9 Managing Price Information

This chapter provides information about managing price information.

9.1 About Contract Management

Contract Management is a key component of managing product costs. To effectively reduce the cost of products, you should be able to assess and leverage price and terms information as established throughout the organization. Agile PCM provides you with a single controlled process for doing this.

You can store information about prices for items. From the sourcing project, you can publish price information to the Item Master. Users in departments throughout the organization can access this information to use in finalizing the prices for an item or manufacturer part. You can share the new price information from one company with other companies as part of the process of finalizing prices.

For example, the price manager might get information from a supplier about a price change for a particular item (a new, reduced item price). The price manager changes the price information by creating a new price line, publishes it to the repository, and routes it through the workflow for signoff.

Price objects are created automatically when you perform the following actions in a sourcing project:

• Publish prices - By publishing prices from a project to the Item Master, you automatically create price objects associated with Item Master items and manufacturer parts. You can select which type of price objects to create, such as contracts, published prices, or quote histories. You can publish prices in Authoring or Redline mode; if you use Redline mode, you must specify a PCO. For more information about publishing prices, see "Publishing Prices for Items and Manufacturer Parts."

• Lock or close an RFQ response line - When you lock or close a response line in an RFQ, you automatically create a snapshot of that quoted price by generating a Quote History object.

Note: Whether Quote Histories are created automatically depends on how the SmartRule called Auto Publish Quote History is configured. If the SmartRule is set to Disallow, Quote Histories are not automatically created when you lock or close an RFQ response line. For more information about SmartRules, see the Agile PLM Administrator Guide.

Additionally, you can manually create a price in for an item or manufacturer part in the Web Client. For more information, see "Creating Prices."

9.2 Pricing Overview

This section covers the following topics:

• Objects in Price Routines

• Associated Roles and Privileges

• Price Types

9.2.1 Objects in Price Routines

A price routine is the flow of the price information of any item or manufacturer part. Pricing information is provided by the supplier. You can publish this information to the respective item or manufacturer part. A price routine involves:

• Prices

• Price Lines

• Price Change Orders (PCOs)

9.2.1.1 Prices

The Price is an object where you record the price and terms conditions of items and manufacturer parts with relation to the supplier, customer, program, and manufacturing site. You create prices for items or manufacturer parts. The uniqueness of a price is controlled by the item/manufacturer part number and item revision number (if applicable) combined with the supplier, customer, program, and the manufacturing site.

A price is a routable object, so it follows a workflow through price change orders. A price object can have multiple price lines. You can add it to any PCO without having to create a PCO.

The Price objects have certain limitations:

• A price object can have only one pending PCO. You cannot create PCOs for a price object when a PCO for the same price object already exists and is pending.

• A price line cannot be added to a price object that already has a pending PCO.

• The (Restricted) Price Collaborator role is intended for supplier users. Price Collaborators can create published prices and PCOs for their items and manufacturing parts only.

  
  

  Note: Price Collaborators can only create prices for only their suppliers.

  
  

9.2.1.2 Price Lines

Price lines contain the core price information about an item or manufacturer part, which is unique by quantity, Ship To location, and Effectivity Period. You can create any number of price lines within a price object, but they should be uniquely identified. Price lines share the general information that defines the price object.

Price lines have certain limitations:

• Users with the Price Administrator or Price Manager role can create price lines, since they are also responsible for creating prices.

• Price collaborators can create price lines for their items and manufacturing parts only.

9.2.1.3 Price Change Orders (PCOs)

A Price Change Order, or PCO, is a process for revising, or deleting, the price information about an object. A PCO follows a workflow from the Preliminary through the Signoff phase. A PCO can have multiple Price objects, and a price can be added to any existing PCO. You can use a PCO to redline the price line information of any price object.

For more information about PCOs, see "Price Change Orders."

9.2.2 Associated Roles and Privileges

You can control price information for items in Agile PCM through three important roles. The privileges for these roles are assigned by the Agile administrator.

The Contract Management related roles are:

• (Restricted) Price Collaborator - Users with this role have limited privileges for managing pricing information through price and price change order creation. This role is typically provided to suppliers.

• Price Administrator - Users with this role have privileges allowing them to control contract management activities, including the price change order process. Users with this role are also called as Approvers. They have the privilege to review and release PCOs.

• Price Manager - Users with this role have privileges for managing pricing information through price and price change order creation. These users cannot review or release PCOs, and so they are not the approvers of PCOs.

9.2.3 Price Types

The Price base class is divided into two classes, Quote Histories and Published Prices. These classes are further divided into the following three subclasses:

• Contract - This is a subclass of the Published Prices class. Contract prices are prices provided by the supplier for a specific item or manufacturer part. This price information applies only for the specified duration and can apply to any project.

• Published Price - This is a subclass of the Published Prices class. Published prices are prices provided by the suppliers in response to an RFQ and published from the project. The published price information can also be used in other projects.

• Quote History - This is a subclass of the Quote Histories class. Quote history prices are the stored prices from supplier responses that you can use. Any change in the response line of an RFQ is stored in the historical response and is usable at any time.

Note the following points about price types:

• An item cannot have more than one price of the same type subclass with the same unique keys, such as supplier, customer, and program.

• Only prices of type contract and published price can be changed using a PCO.

• To create additional price types, the Price base class can be subclassed further into additional classes. Your Agile administrator can create multiple price types to group different prices according to business logic.

9.3 Managing Price Information

Managing price information is a critical task for any organization. The price administrator should closely follow the pricing information about items and update it in the Item Master.

This section covers the following topics:

• Accessing Price Information

• Creating Prices

• Price Page Tabs

9.3.1 Accessing Price Information

Each item or manufacturer part has associated price information. Any number of price objects can be created for an item, and any number of price lines, which are identified by their unique combinations of ship-to location, ship-from location, quantity, and effectivity period, can be created in a price object. The Prices tab of an item or manufacturer part lists all prices for that item or part.

To access the price information for an item:

1. Open an item and select the Prices tab. The prices, if any, are displayed.

2. Click the Price Number in a row. It opens a General Information page of the Price. Go to Price Lines tab to view more details.

9.3.2 Price Fields

By default, the General Info tab of a price contains the fields listed in the following table. Agile administrators can add custom class and subclass fields to the General Info tab.

Field	Description
Item Number (or Mfr. Part Number)	Identification number of the item or manufacturer part.
Mfr. Name (if price is for Mfr. Part)	Name of the manufacturer who makes the part.
Item Rev (if price is for an Item)	Revision number of the part. Note: This field is displayed, even if the user does not have privileges to read the item itself.
Supplier	Supplier who submitted the price for the item or manufacturer part, or the supplier for which a price is created.
Price Type	Type can be Quote History, Published Price, Contract, or a customized price subclass.
Number	Unique identification number for the price.
Description	Brief description of the price terms.
Lifecycle Phase	Current state in the price object workflow.
Owner	By default, the user who created the price. The ownership of a price can be transferred to another user who has the same privileges.
Customer	If a Customer is selected, the price will only apply to that customer.
Program	If a Program is selected, the price will only apply to that program.
Manufacturing Site	Location in which the item or part is manufactured.
Authorized Suppliers	Suppliers other than the primary supplier who are authorized to use this price. Authorized suppliers have the same viewing privileges as the primary supplier for the price.
Part EOL Date	End of life date for the part or item, as given by the supplier.
Min	Minimum quantity that should be ordered from the supplier
Mult	Number of units in a package
NCNR	Non-Cancelable Non-Returnable. Applies to an item. NCNR can be Yes or No, depending on the supplier.
Inventory	Available stock.
Version	Version of the price. A new version of a price is created when that price is part of PCO that was released.
Version Release Date	Version release date.
Effectivity Date	Date the price goes into effect.
Allow Qty Breaks	Whether to allow quantity breaks for the manufacturer part or item at the given price. Can be Yes or No.
Contract Number	Number of a contract or document supplier by the supplier.
Functional Team(s)	Group(s) of users and/or user groups who work as a team while performing specific job functions.

9.3.3 Creating Prices

Agile PCM creates prices automatically when you publish prices from a project to the Item Master or when you lock or close an RFQ response line, if the Auto Publish Quote History SmartRule is set to "Allow".

You can also use the Price Creation dialog to create prices for items and manufacturer parts.

Note: To create prices, you must have the Create privilege for price objects. Agile provides two roles that let users create prices - Price Administrator and Price Manager. On the supplier side, the same privileges are available through the Restricted Price Collaborator role.

To create a price for an item or manufacturer part:

1. Open the item or manufacturer part.

2. Click Actions > Create New > Price. The Create New dialog appears.

   
   

   Note: Alternatively, you can choose to create a price using the Create New button in the top menu bar.

   
   

3. Select a price type from the Type drop-down list. Once you select a price type, additional fields appear on the page.

4. A unique, system-generated number may automatically be filled in the Number field by the Price Type you selected. You may also be able to modify this number, give one of your own or click the AutoNumber icon to generate a new number.

   
   

   Note: Auto-numbering settings, such as the automatic generation of an AutoNumber, are set by the Agile administrator. These settings can limit the options you have for the Number field. See the Agile PLM Administrator Guide for more information.

   
   

5. Select the Part Type, for example, Item or Manufacturer Part, from the drop-down list.

   
   

   Note: The Part Type and Item or Manufacturer Part fields are automatically filled in if you create the price from within an item or manufacturer part.

   
   

6. Type in the Item or Manufacturer Part or click the Search icon to search and select an item or manufacturer part from the search palette.

   
   

   Note: As you type in the item/manufacturer part, if there are multiple entries that match what you have typed so far, a drop-down list appears from which you can select a value.

   
   

7. If you had selected Item from the Part Type list, select the revision from the Rev drop-down list.

8. If you had selected Manufacturer Part from the Part Type list, select the Manufacturing Site from the drop-down list.

   If a manufacturing site is selected, the item price information applies to the items or manufacturer parts manufactured only at that site. If the field is left blank, the price information applies to the item or manufacturer part regardless of their manufacturing site.

9. Type in the supplier or click the Search icon to search and select Suppliers through Suppliers search palette.

   
   

   Note: As you type in the item/manufacturer part, if there are multiple entries that match what you have typed so far, a drop-down list appears from which you can select a value.

   
   

10. Select a Program from its drop-down list.

    If a program is selected, the item price information applies only to that program. If All is selected, then the item price information applies to all programs.

11. Select a Customer from its drop-down list.

    If a customer is selected, the item price information applies only to that customer. If All is selected, the item price information applies to all the customers.

12. Click Save. The new price's cover page appears in edit mode.

13. To add a new price line, go to the Price Lines tab. For more information about adding price lines, see "Creating Price Lines."

14. To add a new attachment, go to the Attachments tab. For information about adding attachments, see Getting Started with Agile PLM.

9.3.4 Price Page Tabs

The tabs on the Price page store information about price and term attributes. Attachments and change orders related to the price can also be found on the Price page tabs. The following table describes each tab on the Price page.

General Information	This tab displays basic information about the price, including information controlled by the workflow, item and manufacturer part attributes, and supplier-supplied information. Click Edit to edit the information on this tab.
Changes	This tab displays pending and historical changes that affect the price. Any unreleased price change orders (PCOs) where this price is listed on the Affected Prices tab are listed in the Pending Changes table. The Change History table displays any released PCOs where this price is listed on the Affected Prices tab. Agile PCM automatically fills in the information on this tab. The changes listed are those that apply to the revision specified in the Rev field at the top of the page. Note Although its name is similar, the History tab shows all actions taken on a price, while the Change History table on the Changes tab lists released and canceled changes for the price. The Changes tab is not displayed if the price type is Quote History.
Price Lines	A price line is a unique combination of ship-to location, ship-from location, effective-from date, effective-to date, and quantity that applies to a price. A price can have multiple price lines, based on specific contexts. Overlapping price lines can occur when all or some effectivity periods of one price line fall within the effectivity periods of a second price line, and all other attributes are the same. Check with your Agile administrator to determine if overlapping price lines have been set as allowed using SmartRules.
Attachments	This tab lists the files and URLs attached to the price. For more information, see Getting Started with Agile PLM.
History	This tab shows a summary of actions taken on the price object. History records are not captured for preliminary prices.

9.4 Managing Price Lines

Price lines contain unique price information about the item. Price lines store information about prices and terms that apply to specific quantity breaks.

You can change price lines after they are published through price change orders (PCOs). However, you can also redline price information, which is sent for review and release before you use the changed information. For more information about redlining, see "Redlining Price Information."

You can see price line information on the Price Lines tab of the price object. The price line information is created or modified in the Add Price Line dialog.

9.4.1 Creating Price Lines

You create price lines from the Price Lines tab of a price.

Note: Users with the Price Administrator and Price Manager roles can create price lines for any item or manufacturer part. Users with the Price Collaborator role can create price lines only for items or manufacturer parts they supply.

To add price lines:

1. Open a price object and go to Price Lines tab.

2. Click Add. The Add Price Line dialog appears.

3. Enter the mandatory fields:

   1. Select the Ship To locations from its drop-down list.

   2. Select a date from the Price Effective From Date calendar.

   
   

   Note: Overlapping effectivity periods for a price line are allowed if the SmartRule, Allow Overlapping Price Effectivity Periods, is enabled.

   
   

   3. Enter Quantity for which the price line information applies in the Qty field.

   4. Select the supplier currency from the Currency Code drop-down list.

4. Enter the optional data:

   1. Change the currency conversion date, if necessary, in the Conversion Date calendar.

   2. Enter the material price per unit in the Material Price field.

   3. Enter the non-recurring cost in the Non Recurring Cost field.

   4. Enter the lead time for supply in the Lead Time field.

   5. Select the Transportation Terms from the drop-down list.

   6. Select the Country of Origin of the item from the drop-down list.

   7. Enter any comments or additional information in the Price Line Notes field.

   
   

   Note: Any flex fields that have been enabled will also be displayed.

   
   

5. Click Finish.

9.4.2 Modifying Price Lines

You can modify the price line information on the Price Lines tab.

To modify the price line information:

1. Open a price object and go to Price Lines tab.

2. Edit the price line information in the Price Line table by directly editing the field.

3. Click Save.

9.4.3 Removing Price Line Information

You can remove price line information from the Price Lines tab.

To remove the price line information:

1. Open a price object and go to Price Lines tab.

2. Select the row(s) of the price lines(s) you want to remove.

3. Click Remove.

9.4.4 Importing Price Lines

You can import the Price Lines from the responses submitted in an Excel workbook. The responses in a workbook belong to a particular Price object. When you import them, the system appends the associated price objects, and not elsewhere.

For complete details on import process, see AgileImport/Export Guide.

Note: The number of price lines that can be imported in a single import process depends upon the system/server configuration. See Capacity Planning Guide for more on server sizing.

Important: If the number of price lines is high, Agile recommends you to split them into multiple Excel workbooks for import. In the Authoring mode, each workbook should not exceed 5000 price lines, and in the Redlining mode, it should be less than 1000.