41 Overview to Preferences

This chapter contains these topics:

Section 41.1, "Objectives,"
Section 41.2, "Overview."

41.1 Objectives

To understand the field information and processing that is standard for all preferences
To make logical preference groupings to meet your business needs at the customer level, the item level, or a combination of these levels
To understand how the system applies preferences to an order

41.2 Overview

You can use preferences to customize the way sales orders are processed. JD Edwards World provides predefined standard preferences. You can use the predefined preferences or you can create variations of each preference to meet your specific business requirements.

Typically, you create preferences when you have consistent business requirements that differ from the default values for the Sales Order Management system. For example, you can create preferences to suit the needs of:

Your customer's specific requirements
Your company's policies
Regulatory agencies' rules

Before you use preferences, you must perform some setup tasks to customize preferences for your specific business requirements. As your business grows and changes, you perform the same setup tasks to further customize preferences.

Complete the following tasks to apply preferences to sales orders:

Work with preference master and hierarchy
Assign customers and items to groups
Set up preferences
Work with preferences

Setup and use of each preference requires careful planning. For example, consider your business purpose for using preferences in conjunction with the efficient use of the system's processing time.

Do not use preferences for occasional variances. In those instances, manually enter exception information in the applicable fields of the customer or item information.

41.2.1 What Is a Preference?

A preference is a piece of information that you define for a customer, an item, or any combination of customer (sold to, ship to, or parent addresses), customer group, item, or item group. The system uses preferences to override normal customer and item setup information when you enter orders allowing for increased automation.

Information that you do not directly enter into a sales order defaults in from several files:

Item Master (F4101)
Item Branch/Plant (F4102)
Customer Master (F0301)
Data Dictionary

By setting up preferences, you are able to default alternative information that can be dependent on specific combinations of items and customers or other criteria.

41.2.2 How Does the System Use Preferences?

Each preference contains standard header lines. You can use the fields on these lines to define a preference for:

A customer
A customer group
An item (product)
An item (product) group
Any combination of customers (or groups) and items (or groups)

You must activate preferences before the system can use them. When activated, preferences are used by such programs as Sales Order Entry, Trip Creation and Maintenance, Customer Freight Calculation, Supplier Freight Calculation, and Schedule Cycle Billing. These programs search for applicable preferences that contain information affecting the customer and item combination for each order line.

For sales order entry, the system uses this information to complete parts of the order. The system uses a hierarchy that you define to find the appropriate customer and item preference.

The system runs a set of programs for each preference that you create. When you enter an order and are using preferences, the system uses the hierarchy that you set up to search preference profiles for information that affects the customer and item combination for each order line. It uses this information to complete parts of the sales order.

Some preferences override default information, while others add more information that the system uses during stages of the sales order processing cycle. As a result, some preference information might not be immediately displayed on the sales order.

41.2.2.1 Example: Applying a Preference

By default, payment is due upon request when an item is delivered to your customer. For example, you have defined your retail customers in the Payment Terms preference customer group RETAIL. Customer A, a member of RETAIL, orders red pens. The red pen is a member of the Payment Terms preference item group PENS, in which the payment terms for this group is set at Net 30 Days. Based on the hierarchy for this preference, the payment terms for the customer group and item group combination, Net 30 Days, overrides the customer's payment terms that you set up in Customer Master.

When you enter the order for Customer A, the customer's payment terms appear on the order header, which defaults from Customer Master. After you accept the order, you can view the new payment terms in the fold area of the order detail lines.

Figure 41-1 Applying a Preference to an Order

Description of "Figure 41-1 Applying a Preference to an Order"

What You Should Know About

Topic	Description
Preference feature limitation	The preference feature is not available in line order entry.

41.2.3 What Are the Preference Types?

Preferences fields are generally categorized as:

Key fields
Search fields
Definition fields

Key fields are shared by all preferences. You use these fields to enter standard preference information. Key fields are optional. You can use key fields as search criteria to have the system match preferences to sales orders. These fields are found in the header portion of the Preference Profiles Revisions form.

The key fields Customer and Customer Group are mutually exclusive. Likewise, the key fields Item and Item Group are mutually exclusive. That is, you cannot simultaneously use a preference with a customer and a customer group, or with an item and an item group. The system always uses the Customer (or Customer Group) and/or the Item (or Item Group) fields to match preferences to sales orders.

Search fields are marked with a greater than (>) sign next to the field name. The system uses these fields in the same way as it uses key fields. Each preference has search fields unique to its requirements. These fields are found in the detail portion of each preference's Preference Profiles Revisions form. Search fields are optional. You use these fields to further narrow the search criteria specified by key fields. For example, if you indicate that the search field called Branch/Plant should be used as additional selection criteria, the system selects sales orders that match the unique combination of customer, item, and branch/plant criteria.

Preference definition fields are the fields that the system uses to resolve the preferences. Each preference has one or more definition fields unique to its requirements. These fields are found in the detail portion of each preference's Preference Profiles Revisions form. Definition fields are required, although in some cases a valid value can be a blank. Typically, the system uses the values you input in these fields to override or add information on a sales order.

The system uses preference information in a number of ways:

Adds it to order detail records during order entry and displays it on the order header or detail forms. For example, inventory commitment information is added to the Sales Order Detail table and displays on the Sales Order Entry form.
Adds it to order detail records during order entry but does not display it. For example, revenue cost center information is added to the Sales Order Detail table but does not display on the Sales Order Entry form.
Applies it after order entry. For example, Invoice Cycle preference information is applied when you run the Schedule Invoice Cycle program.
Uses it to override default information, such as priority codes, or to provide additional information, such as line of business.

The following table provides a brief overview of each preference:

The purpose of the preference
Any information that the preference overrides
How and when the system applies the preference during the sales order process and where you can view related information

Preference	Business Purpose	Overrides	When Applied and Where to View
Container Deposit/Rental	Specify how the system processes sales orders for container deposits and rentals. You can use this preference only if you are using the Container Management system in conjunction with the Sales Order Management system.	None	None
Customer Currency	Assign currency for a customer or customer group. Because the system uses branch/plant in the search criteria, you can base the currency on the branch/plant for the order. Only one currency code is allowed per order. Note: You cannot use this preference for items and item groups.	Currency code on Customer Master Information	Applied during entry. View in the Currency Code field in the order header.
Document Distribution	Designate specific delivery documents and how many of each to distribute internally and to your customers.	None	Applied during either Bulk/Packaged Load Confirm or Preprint Delivery Documents.
Delivery Date	Calculate the delivery date based on the number of days that your items are in transit.	None	Applied during order entry. View the delivery date in the order detail.
End Use	Define a product's end use and duty status. Used for regulatory, pricing, and market analysis purposes.	None	Applied during order entry. View results in World Writer reports.
Freight	Select the freight table that determine freight charges billable to customer or payable to contractors. Designate whether the freight is distance based, zone based, fixed fee, or time based. Also designate whether the freight is billable, payable or both.	None	Applied when you run the Customer Freight Calculation and Supplier Freight Calculation batch programs to determine the billable and payable freight charges. Normally, this is part of end of day processing. You can also calculate billable freight prior to printing delivery documents.
Grade and Potency	Ensure that packaged products selected for delivery are within the customer's allowable grade or potency range. Designed to work in conjunction with the Inventory Commitment preference.	Default grade/potency range on Plant Manufacturing Data (included in the item branch/plant information)	Applied during order entry to the Sales Order Detail table (F4211). View the grade/potency ranges on the Order Detail Information form.
Inventory Commitment	Specify one or more branch/plants to use as the supply source when a customer orders a product or group of products. You also specify the minimum percentage in any order that must be filled for a branch/plant to be selected.	Default branch/plant in order detail that comes from the order header Branch/Plant field	Applied during order entry. View the source branch/plant, mode of transport, carrier, and route code in the sales order detail.
Invoice Cycle	Establish a special invoice cycle for customers who want to be billed periodically.	None	Applied when you run the Schedule Invoice Cycle batch program (prior to processing invoices). The system reads the preference and loads the scheduled invoice date and cycle into the Sales Order Detail Tag table (F49211).
Line of Business	Identify a customer's line of business to use as a basis for price adjustments, sales analysis, or other business needs.	None	Applied during order entry. View results in World Writer reports.
Next Order Status	Change the next order status when a customer orders a specific product. By changing the order status after order entry, you can omit one or more steps in the standard processing for an order line or add processing steps.	Default Next Status code in the order activity rule	Applied during order entry. View the next status code in the Status (Last/Ext) field in the detail area or an order line.
Order Preparation Days	Ensure that you accurately determine the number of days that it takes to deliver a sales order based on the number of days that it takes to pick, pack, and ship the items.	None	Applied during order entry.
Payment Terms	Specify the standard terms of payment for a customer. Payment terms affect invoice due dates and discounts.	Payment terms or instrument that appear on the order header and are set up on Customer Master	Applied during order entry. View payment terms in the order detail information.
Price Adjustment Schedule	Use multiple pricing schedules for a customer by item or item group.	Default schedule from Customer Billing Instructions	Applied during order entry. View the price adjustment schedule in the Schedule field in the detail area of an order detail line.
Pricing Unit of Measure	Set the unit of measure used to price an item. This information is used to determine the correct price when invoices are printed.	Pricing unit of measure on Item Master Information	Applied during order entry. View in the Pricing Unit of Measure field that follows the Unit Price on an order detail line.
Print Messages	Print specific messages on selected documents. You can vary print messages based on branch/plant, customer/group, or item/group combination.	None	Applied when printed. Documents are printed at different stages in the order processing cycle. Unlike other preferences, all print messages at all selected hierarchy positions are cumulative. That is, the system adds print message preferences to any other print messages that is set up for the order.
Product Allocation	Restrict the amount of product that a customer can purchase. Use this preference if demand exceeds supply. You can also use it if a product is produced only for a specific customer or group of customers, and you need to ensure that it is not distributed to others.	None	Applied during order entry. Note: You receive a warning message if you enter a quantity on the order detail line that exceeds the allocation limit for a customer. The order is placed on hold if you do not reduce the quantity to the amount of the remaining allocation. You can bypass the message and accept the excess amount, or accept the balance and cancel the excess.
Revenue Cost Center	Assign the business unit (Accounting Branch/Plant) based on customer, product, or combinations. You might use this preference for a distributed warehouse operation, where revenue is recognized centrally.	Default business unit that comes from the order header Business Unit field	Applied during order entry.
Sales Commission	Set up sales people and commission rates based on a customer/item combination. You can also vary the information by branch/plant and line of business.	Default Commission Code/Rate data in the Customer Billing Instructions - page 2.	Applied during order entry. View the sales commission data for an order detail line on the Order Detail Information form.
User Defined Price Codes 1, 2, and 3	Define your own codes to use for unique pricing needs. For example, you might define a price code to identify order lines that need to be repriced when commodity prices are published for a specific period.	None	Applied during order entry.
Advanced Lot Management	This preference defines the Ship Ascending Date rule for any customer, customer group, product, product group combination. If activated it will ensure that a product is shipped from a lot with a greater date than the previous shipment. The lot dates that can be tested are Best Before Date, Expiration Date and Sell By Date. There is also a flag to determine the Override Commitment Date Method to be employed.	None	Applied during order entry when using hard commitments or during Inventory Commitments or Shipment Confirmation when the sales orders are soft committed.