Manufacturing/Supply Chain Enhancements

QAD Enterprise Edition 2017 provides additional support for the concept of a milk run approach to supplier deliveries. In a milk run, your own vehicles or vehicles belonging to a logistics provider follow a prescribed route to one or more suppliers, which is described on a pickup sheet. The vehicles pick up parts or materials and deliver them to your manufacturing sites.

Enhancements have been made in several areas.

This release adds load optimization logic to help alleviate a major challenge of milk runs: sending multiple partially loaded vehicles. During automatic or manual pickup sheet creation, you can select a rule to control full-truck optimization logic to utilize excess capacity:

• Linear Rule. The system proportionately distributes the remaining open capacity among the PO lines of the pickup sheets in order to maximize the overall capacity, in weight or volume.

• ABC Rule. This rule program is provided mainly as a sample to be used for your own custom programming. If you use it as-is, the system proportionately distributes the open capacity over all of the items with the same ABC classification code. If this process still leaves open capacity, the system uses open capacity for items with the next-lower ABC classification.

You can now include discrete PO lines on pickup sheets. Discrete lines and supplier scheduled order lines can be mixed on the same sheet.

Note: Discrete PO lines are excluded from system full-truck optimization calculations; typically, PO line quantities are fixed when the PO is issued and can only be modified by the buyer.

Order lines on pickup sheets can now include containers, defined using the features of the Packaging Setup Menu (13.14).

Packing setup functions let you define all types of containers (packs) as well as create packaging structures (bills of packaging). Containers can be single-level, such as items in a box, or multi-level, such as items in a box and boxes on a pallet. Setup supports multi-level containers, as well as containers that have many pieces—a tote with lid and inserts, for example. Because container weights and volumes are included, you can ensure that capacity calculations are a valid representation of the load.

Pickup sheets show containers so that the logistics transporter can verify the number of containers in the delivery.

Pallet capacity information has been added to maintenance programs and report outputs. This information helps the logistics planner determine how close to a full truck a pickup sheet is in terms of pallets/containerization.

Three new optional fields have been added to Supplier Network Maintenance.

• Pickup Start Time and Pickup End Time allow the planner to specify a pickup “window” for the logistics provider to be at the supplier for pickup.

• Supplier Dock field allows the planner to specify a supplier dock identifier—sometimes referred to as a “bay” or “gate”—where the logistics provider is expected to arrive. It further qualifies the location at the supplier’s facility.

The information helps logistics planners and transportation drivers more effectively manage the arrival and pickup of material. It also allows the suppliers to more effectively plan for the arrival of trucks at their facilities.

You can now specify the planner responsible for a supplier network in Supplier Network Maintenance. Additionally, Planner has been added to the selection criteria in the following functions, allowing you to control record selection based on the associated planner:

Logistics planners can now assign a generated pickup sheet to an alternate network/route. This supports a business model that requires multiple deliveries per day and lets the planner choose a network that matches the suppliers on the pickup sheet.

Note: This feature is only available in Pickup Sheet Maintenance—not Pickup Sheet Auto Create. Additionally, the Network ID can only be changed when the sheet status is Draft.

You can now define price lists as temporary for purchase orders and supplier scheduled orders.

Some companies need to define price lists that do not represent final prices. For example, they may want to issue purchase orders and supplier schedules while prices are still being negotiated with the supplier. In some cases, companies may be legally prohibited from issuing POs without prices.

This is a widely accepted business practice in Asia. Additionally, repricing an order retroactively—that is, renegotiating a price after it has been agreed on—is common in the automotive industry.

To use temporary PO pricing:

When a purchase order or supplier scheduled order references such a price list, the temporary price applies. After the final price is negotiated and you update the price list, the process depends on the status of the order cycle:

• If the price list is updated with the negotiated price before the order is received, the system updates the purchase order or supplier schedule with the new price.

• If the price is updated after the order is received but before invoicing, the system creates receipts based on the temporary price, then adjusts the order with the new price when it is available.

• If the price is updated after invoicing, the system creates supplier invoices and pays the supplier based on the temporary (receipt) price.

Note: The system only selects order receipts with temporary prices for receiver matching (that is, invoicing) when Match Receipts with Temporary Price in Supplier Invoice Control is Yes.

When the price is finalized, the system reprices the order, then generates price adjustments for the invoiced receipts, creates supplier invoices for the difference between the receipt price and the final price, and pays the supplier as needed.

For information on Financials changes that support this new feature, see Support for Temporary Purchase Order Pricing.

The Legal Documents functionality is now supported in Serialization transactions. You can implement appropriate legal documents specific to your country when you use Serialization.

After a shipper is created either for sales orders or for distribution orders, the system automatically generates a legal document. As the shipper data updates with picking, pack building, weighing, and pack moves between shippers, the system updates the legal documents.

The Logistics Accounting functionality is now supported in Serialization transactions. You can track outbound logistics charges for sales orders and distribution orders as the shipper data updates with picking, pack building, weighing, and pack moves between shippers.

Only apportion methods 1 and 2 are now supported in Serialization.

The Logistics Charges Detail frame has been added to the following functions for shippers:

The Global Tax functionality is now supported in Serialization transactions for distribution orders. You can implement GTM and specify tax data for distribution orders in different transactions. The system calculates and displays the tax amounts in the transaction trailer frame for your review.

The tax information frame and the tax amounts trailer frame have been added to the following functions:

DO Shipper Unconfirming functionality is now supported in Serialization. You can use DO Pre-Shipper/Shipper Unconfirm (12.19.21) to unconfirm a shipper for DOs before truck loading.

Container charges can now be calculated in Serialization as in standard processing, by setting up a pack code and charge type for the container item. After a pre-shipper or shipper is confirmed, container charges are added to the orders. You can view the container charges in the generated invoice. When you unconfirm a shipper or return shipped goods, container charges are reversed accordingly.

• Manual intervention is now not required for counted unexpected unit packs that meet both of the following conditions.

After you run Inventory Balance Update by Pack (3.16.3.6), the system activates those pack serial IDs.

For pending packs, during inventory balance update, the system also deletes the associated serial detail records.

• Manual intervention is now not required when Quantity on Hand is negative but non-serialized loose inventory is counted. After you run Inventory Balance Update by Pack (3.16.3.6), the system updates the inventory with the quantity counted.

• Untagged Inventory Tag Create (3.16.3.9) is a new function. Using this function, you can let the system automatically create bulk tags for all untagged inventory, both non-serialized inventory and serialized inventory. When you use this function, only bulk tags are considered in preparation for physical inventory for all inventory.

Note: If a serialized pack or loose item is active and its serial detail record is linked to a DO shipper, the pack or item is in reality in transit. The system does not create tags for such items.

• The new Physical Inventory Variance (3.16.19) independent browse is different from Physical Inventory Counting Result browse collection. The inventory data is retrieved independently of the existence or status of physical inventory tags. With this single new browse, you can make a quick analysis of the total impact of the physical counts before updating the inventory.

• During tag counting or recounting by pack, when no location detail record exists, the system now creates a record for either loose inventory or packaged inventory. For packs or serialized items, the system also links the created location detail records to the serial IDs.

When serialized items or packs exist in a site/location/lot/reference combination, loose inventory of the location detail now can be negative when overissue is allowed.

If, due to an inventory receipt or issue movement, negative loose quantity and positive packaged quantity balance each other out, the system now does not delete the location detail.

You can use a new Use Supplier Schedule Comparative Extract (.NET UI only) to view multiple supplier schedule releases simultaneously and analyze supplier schedule release fluctuations. Likewise, you can use Schedule Comparison Extract to view multiple releases simultaneously and analyze customer schedule release fluctuations.

When you run Supplier Schedule Comparison Extract, you can use the data to compare schedule releases for all items on supplier scheduled orders, including:

When you extract supplier release information, the system compares multiple supplier schedule order releases. The system calculates the following per date:

The comparison provides visibility to multiple release data as well as spreadsheet or Web documentation for supplier interaction when examining, for example, additional expenses.

The system displays the data in:

Schedule bucketing parameters—schedule days, weeks, or months—from the scheduled order line (type 4) for planning and shipping output reports.

You can set various reporting criteria to gain visibility over widespread or specific information sent from suppliers. For example, you can set the number of supplier plan or ship schedule releases to be compared and set the variance percentage that displays between the first and last supplier schedule release.

When you run Schedule Comparison Extract, you can extract customer release information. The system compares multiple customer schedule order releases. The system calculates the following per date:

The comparison provides visibility to multiple release data as well as spreadsheet or Web documentation for customer interaction when examining, for example, additional expenses.

The system displays the data in

You can set various reporting criteria to gain visibility over widespread or specific information received from the customer. For example, you can set the number of customer plan or ship schedule releases to be compared and set the variance percentage that displays between the first and last customer schedule release. The report displays the:

You can use a new Ship Delivery Time Maintenance (5.5.1.3) program to set up ship delivery time windows. Use the program to define ship delivery time (SDT) codes and associate one or more delivery times with them. SDT codes specify exact delivery times on supplier shipping schedules. Daily item requirements are divided into hour and minute buckets based on these delivery times.

Note: SDT codes are not used on supplier planning schedules. You can specify an interval code, as needed.

You associate SDT codes with individual scheduled orders to avoid having to manually enter delivery times on supplier shipping schedules. The sum of allocation percentages across the defined time windows must add up to 100%.

Example: A scheduled order line has a time window for two deliveries per day, one at 10am and another at 2pm. You want a larger percentage for the morning delivery, so you set the first time window for 10:00, then allocate 70% for it. You set a second time window for 14:00, and allocate 30% for that window.

In some cases, fixed allocation percentages are not sufficient, so you can create and specify a custom allocation calculation program in the SDT Calculation Program field in Supplier Time Window Maintenance.

Note: QAD Enterprise Edition includes the rscalc1.p custom program that you can reference as an example of how to write your own custom program.

When you create the SDT code by specifying time windows and allocating delivery percentages, you can also create the custom program, defined as part of the SDT code.

The custom program determines the actual times and percentages used in Schedule Update from MRP to create the supplier shipping schedules.

You can set default SDT codes in Supplier Controls Maintenance (5.5.1.6) and associate them with individual suppliers. The SDT code you set defaults to Supplier Scheduled Order Maintenance headers (5.5.1.13) for orders that match the supplier. In the Ship Delivery Data frame of Scheduled Order Maintenance, you can enter an SDT code or accept the default at the header level. You can change the code at the line level in Supplier Scheduled Order Maintenance.

Schedule Update from MRP (5.5.3.1) uses the delivery times associated with SDT codes on scheduled orders to bucket daily item requirements on supplier shipping schedules.

Use the View Order Ship Delivery Time browse collection (.NET UI only) to view the SDT time codes that MRP used for orders and order lines. A supporting browse displays the SDT code and percentages used by order number. You can drill down into a supporting browse that displays all scheduled order lines referencing the selected SDT code.

The following new features and improvements have been made to Lot Trace Workbench:

• The number of transactions that are supported by LTWB has been extended to include scrap, cycle count, physical inventory, and supplier consignment transactions.

• The information in the Panel Browse has been extended to give the user additional filtering options.