The following pages highlight some of the more outstanding features of the DPS Customer Order Entry system.
- The order entry system will provide “suggestions” for additional items that the order operators may want to bring to the attention of the customer while they’re on the phone. As an example, when a particular set/group is ordered, the system can immediately suggest matching complimentary items, such as the night stands.
- For items that can be “assembled” , if the finished component is out of stock, the system includes an inquiry to notify the operator of how many can be assembled based on the “KD” items.
- Each time a customer record is accessed by the order entry operator for either responding to questions or entering an order, the system will display a window of information about that customer that DPS calls the order entry profile. This information assures that the order entry personnel are provided pertinent information about the customer.
- Multiple sales order options that allow you to process:
. Regular orders with immediate pick ticket printing
. Direct/Drop ship orders
. Back Orders
. Branch Transfers
. Hold orders (reserving inventory for short periods of time)
. Quotes
. Order acknowledgements
- Customer sold-to/ship-to account look up so you can find your customers by their account number, business name, phone number, zip code, salesman assignment, and more
- Multiple ship-to addresses for a single bill-to customer
- Automatic credit checking for past due invoices and credit limit violations including access to the customer credit review and payment screens so you can resolve credit issues while the customer is still on the phone
- Full multi-branch capabilities, including inquiry features and branch transfer features
- Automatic pricing includes:
. Quantity break points that combine for price options
. Assigned customer price levels
. Unlimited quote/special pricing by specific customer or class of customer by inventory item, range of items, product class or range of product classes
. Beginning and ending dates for specials and promotions
- Access to customer orders in-process including unshipped pick tickets, orders on credit hold, back orders, and hold orders
- Immediate display of open transaction for a particular item by customer, with the option of changing ship allocations in order to provide available quantities to your best customers
- Special processes for handling one-time customers and one-time inventory items
- If one customer cancels an order which will now allow the goods to be shipped to another customer, the system will immediately notify the order entry operator
- Return authorization forms can be printed for the warehouse and/or drivers to pick up material from customer locations which is to be returned to stock or for inspection
- The credit memo process allows the user to maintain a series of reason codes, with reports available to analyze why credits are being issued to specific customers with this year/last year comparisons
- The user may cause the system to generate an automatic backorder notice which prints in the purchasing department to notify the purchasing agent that a customer has placed an order for items not currently in stock
- Short term hold orders can be placed to reserve inventory for a specific customer for a limited amount of time, without actually printing a pick ticket for delivery. The system will automatically release the hold after a defined time period if the hold has not been converted into a shippable order
- Automatic truck routing and stop numbers for your truck deliveries
- Inquiries within the system will display all orders on a particular truck for a specific date, including stop numbers and estimated delivery times
- The system includes an automatic billing function by truck route, eliminating the need to bill each order individually
- For COD orders (and even multiple COD orders being shipped to the same customer), the system will print a COD payment summary sheet for your drivers showing them exact amounts of customer checks or the amount of cash the customer should be paying – these sheets also serve as a type of receipt for the customer
- Several types of shipping labels may be printed at the same time pick tickets are printed, eliminating the need for the warehouse personnel to write order information on material as it is being wrapped and shipped
- When more than one order is being shipped to a customer on a specific date, the system will assure that a delivery charge is only added to one of the orders, eliminating the need for order operators to add or subtract delivery charges from multiple orders. Additionally, the system will automatically eliminate delivery charges for orders being picked up at the warehouse.
- Route manifests can be printed showing the driver order information in stop number sequence and providing a means for tracking times and mileages.
- For direct ship orders or orders that result in a back order, the operator has the option to immediately create a purchase order for the item(s) and fax that purchase order directly to the applicable vendor.
- In order to assist in evaluating employee efficiencies, the system includes a report by operator of the number and value of orders taken for a specific day
- The system includes a complete complaint tracking module with progressive status codes updated through the life cycle of the complaint, including tracking based on the end user name
- If a customer inquires about a product that is not currently in stock, the order entry operator may immediately generate a mill inquiry which is faxed to the supplier requesting information about product availability, production, and delivery.
- Specific delivery instructions may be maintained at the customer location level and immediately pulled into a customer order for printing on delivery documents
- If an item is out of stock and yet there is an item in your inventory that can be “substituted” for the original item, the system will immediately display information about the substitute item to the order entry operator while in the customer order
- For orders that need to be shipped with COD payment terms, the system produces a summary sheet by customer to assist the driver in knowing exactly how much to collect from each customer. These sheets may be faxed to the customer the day before the delivery is scheduled to help assure that funds are available when the driver arrives.
- The system includes two different types of “set/group” processes. The first is referred to as “firm” sets/groups. This means that certain components are always included in the set/group and the operator may enter only the set/group item number and the system will “explode” the components into the order. The second is referred to as “optional” sets/groups. The process displays every possible item that might be included in the set/group and allows the operator to select which components the customer desires.