Inventory is the beating heart of a business. Inventory management seems simple, but it’s far from it! There are many factors to consider to ensure no mistakes slip through. Running out of stock due to an inventory error is a real conversion killer. But inventory management is much more than just counting the number of products in the warehouse. You need to think about things like sales orders, warehouse locations, barcodes, and so on. One important element that often gets overlooked is purchase orders, one of the pitfalls of inventory management. We will show you how to process a purchase order without difficulties.
Purchase orders create administrative hassle
We don’t want to burden businesses struggling with the administration of purchase orders. Companies that operate without or with outdated inventory management systems find themselves in an administrative mess, wasting a lot of time. Imagine having to search through piles of paper to figure out when a sales order is coming in. Once delivered, you must check everything using some paperwork and a static inventory management system. We haven’t even touched on potential backorders that complicate the administrative process even further. If you have a lot of purchase orders, the room for error becomes too large.
A modern inventory management system streamlines purchase orders
To streamline purchase orders, you can rely on a modern inventory management system. But don’t be misled. Many systems have a module to process incoming goods. However, you need to find an inventory management system that reduces the margin for error to a minimum and makes the entire process smoother. Webship has developed such a system: Webship Online. Webship Online maps the entire flow of incoming goods. By the way, you can easily upload files to the purchase order, so you can quickly link packing slips to it. Say goodbye to paper! Let’s break it down.
Statuses of the purchase order
The purchase order goes through several stages before it reaches the warehouse. With Webship Online, you can assign a status to the purchase order so you can track in which phase the order is. Here are the possible statuses:
- Draft: the purchase order has been created but not yet placed with the supplier.
- Ordered (from the supplier): the order has been placed with the supplier.
- On the way: you’ve received notification from the supplier that the goods are on their way.
- Delivered: the purchase order has been delivered to the warehouse.
- Unpacking: the purchase order is being unpacked, and items are being put into stock.
- On hold: a purchase order can be put on hold for various reasons, such as missing SKUs, transport damage (investigation), the order needs to wait, etc.
- Complete: the purchase order is fully processed, and the items are in stock with no further action required.
- Cancelled: the purchase order has been cancelled. The reason for cancellation can be noted in the order’s notes.
These statuses help streamline the entire process. You can see at a glance which orders are on their way or which orders have been delivered and are ready for unpacking. In other words, the tracking possibilities are enormous!
Unpacking purchase orders
Once the purchase order arrives at the warehouse, it must be checked, and the goods need to be stocked. Webship Online developed an unpacking screen for this. In the general section of the unpacking screen, you’ll find general shipping information, and you can upload attachments and add work tools. We recommend always adding the packing slip and/or invoice. This way, you can quickly find all information about the purchase order without flipping through multiple folders of documents. By entering work tools, you can also see how long it takes to unpack a purchase order, which is useful for optimization. You can then book the goods in. For each SKU, there’s a line that can be expanded. In the expanded screen, you can enter the following details:
- Delivered quantity (click the checkbox to automatically fill in the expected quantity)
- Warehouse
- Location
- Batch/Lot number (if applicable)
- Expiration date (if applicable)
- Notes (optional)
After filling in the fields and placing the product in the correct location, you can mark this SKU as complete by clicking the ‘checked’ button. The screen collapses, and you can move on to the next SKU. Once all SKUs are completed, the ‘complete’ button will appear in the upper right, allowing you to close the purchase order. In short, a simple system that minimizes the margin for error.
The purchase order is not complete
Of course, sometimes a purchase order is not delivered all at once. Many static systems have trouble handling this. Imagine keeping track of all the paperwork to check what was delivered and what was not. Impossible! With Webship Online, this is a breeze. You can complete the purchase order as you normally would. For the items that were underdelivered, a backorder will be automatically created. You can view this backorder through the summary list or via the detail page of the original purchase order. When the missing goods arrive, you can simply search for the backorder and repeat the unpacking process to enter the delivered quantity.
Interested in Webship Online?
We can say that purchase orders form a key part of the logistics flow. Connecting an inventory management system like Webship Online ensures that this process is no longer a pitfall. Interested in Webship Online or want to discover all the other features? Check out our website! Did you know you can also request a free trial period? If you’re unsure whether an inventory management system adds value, we recommend requesting the trial period. You’ll quickly see that the system simplifies your daily stock operations. We’ve developed a simple system with user-friendliness at its core, yet it still has all the features you’d expect from an inventory management system. Do you have any other questions about Webship Online or fulfillment activities? Contact us at hallo@webship.online.
