Understanding Special Requests and Express Forms

This section provides overviews of special requests, express forms, and express item entry.

To create a requisition for an item that is not included in the standard catalog of items in PeopleSoft eProcurement and has no item ID, you can enter a special request. After you submit the requisition, the special request item is routed for approval.

When you enter a special request in the Special Request component, specify the type of item that you are requesting. This enables the system to tailor the fields to match the needs of the item.

You can request two types of items:

  • Special items, which are physical items.

  • Services, which are tasks that are performed by outside agents. For example, package, delivery, temporary help, and repair work.

Note: If you know the PeopleSoft item ID, use the Search or Advanced Search options to request the item.

Using a Negative Price on Special Request Pages

You can create a special request item or service with a negative price. This feature enables you to record trade-in items or special discount offers such as instant rebates and special coupon offers. You can enter a negative price item within PeopleSoft Purchasing and PeopleSoft eProcurement; however, negative prices cannot be entered in PeopleSoft Services Procurement. Using the Special Requests pages in PeopleSoft eProcurement, you can enter the negative value in the following fields:

  • The Price field on the Special Item page.

  • The Value of Service field on the Special Request - Fixed Cost Service page.

  • The Rate field on the Special Request - Variable Cost Service page.

  • The Rate field and the Price field on the Special Request - Time and Materials page.

A requisition with a negative price item can be sourced to a purchase order and dispatched to a supplier, then the items can be received into PeopleSoft eProcurement. When using a negative price item, the following points apply:

  • The total price amount of the requisition can be negative or you can just have one or more requisition lines with negative prices.

  • The Supplier ID is not a required field when entering a negative price item.

  • You cannot source a requisition containing a negative price item to PeopleSoft Inventory. You can only source to a purchase order. In other words, on the REQ_LINE, the INVENTORY_SRC_FLG is set to the value of N (no) and disabled.

  • A negative price item cannot be sourced into a request for quote (RFQ) or to PeopleSoft Strategic Sourcing.

  • A negative price item cannot be partially sourced. The item quantity cannot be split into multiple lines and sourced separately.

  • When the PO Calculations process (PO_POCALC) is run, a requisition line containing a negative price item is not repriced to match the system price or consolidated with other requisitions. In other words, on the REQ_LINE, the CALC_PRICE_FLG and the CONSOLIDATE_FLG are both set to the value of N (no) and disabled.

  • Contract pricing is not applied to a requisition line with a negative price.

  • The price tolerance fields are disabled so that a requisition containing a negative price item is not rejected. These field are Tolerance/Tolerance Under, % Unit Price Tolerance, and Unit Price Tolerance.

Negative price items can be added to the favorites list or a personal template to be used again on another requisition. In addition, you can copy a requisition with one or more negative price items using the copy action on the Manage Requisition page.

Express forms enable employees to use a standardized form to order products that might need additional supporting information. For example, when ordering business cards, you must give the name, job title, phone number, and other information that varies by individual but would follow the same format.

You design the express form page that employees use by creating a record definition with the specific fields for that product. You can have as many express forms as you need. For example, you might design one express form for business cards and another for catering services. You can also use inquiry versions of the forms to display orders without allowing editing.

When the requester selects an express form for the requisition, a page appears where he can enter additional information that is needed to order the item. The requester completes this page, and the information is saved for the supplier.

Suppliers can access the purchase order (PO) by using PeopleSoft eSupplier Connection. Using the application, they can access the PeopleSoft database and view the POs and the actual express form.

Express Item Entry enables requesters to quickly add items to a requisition using a simple form. Requesters can enter item details such as item description and quantity and add it to the cart. Requesters can use the Supplier Information and Item Information tabs on this page to view or edit supplier and item information.