Requisitions for special order items are created and modified automatically as sales orders for the items are entered or edited. Each requisition line for a special order item stores the sales order number and line that the requisition is linked to. As each sales order line for a special order item is saved, the system compares the quantity from the sales order to the open quantity on all purchase orders and requisitions for that specific sales order line. If the total of the purchase orders and requisitions for the sales order line are less than the quantity required, the system increases the quantity of the open requisitions for the item, or it creates an additional requisition for the remaining quantity (if there are no open requisitions). If the sales order total is less than the requisitions and purchase orders for the sales order, the system first attempts to reduce any open requisitions for the order. If there are no requisitions for the order or if the requisition quantity cannot be reduced enough, the system alerts the purchasing department that there is a problem. The purchasing department is normally notified via email. A PO – SO audit program can also be used to identify any situations where special order items have been “over-purchased” so that they can be handled appropriately by purchasing. Situations in which open purchase order and requisition quantities are greater than the quantity open on the sales orders are handled on an exception basis due to the fact that the purchasing may need to contact the vendor to change or cancel any open purchase orders for the item.
Note: The system also allows you to block editing of any sales order lines which have purchase orders placed for them. This prevents sales orders from being modified or deleted after purchasing has placed individual purchase orders for them. When this feature is implemented, the purchasing department is normally responsible for handling any required changes to the sales orders or purchase orders for these types of items.