This chapter covers the following topics:
Consigned inventory from supplier exists when inventory is in the possession of one party (a dealer, agent, distributor, and so on), but remains the property of another party (such as the manufacturer or primary contractor) by mutual agreement. Consigned inventory from Supplier refers to one type of consigned inventory practice where you receive and maintain goods belonging to one or more of your suppliers. Both suppliers and customers benefit through a consigned inventory strategy:
Suppliers can compete on the basis of availability and delivery when finished goods are at the customer site, particularly when lead times are lengthy.
Holding material on consignment reduces the lead time for items that might be required to fill sales orders.
Customers experience increased inventory turns—thus, reducing funds invested in inventory. Financial resources are free until customer commitments are ensured, or items are used in production.
Buyers or plant managers define the items and suppliers for which they have a consignment relationship. Buyers then create purchase orders for consignments in response to requisition demand. Goods are received against the order and held in consignment stock until they are actually consumed for usage. Upon consumption, ownership of the material is transferred from the supplier to the owning organization. A consumption advice document informs the supplier that consigned stock has been consumed by the buying organization. After consigned stock is consumed, suppliers can invoice the buying organization. Optionally, if pay on use is used, the buying organization can create invoices on behalf of the supplier, and fully automate the payment process.
Using Oracle iSupplier Portal, suppliers can view consigned stock balances and the transactions that affect it. They can also review automatically generated consumption advice transactions, and initiate the invoicing process. Warehouse personnel can transfer goods from consigned to regular stock using the Consigned Transactions window in Oracle Inventory, or through a mobile device that has been configured with Oracle Mobile Supply Chain Applications. Oracle Inventory also enables the automatic consumption of consigned materials, such as WIP issues, sales order issues, inter-organization transfers, and subinventory transfers. Using the Material Workbench window, you can query the status of consigned inventory at any time . You can also use the Material Workbench to view consigned on-hand quantities and inquire on consumed stock inventory.
Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is a procurement and planning practice in which a company delegates key inventory management functions to its suppliers. Suppliers initiate a replenishment request based on current inventory levels and the customer forecasts. VMI benefits customers through greater service levels and reduced risk of stock-outs. A successful VMI program can provide trading partners with greater efficiency and lower cost, by eliminating the need for repetitive manual tasks involved in ordering commonly required items.
The VMI supplier monitors the current level of inventory items through access into the customer system (such as Oracle iSupplier Portal or Oracle Collaborative Planning). The view of inventory is restricted to items for which the supplier has VMI planning responsibility. The supplier can see the balance of on hand stock, in-transit quantities, open requisitions and purchase orders, and other information, such as forecasts.
A request results in the creation of an approved purchase requisition. The buyer can manually assign these requisitions onto a blanket purchase order with the VMI supplier, or set up the system to have this process automated. The supplier ships upon approval of the blanket release. When the goods are delivered to your site, the receipts are recorded and the supplier tracks all stages through delivery into stock.
The customer inventory or plant employees use material at any time. When the goods are transferred or placed into production, the material becomes part of internally planned goods—and the supplier no longer has visibility to that portion of stock. If the new VMI on-hand quantity is below thresholds, the supplier manually or automatically requests new shipments on behalf of the customer.
The Consigned Inventory from Supplier process is often combined with VMI; the supplier continues to own goods stored at the customer facility, and also determines the quantities and timing of deliveries.
In this combined process, buyers or plant managers define the items and suppliers for which a VMI and consignment relationship exists, and establish minimum and maximum inventory levels for each item. Suppliers perform a material request manually or automatically through iSupplier Portal, according to agreed thresholds, forecasted demand, and other information. Purchase orders are created in response to supplier initiated requisition demand, and goods are received and stored in consigned stock.
Alternatively, you can transfer the planning responsibility of goods from the supplier to the customer without involving consumption. In this way, the customer takes responsibility for planning the item even though ownership resides with an outside party. When materials are consumed implicitly, such as a work in process issue or sales order issue, the system automatically consumes and transfers the planning responsibility to the consuming organization. When the goods are transferred to regular stock, the planning responsibility also changes from the external planning party to the buying organization.
For more information, see: Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) in Oracle Applications, in the Inventory White Papers on My Oracle Support Forum.
Consider the following points when you implement consigned inventory from supplier:
Encumbrance accounting cannot be enabled in the operating unit in which consigned inventory from supplier is used.
At minimum, consigned inventory requires the following Oracle applications: Oracle Purchasing, Oracle Inventory, and Oracle Payables. Using Oracle iSupplier Portal enables your supplier to monitor the goods sent to your premises on a consigned basis.
You cannot use the following items with consigned inventory from supplier:
Outside processing items
Expense items (Inventory Asset Value is No)
ATO and PTO models
EAM items
Non-transactable items
Non-stockable items