Customer/Supplier Stock Code Look-up

Datafile Software

Customer/Supplier Stock Code Look-up

Often when a customer places an order with you they will use their own stock codes on the order. In addition when you place an order with your suppliers you might not use their stock codes as your own and, when (say) ordering from a catalogue, it could be easier to enter their stock code.

The usual solution is to create a lookup database containing the alternate stock code, the customer/supplier and your equivalent stock code. This database would have a prime-index grouping the account code and the alternate code in case more than one customer/supplier uses the same alternate code for a different product.

Two features have been added to the order processing system to facilitate this set-up. Firstly, an option has been added to filter the records on the lookup database by the customer/supplier account code so that you can only select the appropriate alternate codes. Secondly an option has been added to the document so that you can print the alternate code instead of the usual code if an alternate was entered.

Installation

Application User Facilities

An option has been added to the fourth screen of the Optional Features to restrict the lookup records to matching customer/supplier accounts.

To access the Optional Features select from the main menu Installation followed by Advanced Features Manager and Application User Facilities. Select the sales or purchase order processing application and then select Enter/Amend Orders followed by Advanced Input Facilities and then Optional Features.

First Scr Lookup is Cust/Stock Code

This asks whether the first (of the three) lookups on the order detail entry screen is being used as a lookup database for alternate stock codes. You should only set this option when the prime-index of the lookup database is made up of the customer/supplier account code, a delimiter such as ‘/’ or ‘-‘, and the alternate stock code.

When set the system will apply a filter to the lookup database restricting the records displayed to those with a customer/supplier account code that matches that of the order being entered.

Document Design Manager

The second feature, to print the alternate stock code instead of the usual stock code if it has been entered, is configured through the document design procedures.

To access the Document Design Manager select Installation from the main menu, followed by Advanced Features Manager and then Document Design Manager. Select the sales or purchase order processing documents as appropriate and then select the first document you wish to amend by choosing the document type – acknowledgement, delivery note or invoice – and then the document to amend. Once you have made the change below repeat for other documents as required.

For Professional and Compact users the Document Design Manager is on the main Installation menu. The option to print an alternate code is available on all product levels (unlike the option above) though it is unlikely to be used on the Compact system, in the Professional system you might use this option to print the ‘Column-1’ or ‘Column-2’ item instead of the stock code.

The option to nominate an alternate data item to print for the stock code is available on parameter screen 3 ‘User Defined Column Entries’.

Alt Stk Code?

Select the data item, <F4-Select> is available, that contains the customer/supplier stock code.

The system will print the item referenced here, instead of the stock code, when the alternate code is not blank. However, the system still sizes the print of the alternate code according to the format of the usual stock code so you should ensure these are consistent. Note that the alternate code will only replace the ‘real’ stock code when the code is printed via the ‘User Defined Column entries’ settings (or the category ‘Document Detail Lines’) and not when printed direct from the order detail database.