Lowest Cost Profile

Select Mode: Shelf Purchase Order

 

Order Method: Lowest Cost Profile

 

Used to compare multiple Suppliers to create one purchase order for the one supplier with the lowest total cost for all parts being ordered. This supplier might not have the best price for each part on the order but when all parts are ordered together, the supplier has the best price for the total order.


Note: Before running the 'Lowest Cost Profile' order, Profiles must first be set up and saved.

 

Note: If the SUPPLIER PART COSTS screen is populated with supplier part and core cost values for those suppliers compared with saved profiles, the values are used to calculate the total cost of an order from a saved profile.


It is important to correctly set up and save Profiles for 'Lowest Cost Profile' Ordering using the same Criteria, Options, Sales History Periods, and Stores for different 'Suppliers' so that the system can compare the results of each supplier to find the one with the lowest cost.


The 'Profiles' tab displays when the 'Lowest Cost Profile' option is selected from the 'Order Method' drop-down.

 

 

Add Profile

Click the button to open the 'Save and Load Profiles' window with all available profiles.

 

  • Double-click a selection or highlight a row and click the 'Load' button to select that profile. Repeat the process for each 'Supplier' to be compared for the order.
  • Highlight a row and click the 'Delete' button to delete a profile. The system prompts to make sure before permanently deleting the profile.


  • Highlight a row and click the 'Properties' button to open the 'Profile Properties' pop-up to edit the 'Name', 'Description', 'Edit Access', or 'View Access' setups.
  • Click 'Close' to close the 'Save and Load Profiles' window without selecting a profile.
  • The 'Save' and 'Save As' buttons are disabled.

 

All saved profiles with the following 'Order Methods' are available for selection:

 

  • 'Order to Max'
  • 'Order to Min'
  • 'Order Min to Max'
  • 'Order Average Min Max'
  • 'Order to Order Point'
  • 'Forecast Order'
  • 'Stock Forecast Mix Order'
  • 'ASPM Order'
  • 'Stock ASPM Mix Order'
  • 'Day Sales Order'
  • 'Replenishment Order'
  • 'Negative Stock Only'


Profiles saved using the following 'Order Methods' are not available from the window:

 

  • 'Write-In Order'
  • 'Scan-In Order'
  • 'Customer Backorders Only'

 

To assist in locating the correct profiles, click the column headers in the window grid to re-sort the rows.


Note: Saving profiles with an informational 'Name' or 'Description', using words such as "lowest cost" or "comparison orders" assist in finding the suppliers when running 'Lowest Cost Profile' orders.

 

Vendor

Click the small drop-down arrow and select a 'Supplier' from the list to narrow the saved profiles for the 'Supplier' only.

 

 

Each selected profile is listed in the grid on the 'Profiles' tab and displays:

 

  • 'ID' - Numeric identifier assigned to the profile.
  • 'Vendor' - Supplier Code
  • 'Name' - Profile name assigned when saved.

 

Click the 'Clear' button or right-click any populated row and select 'Clear All Profiles' to delete all rows in the profile grid. A pop-up opens to make sure before clearing all rows from the grid.


Highlight a row and click the 'Delete' button or right-click the designated row and select 'Delete profile' to delete the profile from the grid.

 

The following rules apply when selecting profiles and validation is done at the time the profile is selected:

 

  • One profile is selected at a time.

  • At least two profiles must be selected. 

  • 'View Access' must be enabled for the selected profile.

  • Only Shelf Purchase Orders are supported for 'Lowest Cost Profile' orders. Return orders are not supported.

  • The 'Best Price' option cannot be enabled on the saved Profile. 
    Note: Any profile using the 'Best Price' option intends to order only a subset of parts instead of ordering all parts. The primary purpose of the 'Lowest Cost Profile' order method is to compare profiles with the same list of parts and determine the lowest total cost for all parts.

  • Profiles can be set up for single-store or multi-store purchase orders. 

  • There is no limit to the number of profiles that can be selected.

  • Multiple profiles can be selected for the same supplier. 
    Note: This is not recommended if the goal is to compare the total purchase order cost of different suppliers.

  • Any combination of different 'Order Method' profiles can be selected. 
    Note: While this is not recommended when comparing different suppliers, this might be used to examine different order methods from the same supplier to see which is the lowest cost.

  • Profiles selected can have different Criteria, Options, Sales History Periods, or Stores. 
    Note: It is advised to have the same parameters with the only differences between the saved profiles being the supplier, and the part cost per supplier. 

  • If a profile is selected from the 'Save and Load Profiles' pop-up that fails the validation, a message pop-up appears with an 'OK' button. The application displays one of the messages below:

    • If a duplicate profile is selected, the system prompts: "This profile has already been selected."

    • If an 'Order Method' that is not supported is selected, the system prompts: "Profile <name> is not valid. Lowest Cost Profile ordering cannot use saved profiles with an order create method of <order method>."

    • If a 'Select Mode' other than 'Shelf Purchase Order' is selected, the system prompts: "Profile <ID> is not valid. Lowest Cost Profile ordering can only use Shelf Replenishment Purchase Order profiles."

 

 

Click 'Preview' or 'Print' to display the resulting order report.

 

Note: The 'PURCHASE ORDER PREVIEW REPORT's header typically displays the name of the Profile that is displayed on the ORDER CREATE screen. 


When the 'Order Method' selected is 'Lowest Cost Profile', the report header's 'PROFILE' value will instead contain the 'ID' and 'Name' of the Profile that was chosen by the system, after comparing all saved profiles selected, which contains the lowest total cost. This enables the report to be optionally viewed first to determine which profile will be used when the order is created; before the 'Order' button is clicked.


For example, Profile 85 is displayed on the report header and Profile 107 is displayed on the screen. Profile 85 has a lower total cost than Profile 107, the only two profiles compared.

 

 

When ready, optionally click the 'Preview' or 'Print' button to output a report with all parts that will be on the order, or click the 'Order' button to generate the order.


The system calculates the order quantities depending on the stocking level method selected:


The system automatically compares multiple saved profiles for different suppliers (in the background), evaluates which one has the lowest, non-zero cost overall, and then creates one purchase order with the lowest total cost.

 

  • After all orders are compared in the background, the application selects the 'Supplier' with the lowest non-zero total overall order cost and creates this purchase order.
  • The resulting purchase order can be finalized and transmitted.
     

A 'Lowest Cost Profile' order can be saved in its own Profile to be used repeatedly or set up with Timed Orders. 


Note: It is possible that 'View Access' may not be enabled for all profiles to be compared. Therefore, these profiles will not be able to be loaded for the 'Lowest Cost Profile' order method.