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PO Management


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Purchase Order Management Issues and Challenges
An extended global supplier network has resulted in a more complex and lengthy procurement process. Managing order cycle times and inbound compliance needs to become a collaborative process between importers and suppliers that's facilitated by a direct line of communication.

Many importers face these challenges when trying to manage multiple suppliers and other parties related to a transaction:

▪ Efficiently placing orders and receiving confirmation that the orders can be filled in the required time frame
▪ Avoiding the errors and misunderstandings that can come from rekeying data, multiple phone calls, and emails
▪ Estimating landed cost accurately prior to shipping
▪ Approving the creation of shipments, receiving advance shipment notifications (ASNs), and assembling data from multiple sources for Customs filings
▪ Matching invoices to purchase order line items
▪ Producing required documents for all parties involved in the transaction, including government entities

Automate PO Management

How Amber Road Can Help
Amber Road's import solutions help companies extend purchasing and compliance processes to their trading partners. Using a sophisticated supplier portal, buyers can manage all facets of the purchase order (PO) process with their partners including order acceptance, invoice consolidation, shipment creation, and document generation. By collaborating with suppliers, companies can reduce cycle times, lower supply chain execution costs, and better support compliance initiatives such as Importer Security Filing (ISF). The portal plays an integral part in the PO fulfillment and shipment processes.

Beginning with purchase order creation, procurement professionals can assemble a compliant PO with items stored in the Global Product Master (GPM). These items have already been pre-screened for admissibility, import compliance, and preferential duty qualification. Based on information on the purchase order, Amber Road's import solutions will provide a highly accurate estimate of total landed cost.

Using the supplier portal, the PO is sent to vendors who then have the ability to confirm whether they can fulfill the order in the required time frame and at an agreed-upon price. If the purchase order is acceptable to both parties, the supplier is notified through the portal to create a shipment. Shipment details are returned to the system via the portal and a shipment transaction is created. The shipment transaction allows the buyer to track the progress of the PO and verify that the PO was correctly fulfilled.

The supplier also uses the portal to provide a commercial invoice and packing list. When multiple items are purchased, it may be that shipments are combined across purchase orders, or items from a single PO may be sent separately. The shipment transaction tracks each line item on the purchase order and associates it with the invoice. The importer can see what is being shipped, what has been paid for and whether the PO has been fulfilled.

The purchase order, commercial invoice and ship notice all provide crucial information that our import solutions use to assemble a pre-Customs entry and to provide security filings at the port of entry.

The system also provides a complete document management engine for determining and generating documents for both import and export transactions.

Features Benefits

Purchase Order Creation and Submittal

 ▪ Create compliant POs from within the system by adding products stored in the GPM as line items
▪ Submit POs directly to suppliers by selecting them from the partner table
▪ Estimate landed costs at the time of purchase order creation

Supplier Portal

 ▪ Electronically send POs to suppliers
▪ Receive confirmation that the order can be filled and that pre-filing requirements can be met

Shipment Creation

 ▪ Support shipment creation processes including direct entry of a shipment, shipment creation from an existing PO, or from a consolidated set of invoices created from existing, open POs
▪ Receive advance ship notice (ASN) from the seller via the supplier portal

Shipment Accounting

 ▪ Keep track of how order line items were applied to invoices and shipments
▪ View remaining quantities open for allocation

Archiving and Audit

 ▪ Preserve all detailed compliance and transaction information for the order
▪ Store all documents and their revisions associated with a transaction

Search and Reporting

 ▪ Use advance search features to develop reports, scorecards and personal and corporate dashboards
▪ Review report results at a summary level and then drill down to a more detailed level of information
 

 

Automate Import Compliance
PO Management for Retailers

Legget & Pratt
Bunzl
Pfizer

Panasonic
"Amber Road's Trade Import solution has simplified Panasonic's import transactions by integrating critical global shipping information into our systems in real-time. As a result, we have started to achieve end-to-end visibility of our entire supply chain."
Group Manager, Panasonic Logistics