Topic overview

The purchasing functionality fulfills the task of optimally providing a company with the material and non-material goods it requires as primary material for production, for internal use, or for commercial resale. In this context, the term “optimal” refers to the availability of the proper goods in the proper quantity at the proper time and at the proper location, if applicable. The purchasing functionality ensures this by selecting the optimal supplier, among other things.

The search for new or alternative sources of supply and the solicitation of quotations from potential suppliers play an important role in covering a company’s demand. The ability to obtain an overview of current market prices is another possible motivation. The first step is often to create and transmit RFQs to possible suppliers. The RFQs notify the supplier which goods are required at which location and at which time. In addition, they frequently specify the date by which a corresponding quotation is expected. They also frequently contain a more detailed specification of the goods required as well as the transaction modalities for delivery and invoicing or payment.

Quotations are then normally submitted in response to RFQs (or calls for bids) before the specified quotation deadline.

This document describes the structure of the Purchasing RFQs application. The panes in the application and the input fields are described in detail. For example, each field is explained by providing its meaning along with the values or data you can enter or, if applicable, the location from which automatically displayed default values and default settings, if applicable, are taken.

The actions available to you for processing a purchasing RFQ are described in the article Purchasing RFQs: Actions.

Instructions for working with purchasing RFQs, such as how to enter or process purchasing RFQs, can be found in the article Procedures: Purchasing RFQs.

Purchasing RFQ types are an identifying component for purchasing RFQs and contain settings and defaults. They are described in the article Purchasing RFQ types.

You can find an overview of the various ERP processes involved in purchasing in the article Introduction: Purchasing.

Definitions of terms

Purchasing RFQ

A purchasing RFQ is a request for a quotation addressed to one or more suppliers. A purchasing RFQ usually contains information about the item, quantity, delivery date, delivery address, and quotation deadline.

Purchasing RFQs

The Purchasing RFQs application is used to create and process purchasing RFQs. It consists of an identification pane and a work pane with individual purchasing RFQ line items.

Identification pane

The identification pane of the purchasing RFQ contains the relevant fields for unique identification of the purchasing RFQ, as well as the purchasing RFQ header. It displays the generally applicable fields for the purchasing RFQ on the following tabs:

• General tab
• Delivery recipient tab
• Delivery partner tab
• Purchasing organization tab
• Invoicing terms tab
• Classifications tab
• Texts tab

The field contents are described in detail below.

Defaults

The purchasing RFQ header contains the following:

• Generally applicable RFQ data that apply to all line items and must be entered identically. An example of this is the quotation deadline.
• Defaults for the RFQ line items that are applied to the line items but can still be stored with different entries in each line item. An example of this is the preferred date.

In many fields—both in the purchasing RFQ header and in the individual RFQ line items—default data are displayed automatically that were taken as settings and defaults from the master data in other panes. Accordingly, much of the data in the purchasing RFQ is taken from the purchasing RFQ type. If certain data are not entered in the RFQ type, these data can taken from the supplier, for example, and added in the RFQ. As a general rule, defaults can still be changed.

The individual fields are listed and described below. Possible sources of defaults and settings are also indicated. All data that are mandatory for a purchasing RFQ (= mandatory fields) are identified by message corners in the relevant fields.

Fields for identification

The purchasing RFQ type and the purchasing RFQ number are used for identification. In addition to this identification, the summarized status of the purchasing RFQ and the RFQ recipients is displayed. A purchasing RFQ can be targeted at multiple RFQ recipients. In this case, the first RFQ recipient is displayed here.

See also Multiple RFQ recipients.

Detailed description of fields:

• Number – the Number field displays the unique identification of the purchasing RFQ. It consists of two pieces of information: the purchasing RFQ type in the first input field and the purchasing RFQ number in the second input field. The purchasing RFQ type used acts in combination with the purchasing RFQ number to identify the purchasing RFQ.
  • RFQ type – select an existing purchasing RFQ type for the purchasing RFQ that you want to generate or process. Once a new purchasing RFQ is generated, its purchasing RFQ type cannot be changed anymore.
  • RFQ number – the purchasing RFQ number is generated automatically by the system based on the number range specified in the purchasing RFQ type. It cannot be specified manually. If required, specify the purchasing RFQ number of the purchasing RFQ you want to process as a selection characteristic.
    Note

    A number that has already been issued to an RFQ cannot be reused, even if the RFQ was not saved.
• Status – the status information for this purchasing RFQ is displayed, if applicable, as a summary of the status of multiple RFQ recipients. The purchasing RFQ is created with the status that is stored in the RFQ type used as the creation status. It can be changed manually, if necessary.
  See also Status and status changes.
• RFQ recipient – a purchasing RFQ can be targeted at multiple RFQ recipients.
  The RFQ recipient is explicitly identified and assigned via its partner number. Only partners that have been assigned the supplier partner role relative to the purchasing organization can be an RFQ recipient.
  For more details on the Supplier partner role, see the article Partners, Supplier view.
  Once you have entered or selected the RFQ recipient, you can use the [Enter] key to have Comarch ERP Enterprise apply the defaults and settings stored for this partner in the RFQ header. The insertion point then jumps to the item field in the line item editor.
  Alternatively, you can also apply the supplier-specific defaults and settings by choosing the [Validate] or [Save] actions.
  Note

  If a purchasing RFQ is connected to a quotation via a voucher reference, the RFQ recipient(s) cannot be changed anymore.

Multiple RFQ recipients

One or more partners can be used as RFQ recipients in a purchasing RFQ. The first RFQ recipient is selected for this purpose in the RFQ recipient field. The identification and work panes of the purchasing RFQ then display the data and defaults associated with the first RFQ recipient named.

Additional RFQ recipients can be selected in a dialog window. To display this window, use the diamond-shaped button in front of the RFQ recipient field. Additional data for the other RFQ recipients, such as address, assigned delivery partner, or freight carrier, can also be entered, viewed, or edited in this dialog window. If the diamond-shaped button is filled in, this indicates that data have already been entered for more than one RFQ recipient. Otherwise, the diamond-shaped button is empty.

Dialog window for RFQ recipients

The dialog window lists all previously entered RFQ recipients, including the first RFQ recipient. The dialog window also displays or, alternatively, allows the input of additional data assigned to the RFQ recipients. The first RFQ recipient in this list is the one displayed in the identification pane.

The dialog window provides three views:

• RFQ recipient – name and address data, contact person, status, and output medium, and the communication connection for the voucher document are displayed for each RFQ recipient
• Delivery partner – the delivery partner assigned to the RFQ recipient in each case is displayed along with its name and address data, contact person, assigned freight carrier, and output medium, and the communication connection for the voucher document
• Recipient/delivery partner – all name and address data and contact persons are displayed, as are the status of each RFQ recipient, the freight carrier, and the output medium, and the communication connection for the voucher document

The fields in the dialog window and their mode of functioning correspond to the input fields of the identification pane of the application. That is, the descriptions of possible entries or the origins of defaults for the fields in the identification pane also apply to the input fields in the dialog window.

The voucher output settings for the individual RFQ recipients are made exclusively in the dialog window. Unlike in other vouchers, there is no voucher output tab in the voucher header.

The following fields are displayed for each RFQ recipient if the Recipient/delivery partner view was chosen in the dialog window. The RFQ recipient and Delivery partner views display a subset of the fields described.

• RFQ recipient – see the description of the RFQ recipient field in Identification pane
• Name and Address (each RFQ recipient) – see the description of these fields in General tab
• Care of (RFQ recipient) – see the description of this field in General tab
• Status – the status of the purchasing RFQ with respect to the individual RFQ recipients is displayed.
  For more information on the status, see the section Status and status changes.
• Delivery partner – see the description of this field in Delivery partner tab
• Name and Address (each delivery partner) – see the description of these fields in Delivery partner tab
• Care of (Delivery partner) – see the description of this field in Delivery partner tab
• Carrier – see the description of this field in Delivery recipient tab
• Voucher documents – the RFQ voucher document category is preset here and cannot be changed. The output settings for this category are displayed here.
• Medium – the output medium on which the voucher document is output according to the template is displayed. The following output media are possible:
  • Printer (output to file is also possible in this case)
  • E-mail
  • Fax
    If more than one voucher document template exists for a voucher document category and these are stored in the customer master data or the Customizing application for multiple output media, you can select an output medium in this field.
• Communication connection – in this field, you can enter a fax number or e-mail address if you have the appropriate authorizations. See also the section Authorizations.
  To enter multiple e-mail recipients, enter the e-mail addresses one after the other, separated by commas and blank spaces. These manually entered recipient data replace the automatically determined recipient data for the e-mail and fax output media, if applicable.

General tab

The header data contain information regarding the persons and organizations involved as well as the date and deadline information.

• Name and Address (each RFQ recipient) – the system fills in the name and address of the RFQ recipient automatically from the partner master data. These data cannot be changed here.
  Exception:
  A pseudo-partner has been assigned as an RFQ recipient. In this case, the name and address data can be entered manually.
  If the purchasing RFQ is targeted at more than one RFQ recipient, the data of the first RFQ recipient is displayed here. The data for other RFQ recipients can be viewed and edited in a separate dialog, which can be opened via the diamond-shaped button in front of the RFQ recipient field.
  See Dialog window for RFQ recipients.
• Care of – a contact person for the RFQ recipient can be selected, changed, or entered as desired in Care of. In this case, a default purchasing contact person from the partner master data is displayed, if applicable.
  For more details on the functionality of this field and possible procedures, see the article Care of field.
  The contact person of the first RFQ recipient is displayed here. The data for other RFQ recipients can be viewed and edited in a separate dialog, which can be opened via the diamond-shaped button in front of the RFQ recipient field.
  See Dialog window for RFQ recipients.
• Preferred date – the preferred date describes the time point at which you or your company expect delivery of the items. The system enters the current date automatically. You can change this date.
  This field is displayed with the due date type that was specified in the master data of the RFQ recipient. Among other things, the due date type defines the precision for date and time values in the form of a defined time period, for instance days or calendar weeks.
  This due date type cannot be changed; you must enter the preferred date using the specified due date type, thus for example as a certain calendar day, calendar week, or month.
• Creation date – creation date is the date on which the purchasing RFQ was created. The system enters the current date automatically. However, it can be overwritten, if this would be useful for analyses or statistical purposes, for example.
• Quotations to – in Quotations to, you can enter a quotation deadline in the form of a date, for example, by which you or your company expect to receive a quotation from the RFQ recipient. The system uses this deadline to calculate the quotation deadline status.
  See also the section Status and status changes.
• Employee responsible – in this field, an employee of your company can be selected as the internal contact person. The employee must be entered as an internal partner with the employee role assigned, which in turn assigns the employee to your company.
  Determination of default:
  The system checks whether the current Comarch ERP Enterprise user processing the purchasing RFQ is assigned as an internal employee.
  The database currently being used by Comarch ERP Enterprise is relevant for this. The system manages all master data and transaction data for the ERP applications for each company in an online trans­action processing (OLTP) database. The employees of the company are also entered as master data in this OLTP database.
  If Comarch ERP Enterprise now finds that the current user is assigned to an internal employee in the currently active OLTP database, this field displays the employee as a default. The employee can be changed, however.

Delivery recipient tab

The Delivery recipient tab contains information regarding the site (Inventory Logistics organization) that receives the goods in the purchasing RFQ.

• Delivery recipient – the delivery recipient receives the delivery of the ordered items. The delivery recipient is the site of the warehouse to which the delivery is to be made. It is explicitly identified and displayed in this field via its partner number. The name and address data are taken from the master data of the delivery recipient and displayed.
• Name and Address – the system fills in the Name and Address fields automatically. These data come from the partner master data of the delivery recipient and cannot be edited in this field. The delivery recipient is applied to a quotation connected with the RFQ, if applicable.
• Care of – a contact person for the delivery recipient can be selected, changed, or entered as desired in Care of. In this case, a default purchasing contact person from the partner master data of the delivery recipient is displayed, if applicable. See also the Care of field article.
• Carrier – the freight carrier is responsible for shipping goods. It authorizes a company to transport the goods (shipping company) or transports the goods itself. The freight carrier can be any partner identified as a Freight carrier in its master data.
  The RFQ header displays the freight carrier that is assigned to the delivery partner of the first RFQ recipient. If more than one freight carrier is assigned to the delivery partner, the preferred carrier is applied as the default. The freight carriers for other RFQ recipients can be viewed and edited via the filled-in diamond-shaped button in front of the RFQ recipient field.
• Warehouse – the warehouse is used in purchasing RFQs to designate the location to which the requested items are to be delivered. The warehouse is taken from the purchasing RFQ type as a default. If a warehouse is not entered there, the default is taken from the delivery partner of the first RFQ recipient. If a warehouse is not entered there either, the warehouse stored for the purchasing organization in the Purchasing function of the Customizing application is used as the receipts warehouse.
  Note

  Note that the preassigned value depends on the Preassigned warehouse field.
  Note

  Also note that the warehouse of the line item can also result from the item.
  The warehouse can be changed. If required, select another warehouse that is available in the system and that is permissible for the purchasing organization. The warehouses are entered in the Warehouses application. See also the article Warehouses.
• Default warehouse – this field specifies whether or not, or under what conditions, the warehouse is to be preassigned. The value here is used as a default when the basic line items are newly created. This setting can be changed for each line item. Possible values are:
  • Always use default
  • Insert defaults if empty
  • No default
    For more details, see the article Purchasing RFQ types.
• Delivery term – delivery terms describe agreements between the buyer and seller. They are used to specify the type of delivery and the place of delivery, for example, Free home delivery or Personal pickup. If an INCO term is included as a delivery term, you must specify a location reference.
  For more information on INCO terms, see the article Delivery terms.
  A default delivery term is applied from the purchasing RFQ type. If one is not entered there, it is taken from the delivery partner for the first RFQ recipient.
  You can replace the default.
  The delivery term is applied to a quotation connected with the RFQ, if applicable.
• Shipping term – shipping terms describe the manner in which the items are transported, for example, via freight forwarder, courier, or mail. Select an available shipping term.
  For more information about shipping terms, see the article Shipping terms.
  The default shipping term is taken from the purchasing RFQ type. If one is not entered there, it is taken from the delivery partner for the first RFQ recipient.
  You can replace the default.
  The shipping term is applied to a quotation connected with the RFQ, if applicable.

Delivery partner tab

The Delivery partner tab contains data of the partner involved in delivery.

• Delivery partner – the RFQ header displays the delivery partner that is assigned to the first RFQ recipient. The delivery partner for other RFQ recipients can be viewed and edited via the filled-in diamond-shaped button in front of the RFQ recipient field. See Dialog window for RFQ recipients.
  The delivery partner takes responsibility for the delivery or shipment of ordered items. The delivery partner is a partner with the supplier role assigned. It is explicitly identified and assigned in this field via its partner number. The default name and address data are taken from its partner master data.
  Any partner assigned as a delivery partner in the master data of the first RFQ recipient is permissible as the delivery partner. The delivery partner can match the RFQ recipient.
  For more details on the Supplier partner role, see the article Partners, Supplier view.
  If more than one delivery partner is assigned to the RFQ recipient, the delivery partner identified as the preferred delivery partner is applied to the purchasing RFQ. You can choose a different delivery partner assigned to the RFQ recipient.
• Name and Address – the name and address of the delivery partner entered in the partner master data are applied to these fields. The data cannot be changed.
• Care of – a contact person for the delivery partner can be selected, changed, or entered as desired in Care of. In this case, a default purchasing contact person from the partner master data of the delivery partner is displayed, if applicable. For more details on the functionality of this field and possible procedures, see the article Care of field.

Purchasing organization tab

The Purchasing organization tab contains the data of the purchasing organization responsible for the purchasing RFQ.

• Purchasing organization – the purchasing organization is the organization that takes care of processing the purchasing RFQ. It is explicitly identified in this field via its partner number. The name and address data are copied to the RFQ at the time it is created. The purchasing organization must be selected before opening the new quotation. It cannot be changed afterwards. In a single site environment without content-based authorizations, this is always the active OLTP client.
  Moreover, the purchasing organization is the organization relevant to the authorization.
  For more details, see the articles Multi-site and Content-based authorizations.
• Name and Address – the system fills in the Name and Address fields automatically. These data come from the partner master data of the purchasing organization and cannot be edited in this field.
• Care of – a contact person for the purchasing organization can be selected, changed, or entered as desired in Care of. In this case, a default from the partner master data of the purchasing organization is provided, if applicable. For more details on the functionality of this field and possible procedures, see the article Care of field.

Invoicing terms tab

Invoicing terms contain information regarding the terms that are to apply to the payment of the purchasing RFQ or follow-on vouchers.

• Payment terms – the payment term describes terms that are to apply to payment of the invoice. Deadlines and percentages for granting a cash discount can be stored in the payment terms. If the invoice recipient (here, the purchasing organization or its firm) adheres to a specified payment deadline, it can deduct the cash discount percentage stored for this interval from the invoice amount. For more details, see the article Payment terms.
  If applicable, it is applied to the calculation of the cash purchase value of the purchasing RFQ.
• Payment method – the payment method describes the manner in which the invoice is to be paid, for example, via bank collection or cash on delivery. For more information, see the article Payment methods.

Classifications tab

The purchasing RFQ can be assigned to purchasing RFQ classifications.

• Classification 1-5 – the purchasing RFQ can be assigned to available purchasing RFQ classifications 1 to 5.Based on the assignments to classifications, data can be organized and structured for all manner of analyses or queries.

Texts tab

Supplemental texts and text blocks for the overall purchasing RFQ can be entered on this tab. These are normally used for the voucher output in order to add texts to the voucher documents. They are applied to a quotation that is generated from the RFQ.

If an icon is displayed on the Texts tab, this indicates that texts are available.

For more details, see the articles Texts and Text blocks.

Work pane

The work pane contains the purchasing RFQ line items. These comprise the requested range of services:

• Which items were requested and must be delivered by the supplier (if applicable)?
  • Quantity
  • Preferred date
• To which receipts warehouse are the items to be delivered (if applicable)?

The work pane consists of an RFQ line item table and an RFQ line item editor. The RFQ line item table displays a subset of the data of the RFQ line items.

The purchasing RFQ line items are entered individually in the line item editor. Any additional data of the RFQ line items are displayed there. The fields in the line item table are filled with the same data as the fields of the same name in the line item editor.

A few fields in the RFQ line items are filled with defaults taken from the RFQ header. They can be replaced with other data in each RFQ line item. Other defaults can be taken from the item or from another origin.

Sub-items

It is possible to use sub-items in purchasing RFQs in addition to the basic line items. Sub-items are entered or generated as a supplement to existing basic line items and are dependent on these basic line items. If the basic line item is deleted, the sub-items are also deleted. The data of the basic line item are applied in part to sub-items. Some data can only be changed on the level of the basic line item and are applied automatically to the sub-items.

If the item assigned in the basic line item is a kit item, the components of a kit bill of materials are displayed as sub-items. The components of the kit bill of materials are specified in the application of the same name.

For more information, see the article Kit bills of materials.

If the structure category of the kit bill of materials is variable, the sub-items in the order can be changed, deleted, or newly added.

RFQ line item table

The line item table provides an overview of all RFQ line items.

Specifically, the following data of the RFQ line items are displayed in the table under the column headings indicated:

• Line item – the line item number is used for precise identification of the individual purchasing RFQ line items. The line item number also enables the individual line items in different vouchers to be connected via a voucher reference. The system generates the line item number automatically based on the number range specified in the utilized purchasing RFQ type. You can also assign the line item number manually in the line item editor. As soon as a line item has been applied to the line item table, the line item number cannot be changed anymore.
  See also the description of the Line item field in Line item editor.
• Text note – if an icon is displayed in the Text note column, this indicates that line item texts are available
• Item – the requested item is displayed. See also the description of the Item field under General in Line item editor.
  The item is edited in the line item editor. As soon as a line item has been saved, the item can no longer be changed in the line item editor either.
  Note

  The item can still be changed in the line item table before a line item is saved.
• Preferred date – the preferred date designates the time point at which you or your company expects the item to be delivered. See also the description of the Preferred date field under General in Line item editor.
  You can change the date in this field.
• Total quantity – the total quantity of the item requested is displayed. See also the description of the Total quantity field under General in Line item editor.
  You can change, for instance increase, the total quantity in this field at any time. The total quantity must not be a negative number.
• Warehouse – the warehouse to which the requested item is to be delivered. See also the description of the Preferred date field under General in Line item editor.
• Status – the status information for this RFQ line item is displayed, if applicable as a summary of multiple RFQ recipients. See also Status and status changes.

Line item editor

Data are displayed in the line item editor on the following tabs:

• General
• Delivery recipient
• Account assignment
• Texts

The tab contents are described in detail below.

If the Validate when accepting option is selected, the system checks whether all mandatory fields in the RFQ line item were entered and whether all entered data are permissible when the RFQ line item is accepted. Otherwise, this check is performed only when the RFQ is saved.

The header of the line item editor displays the line item number of the RFQ line item currently displayed, newly entered, or undergoing editing in the line item editor.

• Line item – the line item number is displayed in Line item. It is used for precise identification of the individual purchasing RFQ line items and is generated automatically. See also the description for this field in RFQ line item table.
  You can assign the line item number in this field manually. As soon as a line item has been applied to the line item table, the line item number cannot be changed anymore.
  The system sorts the line items automatically based on the line item number. The user cannot change this sorting process directly. It can only be influenced by the assigning of line item numbers manually.
  Note

  While automatic numbering and sorting allows new line items to be inserted, it does not permit line items to be placed between two existing line items. The next consecutive number is always assigned to new line items at the outset, and the new line item is sorted below the other line items.
  For this reason, it is useful to specify that the line items are numbered in increments of 5 or 10 within the number range. Then, you can add a line item and manually assign it a line item number that lies between the numbers of existing line items. Result: the new line item is sorted in the list at the desired position between existing line items.

General tab

The basic data of the RFQ line item are entered on the General tab: the requested items, quantities, due dates, and expected prices. The status of the RFQ line item is displayed.

• Item – one item is entered for each line item. You can use the items that have Released status and those for which the purchase-related data has been created in the Purchasing view on the basis of the purchasing organization. The system checks the item for usability and displays a corresponding message. For more details, see the article Items, Purchasing view.
  The system provides you a selection dialog for reference items.
  This special feature is described in more detail in Selection dialog for reference item.
  Note

  If the Purchasing exclusions check box is selected in the item purchasing data, these items cannot be selected here unless they are permissible for the order recipient. Permissible means: the order recipient is assigned as a supplier for the requested item in the purchasing data.
  If a supplier quotation is generated from the RFQ, the item is applied to the corresponding line item of the quotation.
• Total quantity – here, the total quantity designates the quantity of this item that is to be delivered. Choose an appropriate physical or counting unit of measure (such as kilogram or piece), and enter the requested quantity. The system checks the quantity unit for permissibility. The following quantity units are permissible:
  • Purchasing units stored for this item in the master data under Purchasing or Supplier
  • All quantity units of the same physical type as the purchasing units, which can be converted into purchasing units

Determination of default:
1. The first purchasing unit assigned in the item master data of the RFQ recipient is applied as the default.
2. Otherwise, the first purchasing unit is applied as the default.

Negative quantities are not permitted in a purchasing RFQ line item.
If a quotation is generated from the RFQ, the quantity together with the unit is applied to the relevant line item of the quotation.

• Preferred date – the preferred date designates the time point at which your company expects the ordered item to be delivered. The preferred date can differ for each RFQ line item and, thus, can be changed for each line item.This field is displayed with the due date type that was specified in the master data for the RFQ recipient.
  The preferred date is taken from the RFQ header.
  See also the description of the Preferred date field under General in Identification pane.
• Status – the status information for this RFQ line item is displayed, if applicable as a summary of multiple RFQ recipients. See also Status and status changes.
• Reference – Reference is a field in which the user can enter brief texts. Use the field as necessary, for example, to reference a price list or to indicate prior contacts with this supplier, such as telephone calls or previous quotations. If applicable, the reference is applied as a default to a supplier quotation generated from the RFQ.
  The data entered in this field are used for information purposes only. They have no effect in the system.
• Warehouse – in this field, choose a warehouse available in the system to which the requested item is to be delivered. The default warehouse is taken from the RFQ header and can be changed individually for each RFQ line item.
  See also the description of the Warehouse field of the RFQ header in Delivery recipient tab.
  Note

  Note that the preassigned value depends on the Preassigned warehouse field.
• Target cost price – the target cost price is the price that you expect for the requested item. It can only be entered manually. The primary currency is applied as the currency.
  The target cost price is included on the output voucher document, if applicable. Therefore, only enter the target cost price if you want to inform the RFQ recipient of your price expectations.
  The target cost price is used in the Compare supplier quotations application in order to show the percentage by which the quoted target cost prices of the suppliers deviate from your target price.

Selection dialog for reference item

If you have entered a reference item using its item number in the RFQ line item and then transfer this line item to the line item table, one of the following occurs. Either the system replaces the reference item with its variant item automatically or, alternatively, a dialog window is displayed in which you can select a variant item associated with the reference item.

For a description of this action, see the article Action: Select variant item for reference item.

For the price determination in quotations or orders, the system uses the price information stored for the variant item. If no price information is stored for the variant item, the price information of the reference item is used. If no price is found for the reference item either, the system changes the price origin over to manual, if necessary.

Delivery recipient tab

The Delivery recipient tab contains information regarding the site (inventory logistics organization) that receives the goods in this purchasing RFQ line item.

• Delivery recipient – the delivery recipient receives the delivery of the ordered items. The delivery recipient is the site of the warehouse to which the delivery is to be made. It is explicitly identified and displayed in this field via its partner number.
• Name and Address – the system fills in the Name and Address fields automatically. These data come from the partner master data of the delivery recipient and cannot be edited in this field. The delivery recipient is applied to a quotation connected with the RFQ, if applicable.
• Care of – a contact person for the delivery recipient can be selected, changed, or entered as desired in Care of. In this case, a default purchasing contact person from the partner master data of the delivery recipient is displayed, if applicable.For more details on the functionality of this field and possible procedures, see the article Care of field.
• Default warehouse – this field specifies whether or not, or under what conditions, the warehouse is to be preassigned. Possible values are:
  • Always use default
  • Insert defaults if empty
  • No default
  • Use fixed main line item (for sub-items only)
    For more details, see the article Purchasing RFQ types.

Account assignment tab

Data for the cost accounting are entered here.

• Cost center – cost centers are functional areas of the company that form a physical and/or organizational unit, such as divisions, departments, and the like. They define the location where the costs originated: “Where were the costs incurred?”
  Select the cost center of the division or department for which the item is to be purchased. The default is generated from the relevant master data, such as the item.
  The cost center is applied as a default in downstream vouchers to the point of the inventory posting. It can then be used for various analyses as part of cost accounting.
• Cost unit – cost units are produced items or activities (such as projects). Cost units define the reason the costs originated: “For what purpose did the costs originate?”
  Select an appropriate cost unit here, such as an item, an item classification, or a project. The default is generated from the relevant master data, such as the item.
  The cost unit is applied as a default to the downstream vouchers to the point of the inventory posting. It can then be used for various analyses as part of cost accounting.

Texts tab

Supplemental texts and text blocks for the individual RFQ line items can be entered on this tab. These are normally used for the voucher output in order to add texts to the voucher documents. They are taken from the quotation, if applicable.

If an icon is displayed on the Texts tab, this indicates that texts are available.

For more details, see the articles Texts and Text blocks.

Status and status changes

The status information of the purchasing RFQ forms an additional separate information element. You can use this information to quickly survey the current processing status of the purchasing RFQ and the individual RFQ line items. The status information is stored in the system. Exception: the deadline status, which is compared with the current date at the time point of the display, and displayed only.

Status is managed on the level of the overall purchasing RFQ as well as for the individual RFQ line items. The system also manages a separate reply status for each RFQ recipient in the purchasing RFQ. For this purpose, the status of the RFQ header compiles the status of the individual line items as well as the reply status of the RFQ recipients.

Possible statuses

The purchasing RFQ header uses the following statuses:

• General status (can be changed manually in some cases)
• Quotation status (automatically determined)
• Quotation deadline status (automatically determined)

The RFQ line items have a separate general status and quotation status, which may deviate from the header, if necessary. The general status describes the usability of the purchasing RFQs in the system. The quotation status indicates whether supplier quotations have been received in response to the RFQ. The quotation deadline status indicates whether the quotation deadline has passed in the meantime.

The purchasing RFQs and purchasing RFQ line items can exhibit the statuses listed below:

• General status:
  • In process
  • Released
  • Blocked
• Quotation status:
  • No quotations received
  • Quotations received in part
  • Quotations received in full
• Quotation deadline status:
  • Quotation deadline exceeded

General status

In the RFQ category used, it is possible to select whether new RFQs are generated with In process status or Released status. In RFQs with In process status, actions such as voucher output or generating a quotation from the RFQ cannot be performed. However, the RFQ data can continue to be processed and saved.

You can release a purchasing RFQ as a whole or as individual purchasing RFQ line items. Once released, an RFQ cannot be assigned the status In process anymore. Such an RFQ can only be blocked, if required. In the Supplier quotations application, supplier quotations can only be generated from released purchasing RFQs.

You can also block a purchasing RFQ as a whole or as individual purchasing RFQ line items. If a purchasing RFQ is blocked, all line items are also blocked. While new line items can be added, they are also blocked. No supplier quotations can be generated from blocked purchasing RFQs, and individually blocked line items are omitted when supplier quotations are generated. When purchasing RFQs are output, a block on the RFQ or on individual line items is not taken into consideration. However, the RFQ data can continue to be processed and saved. Actions are also not possible for individually blocked line items. However, the purchasing RFQ can continue to be processed, if necessary. The blocked line items contained therein are excluded from the editing.

The system automatically assigns Completed as the general status as soon as the corresponding quotations have been entered for all RFQ recipients.

Quotation status

The system determines the quotation status automatically. Therefore, you cannot manually initiate a status change. The quotation status indicates whether supplier quotations have been received for the RFQ.

The detailed meaning of the individual quotation statuses is as follows:

Quotation deadline status

The quotation deadline status Quotation deadline exceeded is not saved. It is determined by comparing the entry in Quotations to with the current date when the purchasing RFQ is opened. This status is displayed only.

Customizing

Base function

The following settings of the Base function in the Customizing application are relevant to the Purchasing RFQs application.

• Internal currency 1-3 – one of up to three internal currencies is designated as the primary currency.In purchasing RFQs, several fields for prices and amounts can contain a currency, which is normally taken from the master data of the supplier. It must be possible to convert the currency into any of the internal currencies.
  The corresponding conversion factors are entered in the Exchange rates application. See also the article Exchange rates.

Purchasing function

The following settings of the Purchasing function in the Customizing application are relevant to the Purchasing RFQs application.

• Exchange rate usage and Exchange rate category – these settings control the conversion of other currencies into your company’s primary currency for purchasing vouchers.
• Warehouse – if no warehouse was entered in the data of the delivery partner or the purchasing RFQ type and thus no default warehouse is available to be applied to the RFQ header, the receipts warehouse entered here is used as the default.For this reason, select a warehouse entered in the system to which ordered items are normally delivered.
  Note

  Note that the warehouse of the line items can also result from the item.
• Documents function – the settings for the Documents function affect the output of the voucher documents in the purchasing functionality. Thus among other things, a voucher document template is selected here, which controls the structure of the RFQ voucher document.
  The voucher document template stored here applies, provided no deviating information is entered in the master data of the relevant partner. The settings in the partner override the Customizing settings. If more than one template is stored for a voucher document, the template identified as the preferred template is used.
  For more information, see the section Dialog window for RFQ recipients.
  In addition, it is possible to specify here which employee master data the system uses for the sender address for e-mails. If Fixed address is selected, a default e-mail sender address can be specified for all voucher documents in a category, for example, order confirmations.

Business entity

The following business entity is relevant to the Purchasing RFQs application. It is used, for example, to perform one of the following:

• Assign authorizations
• Set up activity definitions
• Import or export data

Purchasing RFQ: com.cisag.app.purchasing.obj.RequestForProposal

The business entity is part of the following business entity group: com.cisag.app.purchasing.OrderData

Authorizations

Authorizations can be assigned by means of authorization roles as well as by assigning an organization. The authorization concept is described in the article Authorizations.

Special capabilities

The following special capabilities are available for the Purchasing RFQs application. You can assign authorizations for these capabilities in the Authorization roles application.

• Override voucher document templates: com.cisag.app.general.OverrideDocumentOutputOptions
  This capability allows you to always overwrite the output settings defined in the voucher document template during voucher document output in the output dialog.
• Use different e-mail sender: com.cisag.sys.services.output.UseDifferentMailFrom
  This capability allows you to change the e-mail address of the sender during voucher document output in the output dialog.
• Use different fax sender: com.cisag.sys.services.output.UseDifferentFaxSender
  This capability allows you to change the fax number of the sender during voucher document output in the output dialog.

Organizational assignments

Organizational structures are used to control which data can be viewed, used, or edited. The Content-based authorizations function must be activated in the Customizing application for this purpose.

To enable a person to see and open the Purchasing RFQ application in the user menu, this person must be assigned to an organization that is integrated into one of the following organizational structures:

• Purchasing

To enable a person to open a purchasing RFQ or process the data contained therein, one of its assigned organizations must be entered in the Authorizations table in the Purchasing RFQ types application.

For more information on the Authorizations table and a comprehensive overview of content-based authorizations, see the article Content-based authorizations.

Special features

The Purchasing RFQs application has no special features.

Authorizations for business partners

The Purchasing RFQs application is not released for business partners.