Inside sales employees who work with assembled items know all about it; sometimes it is hard to identify exactly the correct part of sub assembly within the Bill of Materials (or: BOM), by the item name alone. And although this sounds like a minor detail, for complex product compositions that tend to change often, lots of time can be saved when item codes are used to pinpoint the correct part quickly and efficiently.

The Bill of Material of an assembled item now shows the item codes for all parts, next to their names, prices and amounts.

When parts in assemblies are revised, or when replacement products within the same item category can be used, or – let alone – to precisely identify an item, the availability of the item code forms an essential part of the information within this overview.

That’s the reason why the item card for Exact Online for Wholesale distribution and Exact Online for Manufacturing now shows the item code in the ‘Bill of Materials’ tab. Next to the advantages of saving time, less errors will be made and it saves many ‘clicks’ going through various screens to find the required info.

This enhancement has been realized based on the user feedback in our customer portal.

A Global Location Number (GLN) is a standardized identifier of a physical location such as a company address or a warehouse. The GLN is used in electronic messages between suppliers and customers like those used for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). EDI is a common standard to communicate between supply chain partners in food, consumer goods and automotive supplies. Exact for Wholesale Distribution and Exact for Manufacturing now support storing GLN numbers, and with this it has become easier to use EDI.

 

GLN numbers of accounts (customers, suppliers)

On the account card [Accounts] Customers, Overview or [Accounts] Suppliers, Overview we can show the GLN (add column by customizing the screen using the icon in the right upper corner), and we can edit the GLN by editing the account card:

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It is now also possible to store and retrieve the accounts GLN via de REST API Accounts.

GLN number of the own company

As we also have to identify in the EDI messages which our own GLN number is, we have added the possibility to maintain a GLN by clicking on the company name (left upper corner) and subsequently clicking on Maintenance:

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The functionality to maintain GLN is currently restricted to the Netherlands and Belgium.

This enhancement is made based on customer feedback. If you have an idea you can report it to Exact support or submit it via Support, Ideas (NL and BE only). You can also vote there on ideas submitted by other customers. We try to realize frequently liked ideas early.

Sales people who receive an inquiry on the availability of a product are often also asked the product price. It is therefore practical if this data is available in the same overview. If they want to provide an overview to their customers of availability and price, they are asked to include the (EAN-13) barcode in the report. We have recently extended the stock positions report with the required fields.

 

New columns in the stock positions overview

In the stock positions overview, [Inventory] Analysis & Results, Stock positions we have added columns for Sales price, Currency (Sales price), VAT code sales and Barcode. These field can be added by customizing the screen (tool icon in the right upper corner):

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This enhancement is made based on customer feedback. If you have an idea you can report it to Exact support or submit it via Support, Ideas (NL and BE only). You can also vote there on ideas submitted by other customers. We try to realize frequently liked ideas early.

An item that has in your own system a unique code may have at the supplier an entirely different code, and with a second supplier yet another one. When the purchase order is entered it may be practical to search for the supplier item code. This is now possible in Exact for Wholesale Distribution and Exact for Manufacturing

 

Once more on item codes

Generally it is not advised to use the supplier item code as our own item code. Each supplier has its own range and format of codes and if we collect items from a variety of suppliers we will end up with a hodgepodge of codes. If the same item is supplied by different suppliers we will have a choice to make and if we also may end up with creating a duplicate item with a different item code. Then there is the risk that one supplier has an item with code “1001”, and another supplier has a different item also with code “1001”. The supplier item code is potentially not unique. In the blog How to create a part number system? You can find tips for defining a robust item number system.

The supplier item code

On the item card, via the tab “Price management” (Purchase) we can add and maintain suppliers. We can also maintain the supplier item code:

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Enter purchase orders with the supplier item code

On the purchase order entry screen we position on the field for Item code. If we press F2, the item browser screen will be shown. By a screen customization (tool icon in the right upper corner) we can add a search field for supplier item code, and we can also show the supplier item code in the lines of the search result. With this, we can search and select using the supplier item code:

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Of course you can modify the purchase order layout to show the supplier item code:

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This enhancement is made based on customer feedback. If you have an idea you can report it to Exact support or submit it via Support, Ideas (NL and BE only). You can also vote there on ideas submitted by other customers. We try to realize frequently liked ideas early.

When the shop order is readied for delivery one would typically need to know how the product will be shipped. Will the customer collect the shipment? Is it going to be collected by DHL? Is there a transporter that collects the pallets? The field shipping method is meant for instructions for the delivery. We can enter it already in the quotation and sales order, and we can print it on the quotation form and sales order confirmation, but we prefer not to distribute commercial documents to the shop floor. We can now also print the shipping method on the shop paper.

Shipping method on the shop paper

When we create a sales order or quotation we can select a shipping method. These shipping methods we can maintain ourselves via [Master data] Shipping methods. When we print the shop paper we can include the shipping method (code and description):

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This enhancement is made based on customer feedback. If you have an idea you can report it to Exact support or submit it via Support, Ideas (NL and BE only). You can also vote there on ideas submitted by other customers. We try to realize frequently liked ideas early.

Sometimes making a goods delivery is dependent on the receipt of a prepayment. And sometimes, it is important when preparing a goods delivery to know whether the customer will pay upon collecting his order at the front desk, or that a courier has to collect cash on delivery. Recently we enhanced the goods delivery overview with the possibility to show the payment condition. This enhancement is for all editions of Exact for Wholesale Distribution and Manufacturing.

Payment condition of a sales order

When creating a sales order (or quotation) we can enter a payment condition. These payment conditions can be maintained via (Master Data) Payment Conditions. When  creating a delivery we can show on the goods delivery screen (Sales) Deliveries & Returns, Goods deliveries, a column with the payment condition. We can also sort on this column:

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The column payment condition can be added to the overview using the tool icon in the right upper corner (Customise).

This enhancement is made based on customer feedback. If you have an idea you can report it to Exact support or submit it via Support, Ideas (NL and BE only). You can also vote there on ideas submitted by other customers. We try to realize frequently liked ideas early.

(Picture courtesy of AAA-LUX)

AAA-LUX of Eindhoven is a manufacturer of LED flood lighting for high mast applications (sports and industry). With dimmable lighting solutions AAA-LUX customers save on energy consumption, CO2 emissions and maintenance cost. AAA-LUX is using Exact for Manufacturing since 2014.

We may assign a serial or batch number to items that we want to specifically identify. Reasons for assigning serial or batch numbers could be differences in composition or quality, to trace the origin of materials used, the delivery to specific customers or to maintain a service history. We can now also link documents to serial and batch number items to better comply with legislation and quality management standards.

 

Maintaining serial and batch numbers

When we want to assign serial or batch numbers to an item we should already prepare that property when creating or maintaining the item. Using serial or batch numbers is only supported in Exact for Wholesale Distribution and Exact for Manufacturing Advanced or Premium. Via the menu path [Inventory] Items, Serial numbers, Overview, or [Inventory] Items, Batch numbers, Overview we can look up a serial or batch number and by clicking on the number we can maintain its properties:

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By clicking on the magnifying glass at Documents we can create and link one or more documents. At this moment we cannot yet create and link documents to a serial or batch number via [Documents] New document.

Viewing documents linked to serial- or batch numbers

If there are documents linked to a serial or batch number then an hyperlink is shown with “(number – View)”. By clicking on this link we are shown an overview of linked documents:

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When we click on any of the documents in the overview we will be shown its contents:

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Linking documents upon receipt of a serial or batch number item

When we receive a serial or batch number item from a supplier, from an assembly order or from a shop order then we are able to immediately link documents:

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This enhancement is made based on customer feedback. If you have an idea you can report it to Exact support or submit it via Support, Ideas (NL and BE only). You can also vote there on ideas submitted by other customers. We try to realize frequently liked ideas early.

When we purchase materials for shop orders we can apply either one of two available methods: we purchase based on the total demand and the current available stock, or we link the purchase to specific shop orders. In the second case, each receipt should be allocated to the respective shop order(s). A recent enhancement makes it easier to identify to which shop orders we should allocate the receipts.

Linked shop order materials

In the Overview | Shop orders we can select one or more shop orders and with the button Purchase (Materials) we create purchase orders that are linked to the selected shop orders:

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Goods receipts for linked shop order materials

Via the menu path [Purchase] Receiving & returns, Create we select the purchase order and use the button Receive. The next screen shows in the column Shop order materials if and how many shop orders are linked to the purchase line. By clicking on this number we get to the screen Linked – Shop order materials:

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Until recent we showed on this screen the shop order material plan (the number of the shop order with the number of the material line). This is often insufficient to easily allocate the received material to a shop order. By a screen customization (tool icon in the right upper corner) we can add columns for Shop order: Description (the description of the to manufacture product), Material line: Description (the description of the part that is manufactured from the material), and the Customer (linked to the sales order).

This enhancement is made based on customer feedback. If you have an idea you can report it to Exact support or submit it via Support, Ideas (NL and BE only). You can also vote there on ideas submitted by other customers. We try to realize frequently liked ideas early.

That’s great, because personal, relevant e-mails are read considerably better. In other words: the more targeted and relevant your e-mail communication is, the more effective it will become.

Fixed subject line a major source of frustration
The subject line of these standard and automated e-mails could not be changed up to now. With the exception of a relevant (dynamic) sales order number or quotation number; the text was fixed and you couldn’t change the rest of the subject line. This to the great frustration of many users.

Customizable subject lines and dynamic fields
Those days are gone. With the new “customize e-mail subject” feature, you can now adjust the subject line of each standard e-mail message in Exact Online. Plus: you can add dynamic fields, such as an order number, customer name, or any other information. And all that just as easily as it was, changing the body text of the e-mail itself.

Small adjustment with a big impact
A small tweak with a big impact: the chance that an e-mail with relevant, current subject line serves its purpose is increasing considerably. Not only is the open rate much higher, you can also communicate with your relations more efficiently based on information from your business software.

May I have your votes, please
Exact innovates with every Seasonal Release that’s been released. We take user feedback very seriously. With over 650, this feature is one of the most requested innovations of the past period – and now available to all Exact Online users.

Processing returns – never a dull moment

Challenges of receiving returned goods are known at our customers within the supply chain. Because it is not only about the return moment itself, but also all communication, checks, approval, decisions about repair and refurbishment, there are lots of costs that suppress your margins.

The reason for returning goods can be many. For each of these, it could be necessary to have different follow-up. A wrong delivery needs to be processed differently from a broken article. These processes need to be modeled, your digital warehouse need to support these processes.

New! Planned returns

This new ‘planned returns’ feature of Exact Online makes your return process much more efficient, and professional.

Based on a delivered order, returns can be registered upfront after which they can be processed. Part of the process, is the decision on how and where they will be received. The big advantage is that both the employees in the warehouse and at administration are informed up-front, and can take appropriate action. With one simple click, returns can be confirmed by e-mail, based on the underlying reason. A PDF containing all details on the returned items is generated and attached to that e-mail, automatically.  An other advantage is that inventory levels are not changed until accepting, and processing of the actual return. On top of that; a specific and different warehouse can be defined per return to receive the returned goods at the place you want.

Returns – processed efficiently

The advantages of a controlled return process, and the new functionality are clear. Next to the ones mentioned above, companies now can find root causes of returns, optimize time to process returns and boost margins as a result. But above all- customers are happier since they work with a professionally organized supplier.