders that have been created but not yet shipped, then a corresponding notice appears and the quantity is shown in brackets (). |
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Requirement |
The demand is determined by the current stock (Warehouse column) minus the minimum quantity (min. Stock column) minus the quantities that have already been ordered. In the Requirement column, you can see at a glance how many units Xentral still proposes to order. The value displayed here is calculated based on the following formula: Bedarf = Lager – Min. Lager + In Bestellung (nicht vers.) |
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Requirement last X days |
Quantity of products already entered in sales orders and whose delivery date was in the considered period (X days). If no delivery date is set for the line, the sales order delivery date is used – and if that is missing, the sales order date. For the period, what is in the column header counts alone, so 30 days needs shows you all the requirements from the last 30 days. The filters Include days from and To have no effect here. |
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Requirement next X days |
Quantity of products already entered in sales orders and whose delivery date is in the future (X days). If no delivery date is set for the line, the sales order delivery date is used – and if that is missing, the sales order date. For the period, what is in the column header counts alone, so 30 days needs shows you all the requirements from the last 30 days. The filters Include days from and To have no effect here. |
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Season |
The price group that you have defined in the respective supplier master data is displayed here. In the editable field you will see the quantity that Xentral suggests you as order quantity. You can override them manually if necessary. |
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Sales |
The sales price of the product as defined in the product master data. Price groups are displayed here as well. |
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Menu |
In the Settings tab of the Buy > Extended order proposal menu, you can specify that a link should be displayed here that will take you directly to the product master data, for example. If you have defined a link, it will be displayed here with an arrow. |
Important
If using the seasons mentioned above, you must take note of the following limitation:
The delivery time saved in the product master data is displayed here, but is not taken into account for planning the required stock. This means that the delivery time of the product has no influence on the information displayed here. Pay close attention to products that have longer delivery times with your supplier to avoid shortages and create the purchase order early.
Do you want to restart your calculation completely or undo individual calculation steps?
If needed, you can click on Reset order proposal at the top right to remove all products that were previously loaded into the order proposal. This action resets the product selection, meaning that the check boxes at the left of the product table are deactivated.
You just want to delete a calculation, for example the demand from open sales orders?
The section at the top shows which calculation runs have been carried out - in this case the minimum quantities and the open sales orders. You can undo the respective calculation run at any time by clicking on Remove calculation.
Below the filters and notes, you can find an overview of the different products and suppliers as well as the total purchase price for all selected products. This total is calculated by multiplying the quantities in the Requirement column with the purchase price of the product.
Is everything correct? Then click Create purchase order(s) to create a purchase order. In the next step, you will be shown a summary of which products will be included in the purchase order before it is finally created. One purchase order is then generated per supplier.
Note
The total sum of your order proposal that is displayed here may differ from the final total of the purchase orders created on the basis of the order proposal. This happens in case your required quantities are lower than the minimum order quantity determined for this supplier. If the minimum order quantity determined for your supplier exceeds your requirement, the purchase order is created for this minimum order quantity.
Go to the menu Buy > Extended Order Proposal and open the Settings tab to carry out additional settings for the module if needed.
For example, you can define time ranges for which product quantities required in the future on the basis of sales orders that have been set to released in Xentral.
Important
If using requirement scales, take note of the following limitation:
The delivery time saved in the product master data is displayed here, but is not taken into account for planning the required stock. This means that the delivery time of the product has no influence on the information displayed here. Pay close attention to products that have longer delivery times with your supplier to avoid shortages and create the purchase order early.
The following table contains more detailed information on the available settings.
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Setting |
Explanation |
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Requirement scale next X days |
Create a demand scale for the next X days by entering the desired number of days here (here: 30). The season is then displayed as an additional column in the Overview tab. The product quantity displayed in this column is calculated on the basis of the product quantities contained in open sales orders and whose delivery date is a part of this time range. If no particular delivery date has been defined for the individual positions of a sales order, the delivery date of the sales order will be taken into consideration. If this information is also not available, the sales order date is used. |
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Requirement scale last X days |
Create a demand scale for the next X days by selecting the number of days you want here (here: 30). The season is then displayed as an additional column in the Overview tab. The product quantity displayed in this column is calculated on the basis of the product quantities contained in open sales orders and whose delivery date is a part of this time range. If no particular delivery date has been defined for the individual positions of a sales order, the delivery date of the sales order will be taken into consideration. If this information is also not available, the sales order date is used. |
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Relate demand past days to |
This setting is only relevant if you use the previous setting Requirement scale last X days. |
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Activate dynamic minimum stock calculation |
Enable this option to set a dynamically calculated minimum stock value for each product of the order proposal in the Min. Stock column of the Overview tab. Some additional preparatory settings in Xentral are required for this purpose. You can find all the information about the required settings and the underlying calculations in the chapter Setting up dynamic calculation of minimum stock quantities. |
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Show item pictures |
Activate this option to display the main product image of the respective product in the Overview tab. In this case, you will find the products image to the left of the Product column. |
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Additional fields ext. order proposal |
Optional: From the drop-down menus Column 1 to Column 5, select which additional columns you want to display in the Overview tab. This makes sense if you use free fields to store individual product information in Xentral and would like to see it at a glance when creating an extended order proposal. TipFor more information about free fields for products, see chapter Custom fields (Free fields) for products, addresses, projects and documents. |
Xentral provides the ability to dynamically calculate minimum stock quantities based on the past requirements of a product. This allows the system to automatically determine which minimum quantity is appropriate so that purchase orders are triggered in time. In the following chapters, we show you how to activate the dynamic calculation of minimum stock quantities.
Proceed as described below to activate the dynamic calculation of minimum stock quantities.
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Use the Smart Search to open the Custom fields module.
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Define a field.
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Enable the option Show free fields in the product.
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Click on Save.
Important
The selection of a free field is mandatory for enabling the dynamic calculation of minimum stock in Xentral correctly.
The dynamic minimum stock is displayed for information, but is not included in the automatically calculated order proposal.
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Open the menu Buy > Extended order proposal.
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Click on the Settings tab.
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Activate the option Activate dynamic minimum stock calculation.
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From the Save dynamic calculation in free field drop-down menu, select the free field in the product master data that you defined earlier in step 2. The result of the calculation is then displayed here.
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Click on Save.
From now on, the calculation is carried out once a day by the process starter purchase_order_proposal. If required, you can change the execution time in the Settings > Administration > Process starter menu. However, we recommend that you leave the default time at 01:30 a.m.
As soon as you have activated this option, the following calculation takes place once per day (over night):
Mindestlagermenge = (Bedarfsstaffel letzte X Tage / Anzahl Tage) x (Lieferzeit Standard)
Let's go through the calculation using the example:
The Requirement scale last x days is also determined by yourself in the settings of the Extended order proposal module. If you have defined several demand scales, the first entry is always used for dynamic calculation. In our example, it's 10 days.
In our example, 90 pieces (50+20+20) were sold in the last 10 days, as we can see in the Receipts tab of the product master data.
You define the delivery time yourself in the field of the same name at the stored purchase price of the product under Product > Purchasing. If there is currently an entry in the Delivery time field, the system calculates this time, otherwise the default time is taken as a calculation basis.
In our example a delivery time currently of 2 weeks and a delivery time standard of 3 weeks is stored. So it is calculated with 14 days.
The following calculation is thus obtained:
Mindestlagermenge = (Bedarfsstaffel letzte 10 Tage / 10) x (Lieferzeit aktuell 14 Tage)
126 = (90 Stück Bedarf / 10 Tage ) * 14 Tage Lieferzeit aktuell
This result is displayed after passing through the process starter purchase_order_proposal in the free field on the product (Product > Tab: Details > Section: Additional fields).
Warning
In order for the dynamic calculation to work, a supplier with a purchase price must be defined in the product master data and the Default supplier option must be activated.
If the option Activate dynamic minimum stock calculation is activated in the Settings tab of the Extended order proposal module, then the dynamically determined value is displayed in the column Min. Stock. This is also taken into account in the editable suggestion value.
If the option Activate dynamic minimum stock calculation is not activated, then the value stored as Min. storage quantity in the product master data is used for the calculation.
In this example, 90 pieces are defined in the product as the minimum stock quantity.
This value is then also displayed in the extended order proposal in the column Min. Stock and is included in the calculated proposal, which can then be adopted or manually overwritten again.
The basic purchase proposal takes into account all suppliers stored in the item master data or those for whom open purchase orders or jobs still exist. If a supplier continues to appear in the purchase proposal even after the supplier role has been removed, this is because their purchasing information is still stored in the item master data or there are open transactions linked to that supplier. To fully exclude a supplier from the purchase proposal, you must delete the corresponding purchase prices from the item master data and cancel or complete all open purchase orders or jobs associated with that supplier. Alternatively, you can use the advanced purchase proposal to manually select suppliers and items.