Vendor Portal Overview

Typical Process Flow

A typical process flow for a purchase order includes the following (see Integrated Vendor Process Flow, below, for an alternate flow):

1: Receive purchase orders: The retailer sends you drop ship purchase orders for fulfillment. The purchase order originates from a sales order placed with the retailer, and can include one or more items for you to fulfill.

When the retailer sends you a purchase order, you may receive an email notification based on the settings on the Preferences tab of the Vendor Configuration screen. Also, the number of new purchase orders is noted at the Vendor Portal Home Screen.

2: Generate pack slips: You use the Select Purchase Orders screen to select purchase orders for pack slip generation. You can generate pack slips for all new purchase orders, or select by purchase order or by item.

Once you generate a batch of pack slips, you advance to the View Printed Pack Slips screen. From this screen, you can:

print the Pack Slip.
print the Pack Slip Batch Pullsheet to assist in picking.
download a Pack Slip CSV File.

The options that the retailer makes available at the View Printed Pack Slips screen vary, depending on your requirements.

3: Confirm shipments: To confirm shipment of pack slips, you can use the:

Integrated Shipping screen to confirm shipments through an integrated shipping system.
Purchase Order Shipping screen to enter shipment confirmations.
Purchase Order Shipping Upload screen to confirm shipments by uploading a CSV file. Based on the settings on the Preferences tab of the Vendor Configuration screen, you may receive an email notification when an error occurs during upload.

4: Submit invoices: If the retailer supports invoicing through the Vendor Portal, you can use the:

Purchase Order Shipping screen to specify an invoice number for a group of shipments.
Invoice Creation screen to create an invoice for one or more shipments.
Invoice Upload screen to create invoices for one or more shipments by uploading a CSV file. Based on the settings on the Preferences tab of the Vendor Configuration screen, you may receive an email notification when an error occurs during upload.

For more information: See the Create Invoice Confirmation window for background on invoice submission and statuses when you use the Vendor Portal screens to create or edit an invoice, or see the Invoice Upload screen for background on the invoice upload process.

Process Flow Variations and Additional Options

Maintain: You can use the Purchase Order Maintenance screen to:

change the expected shipment date for an item on a purchase order.
put an item on hold if, for example, you do not think that you will be able to fulfill the item, and are requesting that the retailer cancel it.
release an item from hold.
enter a note about the item on the purchase order.

Address changes or cancellations: You can use the Purchase Order Change Requests screen to accept or reject address change or cancellation requests from the retailer. Based on the settings on the Preferences tab of the Vendor Configuration screen, you may receive an email notification when the retailer submits one of these requests.

Purchase order inquiry: You can use the Purchase Order Inquiry screen to select purchase orders for review. Once you select a purchase order, you advance to the Purchase Order screen, displaying detailed information about the purchase order, including history, messages, special handling instructions, and invoices.

Voiding or reprinting pack slips: You can use the Void / Reprint Pack Slip screen or the Reprint Pack Slip option at the Purchase Order screen to void and reprint a pack slip. You can also use the Void / Reprint Pack Slip to void (cancel) the item(s) on a pack slip without reprinting.

Invoice inquiry: Optionally, you can use the Invoice Inquiry screen to select invoices for modification of the default information and the shipments the invoice includes. If you change the unit cost for a shipment (higher or lower) beyond the Unit Cost Threshold defined by the retailer, the item is flagged as out-of-balance, and the invoice does not post automatically to the retailer’s system; instead, the invoice is Held, and the retailer needs to accept or reject it.

Email Notifications

The Vendor Portal generates email notifications using the email addresses specified at Preferences tab of the Vendor Configuration screen:

New PO Notification: when the retailer submits one or more new purchase orders for fulfillment.
Change Requests: when the retailer submits one or more address change or cancellation requests,
Shipment Upload Error or Invoice Upload Error: when an error occurs for a shipment or invoice upload. The email includes a link to the error reason and the data in error.
Out of Balance Invoices Approved or Rejected: when the retailer approves or rejects a held invoice that includes a line that is out-of-balance. The email lists the invoice number and indicates whether it was approved or rejected.

Email localization:

The language, date/time formats, and numeric formats used in these emails are defined at the Vendor Configuration screen.
The Vendor Portal link embedded in emails opens the Vendor Portal using the default locale for the retailer, which may differ from the Language defined at the Vendor Configuration screen.

Integrated Vendor Process Flow

As an alternative to using the Vendor Portal screens for all processing, an integrated vendor can use the integration to receive and confirm shipment of purchase orders if the retailer supports this option.

Included in the vendor integration: The vendor integration includes:

sending batches of new purchase orders to the vendor’s system when the vendor’s system requests them
enabling the vendor’s system to acknowledge receipt of a batch of purchase orders
confirming shipments of purchase orders, including the carrier (ship via) used, tracking number, weight, shipment date, and freight charges

Typical integration process if you are an integrated vendor:

Creation: Purchase orders are created in the Vendor Portal (the status is New Order and no batch number are assigned yet).
Get purchase orders:
- The vendor system sends a request message to the Vendor Portal.
- The response message from the vendor portal includes the new purchase orders. At this time:
  - a batch number is assigned to the purchase orders included in the response message.
  - the pack slip PDF, pack slip CSV, and pullsheet are generated, if specified at the Pack Slip folder under the Preferences tab of the Vendor Configuration screen.
Acknowledgement required?
- Not required: If your system is not configured to require an acknowledgement, the status of the purchase orders in the response message changes automatically to In Process.
- Required: Otherwise, if your system is configured to require acknowledgment, the status of the purchase orders remains New Order until your system acknowledges receipt of the batch:
  - Your system sends an acknowledgement message to the Vendor Portal, specifying the batch received.
  - The Vendor Portal sends an acknowledgement response. At this time, the status of the purchase orders changes to In Process.
Confirm shipment: Optionally, as an alternative to using the shipment screens available in the Vendor Portal:
- You use a shipment confirmation message to the Vendor Portal to specify the purchase order, line number(s), and quantity shipped for each line, including the carrier used, tracking number, shipment date, weight, and meter charges.
- The Vendor Portal sends a shipment acknowledgement message.

Additional Vendor Portal options: An integrated vendor can still use the regular Vendor Portal screens, including the shipment confirmation screen options, with the exception of the Select Purchase Orders screen, which is not available to vendors flagged for integration. The Get Purchase Order screen is also available to generate pack slips. See Typical Process Flow and Process Flow Variations and Additional Options, above, for more information.