Project Material Return Authorization: Overview

Streamline and track the return of project materials shipped against a sales order. Order managers and order entry specialists enter project information on the return material authorization, so that project accountants and project managers can track related supply chain costs for the project.

You must opt-in to the Accept Project-Specific Customer Returns feature in the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Materials Management offering to use this feature.

Create Return Order in Order Management

Create a referenced or unreferenced sales order customer return under the Order Management work area.

  • If referenced, the project and task details are copied from the referenced sales order when available.

  • In case of an unreferenced return material authorization, you can still enter project and task details by selecting the Edit Project Details icon. You can also remove referenced project and task details using the Remove Project Details button when the Allow User to Remove Project Details on Referenced Returns parameter in the Manage Order Management Parameters task in Functional Setup Manager is enabled.

Import Sales Order Customer Returns into Oracle Projects

Once the item is received and the transaction is accounted by Cost Management, you can import related sales order customer returns into Oracle Projects using the Import Costs process in Project Costing.

View transaction details using the Manage Project Costs page that's available in the Costs and Project Management work areas. Use the View menu to add the sales order number column, which can help you identify the transaction source.

View Sales Order Customer Return References

Use the Manage Unprocessed Costs and Manage Cost Distributions pages to view sales order customer return references using the sales order number.

Open the expenditure item to review its transaction's details, including the source document details. You can also create an analysis in OTBI using the sales order customer return details available in Project Costing - Actual Costs Real Time subject area.

Considerations for Viewing Sales Order Customer Return References

Here are a few considerations that you must keep in mind while viewing sales order customer return references:

  • PPM receives costs only in the case of a referenced intercompany project-based sales order customer return, complete with project and task details. For referenced intercompany project-based returns, Cost Management sends the cost as a positive charge to the project referencing expenditure organization, and as a negative charge referencing the expenditure organization on the return order, against the Trade Sales Return event.

  • If any overheads are absorbed for these events, you must send them as an additional positive charge to the project from the organization where they get earned.

  • PPM doesn't receive any costs for the scenarios listed below, and the respective cost distributions will be marked as not applicable for interfacing to Projects in the Review Cost Accounting Distributions page in Cost Management.

    • Unreferenced project-based sales order customer returns with or without the project and task details.

    • Referenced project-based sales order customer returns within the same business unit.

    • Referenced intercompany project-based sales order customer returns without project and task details.

View Import Pending Customer Return Transactions

The Accounting Period Close Exceptions Report process also lists out sales order customer return transactions that are pending import into PPM. You can either view the return order details in the Accounting Period Close Exceptions output report or through an analysis in OTBI using the Projects - Period Close Exceptions subject area.

Credit Customer Accounts

Credit your customer using applicable invoice credit actions in Project Billing. You can follow the billing process that's currently available in Project Billing.

Considerations for Project Material Return Authorization

Here are a few considerations that you must keep in mind while working with project material return authorization:

  • Enable the Allow User to Remove Project Details on Referenced Returns parameter from the Manage Order Management Parameters task in Functional Setup Manager to allow users to remove project details on referenced returns and to optionally receive into a non-project inventory.

  • Sales order lines that include project details are typically invoiced as part of Project Contract Billing, and not from Receivables. Create a new line type, such as Project Based, and assign it to the lines that include project details. Perform one of these two set ups:

    • Create an orchestration process that doesn't include an invoice task, and assign this process to the Project Based line type.

    • Create an orchestration process that does include an invoice task and that uses line selection criteria to skip the lines that include the Project Based line type.