Inventory
PART III: Procurement and Fulfillment Operations
Session 5: Purchase Order Generation and Management
Course Code: INV-05
Goal: Create and manage Purchase Orders (POs) with precision, consolidating procurement activities and improving vendor relationships.
Session Overview
Duration: 1 Hour
Format: Instructor-led (via Microsoft Teams or in-person)
Level: Intermediate (Ideal for purchasing agents, operations managers, warehouse managers)
Resources Provided:
- PO Creation Workflow Guide
- Consolidated PO Best Practices Sheet
- Vendor Communication Templates (Print, Email, Alps Sync)
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Generate POs directly from approved Material Requests.
- Consolidate multiple requests into a single PO for efficiency.
- Manage the full PO lifecycle: Request β Approval β Issue β Fulfillment.
- Communicate POs effectively to vendors using multiple delivery methods.
Session Agenda
INV5.1 Creating POs from Material Requests
- Launching a PO directly from one or more approved requests.
- Associating POs with:
- Project / Service / Inventory Stock
- Vendor profiles
- Reviewing default part costs and adjusting for order quantity or discounts.
INV5.2 Consolidating POs for Efficiency
- Combining multiple requests for the same vendor into one PO.
- Best practices for:
- Reducing shipping costs
- Simplifying approval flows
- Accelerating vendor confirmations
INV5.3 PO Life Cycle: Request β Approval β Issue β Fulfillment
- Request stage: draft POs waiting for review.
- Approval stage: internal validation and budget checks.
- Issue stage: vendor notified and expected delivery set.
- Fulfillment stage: parts received and inventory updated automatically.
INV5.4 Vendor Communication Options (Print, Email, Alps Sync)
- Printing formatted PO PDFs for manual send.
- Emailing POs directly through CUBE system.
- Syncing POs with Alps if integration enabled (for full procurement automation).
- Tracking vendor acknowledgments and partial deliveries.
Hands-On PreviewΒ (Optional if time allows)
- Generate a PO from an approved Material Request.
- Consolidate two POs for the same vendor.
- Email a PO sample to a test vendor profile.
Post-Session Action Items
- Review open POs for fulfillment tracking.
- Standardize PO review and approval meeting cycles.
- Audit vendor communication settings and preferences.
Note:Β When scheduling, make sure to include this session code: INV-05