QAD Enterprise Asset Management 2017.1 > User Guide > Purchasing > Blanket Orders
  
Blanket Orders
Blanket orders take advantage of negotiated pricing for a set of parts or services that a vendor supplies, and are useful for recurring purchases for expendable goods. The blanket order covers multiple deliveries from the vendor within an agreed-upon range of time. Use blanket orders to create individual releases against an order, without the need to create new purchase orders each time a release is needed.
Some of the advantages of using blanket orders include:
• More efficient order processing for high-volume items
• Better ability to manage negotiated prices and changes from a single contract
• Tighter enforcement of spending controls and expiration dates on vendor contracts
• Automatic change tracking for audit compliance
Business Use Cases
There are different ways to work with specific vendors and to streamline the purchasing process with them in EAM:
• Vendor Price Schedules. A buyer can establish vendor price schedules for specific commodities. This provides buyers with the capability to establish pricing once for a specific period, which eliminates the need for technicians and others to continually seek new pricing each time a part is required or to rely on the last price when received.
• Stock Replenishment. For automated stock replenishment, sole source parts are identified in inventory based on pre-approved pricing and stocking levels from a vendor. When these parts are requested for replenishment, the purchasing process is expedited so that the purchase order can be sent to the vendor, without the additional need for confirmation of pricing or fulfillment requirements.
When a buyer periodically negotiates to purchase parts or services from a vendor at agreed-upon pricing or discounts and terms for a specified period, you can create a blanket order to represent the agreement. Blanket orders allow the purchasing process to be streamlined both internally and externally because the planned purchase with the vendor has been authorized and the details are agreed with the vendor ahead of time.
When you initiate discrete purchases, a message is presented to the requestor when the vendor and items are already on a current BO so that a release can be used to fulfill the purchase.