Batch Order Making Utility

Order Menu > Create Orders using Batch Order Making Utility

General Information

This screen enables you to develop and process a batch order definition to automatically create new orders for customers based on previous order information. Using this utility you can manage a book-of-the-month-club type program, or installment plan where a customer receives an item every month until they tell you to discontinue. Once created, the batch order definition can be saved and used again at any time. Any number of definitions can be created and changed at your discretion.

For simple batch order definition  where only a fixed number of items are to be shipped out, all of which are known at the time the customer places their first order, you can also set up this type of definition as a break-out type of stock item. See Stock Maintenance-Break-out Item

How to Use the Screen

1. For a new plan, enter the Code and Description.

2. Under the screen section, Original Orders, use the ORDERS TO INCLUDE button to display the selection screen to select previous orders on which to base the new order. Most of the information including, shipping method, payment method, source key, catalog code, sales ID, etc. for the new orders to be created will be the same as the previous order. The primary variant is the stock items. For this reason, typically, you use the selection screen to select previous orders based on stock items purchased, since most batch order definitions are based on what a customer has already bought. For example, in a wine club, you could select all orders with the JULY WINE item in order to create new orders for an AUGUST WINE.

3. Optionally, use the ORDERS TO EXCLUDE button to display the selection screen to unselect orders selected in Step 2 above. For example, you might unselect for orders that have customers with a certain Customer Type Code that indicates that they want to discontinue the wine-of-the-month program . Another way might be to unselect orders that have a special DISCONTINUE CLUB item on them.

4. Under the screen section, New Orders, enter (or lookup with F2) the products to be sold on the new orders. Use the ADD button to add each product to the list. Use the REMOVE button to remove a product from the list previously entered.

5. Select the Quantity for the products in the new order using either the same quantity as a product on the order selected in Step 2 above or in a fixed quantity.

6. Finally, use the New Order Options at the bottom of the screen to change the entries (Source Key, Shipping Method, etc.) in the fields on the orders selected in Step 2. If no options are selected, all of the fields on the original order will be used on the new order.

7. Select GENERATE ORDER to process the definition and create the new orders. Select SAVE to save the definition for processing at a future time. Select DELETE to delete the definition.