Understanding Preference Types

To customize the processing of orders, you can set up either basic preferences, or advanced preferences. Some preferences are available as both basic and advanced preferences. Some are available only as basic preferences and some are available only as advanced preferences. With both basic and advanced preferences, you can use different preference types. The preference types contain fields that all preferences share.

Preference fields are generally categorized as:

• Key fields

• Definition fields

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 order. These fields are found in the header portion of the Preference Master Revision form.

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 Master Revisions form. Definition fields are required, although in some cases a 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 several 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 File table (F4211) and displays on the Sales Order Detail Revisions 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 F4211 table but does not display on the Sales Order Detail Revisions form.

• Uses it to override default information, such as priority codes, or to provide additional information, such as line of business.

This table provides an overview of preference types:

Preference Type	Advanced Preference?	Business Purpose	Overrides	When Applied and Where to View
Carrier	Yes	Assign a preferred carrier for a customer or customer group. You can also exclude carriers.		Applied during order entry to the F4211 table.
Customer Currency	Yes	Assign currency for a customer or customer group. Because the system uses the branch/plant as search criteria, you can base the currency on the branch/plant for the order. Only one currency code is allowed per order.	None	Applied during order entry to the Sales Order Header File table (F4201). View in the Currency Code field in the order header.
Customer Freight	No	Specify the freight rate, freight handling, and route type. You can also designate how the billable charge is applied to the shipment.		Applied during order entry to the F4211 table.
Delivery Date	Yes	Calculate the delivery date based on the number of days that the items are in transit.	None	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View the delivery date in the grid of an order detail line.
Document Distribution	No	Designate specific delivery documents, the output queue, the number of copies to distribute internally and to the customers, and the mode of delivery.	None	Applied during either bulk/ packaged load confirmation or preprinted delivery documents.
Document Set	Yes	Define the group of delivery documents to print. You can also assign different document sets by depot.	None	Applied during either bulk/ packaged load confirmation or preprinted delivery documents. View the document set selected on the Document Selection form.
End Use	Yes	Define a product's end use and duty status. Used for regulatory, pricing, and market analysis purposes.	None	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View end use results in the End Use field in the grid of an order detail line. View duty status in the Duty field on the order detail line.
Extended Terms Deal	No	Offer extended terms to customers that purchase specific items or combinations of items.		Applied when you run the Order and Basket Level Pricing program (R42750).
Freight	Yes	Select the freight table that determines 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 Freight Update and Report batch program (R4981) to determine the billable and payable freight charges. Normally, this is part of end of day processing. You can also calculate billable freight before printing delivery documents.
Grade and Potency	Yes	Ensure that packaged products selected for delivery are within the customer's allowable grade or potency range. Designed to work with inventory commitments.	Default grade/potency range on the Additional System Info form in the Plant Manufacturing tab (included in the item branch/plant information).	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View the grade/potency ranges on the Order Detail Information form.
Gross Profit Margin Pricing	No	Define an item's price to meet target profit margins.		Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View the percent profit margin on the order detail line.
Inventory Commitment	Yes	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 to the F4211 table. View the source branch/plant, mode of transportation, carrier, and route code in the sales order detail.
Line of Business	Yes	Identify a customer's line of business to use as a basis for price adjustments, sales analysis, or other business need.	None	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View results in reports.
Mode of Transport	No	Specify the type of carrier used to transport goods, origin of shipment, shipment destination information, and how supplier shipments are delivered.		Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View the mode of transport on the order detail line.
Multiple Shipping and Receiving Locations	No	Define the shipping and receiving locations to which the system assigns product locations. Activate or deactivate the locations that you specify.	Default location in branch/plant constants.	Applied during sales order entry and purchase order entry. View the shipping and receiving locations that the system assigns using programs such as: Request Inquiry (P4600) Warehouse Movement Confirmations (P4617) Override Shipping Location (P460501) Work with Shipments (P4915) Work with Load (P4960)
Next Order Status	Yes	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 rules.	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View the next status code in the Last Status and Next Status fields in the grid of an order detail line.
Order Detail Default	Yes	Process orders using the combined business purposes of the Payment Terms, Pricing unit of Measure, Revenue Business Unit, Line of Business, End Use and User Defined Price Code preference types.	As specified by preference type.	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View as specified by preference type.
Options and Equipment	No	Specify special options or equipment for shipments.		Applied during shipment revisions to the Shipment/Load Options and Equipment table (F4944). View the Option/Equipment field in the grid of the Shipment/Load Options and Equipment Revisions form.
Order Preparation Days	Yes	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 to the F4211 table.
Payment Terms	Yes	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 in the Customer Master program (P03013).	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View payment terms in the order detail information.
Payment Terms (branch)	Yes	Specify the standard terms of payment for a customer by branch.	Payment terms or instrument that appear on the order header and are set up in the Customer Master program (P03013).	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View payment terms in the order detail information.
Price Adjustments Schedule	Yes	Use multiple pricing schedules per customer by item or item group.	Default schedule from the Customer Master by Line of Business table (F03012).	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View in the Pricing Unit of Measure field that follows the Unit Price field on an order detail line.
Pricing Unit of Measure	Yes	Set the unit of measure used to price an item. This information determines the correct price when invoices are printed.	Pricing unit of measure from the Item Master table (F4101).	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View in the Pricing Unit of Measure field that follows the Description field on an order detail line.
Pricing Unit of Measure (branch)	Yes	Set the pricing unit of measure and price extension calculation method by branch.		Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View in the Pricing Unit of Measure field that follows the Description field on the order detail line.
Product Allocation	Yes	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 must ensure that it is not distributed to others.	None	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. 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.
Product Allocation (branch)	No	By branch, restrict the maximum quantity a customer can purchase, specify the total available product available and the percentage available for a specific customer or customer group.		Applied during order entry to the F4211 table.
Quality Management	No	Specify quality tests and specifications, tolerance values, preferred values, sample requirements, and results for a specific customer or a group of customers. This preference is branch specific.		Applied during shipment confirmation to the Test Results file (F3711).
Revenue Business Unit	Yes	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 to the F4211 table. View the Revenue Business Unit field on the Order Detail Information form and display all columns.
Revenue Business Unit (branch)	Yes	Assign the revenue branch, line of business, and salesperson to a branch/plant.		Applied during order entry to the F4211 table.
Sales Commission	Yes	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) form.	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View the sales commission data for an order detail line on the Order Detail Information form.
Sales Prices Based on Date	No	Define which date to use for pricing. For example, you might use the request date, ship date, transaction date, and so forth.		Applied during order entry to the F4211 table.
User Defined Price Code	Yes	Define codes to use for unique pricing needs. For example, you might define a price code to identify order lines that must be repriced when commodity prices are published for a specific period.	None	Applied during order entry to the F4211 table. View the price codes in the Price Codes fields in the grid area of an order detail line.