FieldOffice Release 2.1 offers Vendor Managed Inventory Capabilities
Release 2.1 of FieldOffice contains numerous enhancements to help distributors who manage the inventory of their products for customers. This process is commonly known as VMI, or vendor managed inventory. VMI is a service that suppliers provide to their customer where the supplier commits to count and to replenish the customer’s inventory to predetermined levels.
FieldOffice leverages the functionality in Infor SX.e to improve the efficiency of the VMI process for both tool crib and consigned vendor managed inventory situations. For tool crib, the vendor maintains a product list in ICSPL for the customer’s location. He can assign bin locations and min/max ordering rules there as well. When ordering in FieldOffice, the order taker will call up the customer’s product list and enter the quantity he counts for each product. The program will suggest an order quantity based on the min/max rules that have been entered previously in Infor SX.e.
For consignment VMI, FieldOffice extends the consignment inventory features built into Infor SX.e. The vendor sets up a consigned warehouse in his system for the customer and tracks its inventory. The FieldOffice order taker selects the consigned warehouse when he starts his order. The program will display each product with the prior count, which is stored as the on-hand balance, and the order taker enters the actual physical count. The difference between the two values is the amount the customer drew from the consigned warehouse. The order taker’s order is processed by Infor SX.e as a shipped order, much like a counter sale would be, and then invoiced automatically through the normal invoice processing procedure. Because the consigned inventory is kept in a specially designated warehouse in Infor SX.e, the normal replenishment process in the system will automatically replenish the invoiced inventory by suggesting a warehouse transfer.
FieldOffice Vendor Management Inventory Feature Summary
- Support for both tool crib (customer owned inventory) and for consigned (vendor owned inventory)
- Can be used offline
- Support for scanning via a laser scanner or iPad camera
- Converts counts to appropriate ordering quantities
- Customer signature capture
- Min/max ordering rules
- Product lists with bin locations
- Product search within product lists
- Automatic move-to-ship stage for consigned orders to force invoicing
- Support for on demand Infor SX.e document delivery like acknowledgements
- Automatic replenishment for consigned warehouses via Infor SX.e Buyer’s Control Center
FieldOffice is the only truly integrated Infor SX.e solution that gives you the ability to easily manage your vendor’s inventory.
Since 1905, Turner Supply Company has become one of the largest independently-owned and operated industrial distributors in North America. They have remained successful by continuing to grow and adapt with both changing times and changing technologies. Find out how they are leveraging FieldOffice to improve productivity and streamline operations.