Firms deplete their inventories by transferring raw materials into the production proces (the conversion cycle) and by selling finished goods to customers (revenue cycle). sOur illustration assumes the latter case, in which inventory control monitors and records finished goods inventory levels. When inventories drop to a predetermined reorder point, a purchase requisition is prepared and sent to the prepare purchase order function to initiate the purchase process. Figure 10.15 presents an example of a purchase requisition.
Although procedures will vary from firm to firm; typically a separate purchase requisition will be prepared for each inventory item as the need is recognized. This can result in multiple purchase requisitions for a given vendor. These purchase requisitions need to be combined into a single purchase order (discussed next), which is then sent to the vendor. In this type of system, each purchase order will be associated with one or more purchase requisitions.
Prepare Purchase Order. The Prepare Purchase Order function receives the purchase requisitions that are sorted by vendor if necessary. Next, a purchase order (PO) is prepared for each vendor, as illustrated in Figure 10.16. A copy of the PO is sent to the vendor. In addition, a copy is sent to the set up accounts payable (AP) function for filing temporarily in the AP pending file, and a blind copy is sent to the receive goods function, where it is held until the inventories arrive. The last copy is filed in the open/closed purchase order file.