Having worked with numerous customers in the Auto Body Supply industry, we have learned that the process to create a Purchase Order (for a sea container of parts) can be a long and tedious process. OneSource has designed tools to significantly simplify and/or automate each of your typical steps to get a PO accurately submitted and updated:

Step 1: Open Auto PO Screen

OneSource has designed a special 'Automated PO Preview' (APO) screen that crunches and displays numerous calculations for each item that needs to be re-ordered, including the following bits of information--all on the SAME screen:

• Item Number, Item Description, Default Supplier/Mfr
• Qty Sold in past x Months (as defined by you)
• Qty in Stock now, Qty Reserved for Existing Orders, Qty already On Order (on 1 or more open PO's)
• 12 months of sales quanities for the item to help determine actual sales cycles.
• The minimum case quantity (if required to purchase in case quantities).
• The suggested re-order quanity.
• ALL alternative Suppliers/Manufacturers for the item, including their item number, item cost, date cost last updated, cubic sq feet, qty available, etc
• The actual 'cost rating' of all Suppliers for the item--side by side--(including the cost of the item and the approximate cost of the freight of the item, based on the cubic sq feet the item will take up in the Sea Container)--ALL displayed in ascending order with lowest 'cost' on top--so you can quickly switch who you will buy the item from based on variables considered.
• The TOTAL $ amount, TOTAL Cubic Sq Feet, and Total % of a Sea Container that the 'suggested' re-order quantities will create on a PO, if no changes were made to the 'suggested' re-order quantities.

Step 2: Export to Excel a 'Request for Quotation' (To Send to Manufacturers)

Once you have completed step 1, now you can just click a button to export your list of items to be emailed to Supplier or Mfr X--along with your item number, the item description, the Supplier/MFR item number, OEM #, PartsLink #, a column their 'quote' to you, a column for the cubic square feet, a column signifying if the item must be purchased in a case/and what the case qty is, etc

Step 3: Import Manufacturer Prices

Next, when the Supplier/MFR sends you an updated list of items, click another button to import the entire list for final approval or editing and then click another button to import the Supplier/MFR item costs to you, cubic square feet, qty in stock now, etc.

Step 4: Open Auto PO, Select Best Prices (and Optimum CuSqFt Per Manufacturer)

Step 4 is a lot like Step 1... Now that you have updated x of the Supplier/MFR's item prices, now you can re-open the Auto PO Preview screen again (explained in Step 1), click a button to update the view the 'cost' rating per item, click another button to see a summary of the total $ amount, total cubic sq feet--per supplier--per container, and Total % of a Sea Container that the 'suggested' re-order quantities will create on a PO to Supplier/MFR x--if no changes were made to the 'suggested' re-order quantities. If necessary, click another button to easily switch which supplier will get the order for the item (all the time watching the % of each Supplier/MFR's Sea Container increase or decrease)--until such time that each has a near perfectly full container.

Step 5: Create PO, Export to Excel & Email to Manufacturer

Continuing from step 4...click another button to automatically create a PO for each Supplier/MFR that has at least 1 item on the Auto PO Preview list. Then click another button to export the PO to Excel to email to the Supplier/MFR

Step 6: Import (Manufacturer Updated) Excel File With Revised Qty Filled on Container

Almost done... X days or weeks later, when the Supplier/MFR sends you back the Excel file with updated (actual) quanities shipped to you--click a button on the PO screen to automatically update the PO Qty Ordered for each item--so your Quantity on Order for each item will be accurate--and so the PO will be ready for quick receipt in Step 7.

Step 7: Receive Items / Print Labels

Last of all--the container arrives at your back door. After looking at the packing slip, etc open the PO, click 'Receive All', and then click Print to auto Print a label for all items on the PO--1 for each item ordered.

That's it! While we have NOT figured out how to reduce the # of steps--we've come a long way at help to simplify and automate the process!