MODULE 1: SALES ORDER MANAGEMENT
Module Overview
For companies to survive, they must keep customers satisfied. Therefore, a quick and accurate response to inquiries, such as the price of a product or the expected delivery date of a shipment, is important to the sales process. So, too, is the capacity to reserve inventory for a customer.
Handling special customer requests for shipping arrangements and invoicing preferences also contributes to good relationships with customers. Typical examples of these requests include the following:
• Partial shipments or shipments to different addresses
• Shipping items directly from vendors to customers (drop shipments)
• Receipt of orders before they are invoiced
• Combine several shipments into one invoice
When aspects of a future sales agreement are negotiated and agreed upon in advance, it is helpful for the salesperson to record relevant agreement details one time, in a blanket sales order. This information can then be reused to create actual sales orders at a later date. If credit is an issue, it might be important to collect payments from customers before their orders are shipped.
Companies must also make sure that they register all sales transaction information. For example, the item inventory and customer’s account receivable balance must always be updated when a sale is processed. Additionally, companies may want to record the salesperson involved in the sale.
Microsoft Dynamics® NAV addresses all these needs through the following features:
• Full visibility of all pricing, availability, and delivery information
• Smooth transitions from sales quotes and blanket sales orders to sales orders
• A robust inventory reservation system
• Flexible prepayment, shipping, and invoicing options, including drop shipments
• Automatic registration of all transaction information, with high levels of data integration between sales and the supply chain