Following selection of the required vehicle within the Purchase Management form, the top of the Purchase Management Dialogue Box is populated with a number of fields which contain relatively static information whilst, below, a series of Tabs may now be used to process the vehicle through the various stages of a vehicle order.
The Bids Tab enables the recording of any bids that are placed by suppliers for a particular order. A bid can be for the full vehicle order or just an individual item on the vehicle specification. For example, the vehicle itself may be purchased from one supplier whilst the fitting of an alarm is carried out by another supplier.
Note: The Bids Tab may be enabled or disabled for use by selecting the Use Bids? checkbox in the Details Tab within System Parameters.
From the Master Menu, select the Vehicle Purchasing option and Company required.
The Vehicle Purchasing menu is displayed.
Select the Purchase Management option.
The Purchase Management form is displayed.
Select the 
icon.
The Contract Search form is displayed.
Enter the appropriate information to locate the required agreement.
Select the Bids Tab
Upon first accessing the Bids Tab for a particular vehicle the system automatically displays a sub-form prompting selection from two mutually exclusive options buttons.
Selection of First Bid enables the creation of the first bid record for this order. The system displays a Fleet Address Group Search form. This form enables selection from the current available supplier codes. Only those suppliers which are flagged within address groups as suppliers can be accessed via this search. Key part or all of the required supplier code (e.g. 8APPL) and select the Supplier command button. Suppliers matching the entered criteria are displayed and, having selected the required code by highlighting with the mouse, the OK command button is used to confirm this selection
Alternatively, the Order From Default Supplier option button may be selected which enables the further selection of Create Order Without Bids. This enables the creation of an order without the recording of any bids if all Acceptance Stages are complete. The supplier used is that set up as the default for this customer within the Purchasing Tab of the Address Group Sub Record. The system looks at the Purchasing Tab within Address Groups for this customer to establish if any default suppliers have been set up for the manufacturer of the vehicle that is to be ordered e.g. FO - Ford. If so, the vehicle is now placed within the Order Tab with the selected supplier displayed within the grid. If more than one supplier is held against the selected manufacturer then a Default Suppliers sub-form is displayed listing all suppliers who can provide this vehicle. The appropriate supplier should be selected and the OK button used to confirm the selection. If a default supplier is not held against the company then the Order Tab is still populated but the supplier column is left blank and must be entered at a later stage.
Following confirmation of the First Bid option the Bid Form is displayed for entering details of this particular bid. Enter the Expires date. The Bid Form contains the contact details of the Supplier but these defaults can be over typed. This form may be used to enter details of the bid; if Bid details need to change i.e. the vehicle is to be supplied at a different list price to quoted List price then the values can be changed using Spec Lines from the Review menu. A single-left-click on the specification line and selection of Edit presents the following options to Exclude, Set Total or Amend Price. Set total allows the the overall cost of the vehicle to be set. Amend Price adjusts the price of an individual item e.g. Dealer discounted extras without altering the values quoted to the customer. Exclude allows a particular specification item to be excluded from the bid total.
Once the details are saved the bid is displayed within the Bids Grid. A double-left-click on any row within the grid displays the original Bid Form from where the bid may be amended.
To add a further bid select the
icon. Repeat the bid
entry process.
Accept a bid by highlighting the required bid with the mouse and selecting the
icon.
The system prompts to confirm Acceptance of the bid.
The details from the Accepted bid populate the Order Tab.
The Bids Tab contains a Bids Grid with the following fields being displayed for each bid that is recorded:
Supplier: Displays the supplier code for the selected bid supplier e.g. 8CUBBIN.
Name: Displays the Bid Management Contact customer record brought across from the Details Tab of the supplier address group e.g. Mr E Collins.
Bid Price: The bid price offered by the selected supplier for this order.
Variance: The variance value from the original quotation.
Bid No: The unique sequential bid number created when the bid record is saved.
Vehicle Priced At: The original quotation price of the vehicle.
The following icons are available within the Bids Tab:
Displays the Supplier Search form. The Supplier Search form enables selection from the current available supplier codes. Only those suppliers which are flagged within address groups as suppliers can be accessed via this search (this can be performed by simply selection the Supplier Tab within Address Groups and at the prompt Supplier Sub record does not exist. Create? select Yes).
The cursor is located in the search field. Key part or all of the required supplier code (e.g. 8LOOK) and select the Supplier command button. Suppliers matching the entered criteria are displayed and, having selected the required code by highlighting with the mouse, the OK command button is used to confirm this selection (select from available codes using the scroll bar to move up and down the list if required). Following confirmation the Bid Form is displayed for entering details of this particular bid. The Bid Form may be used to enter details of the bid; once the details are saved the bid is displayed within the Bids Grid. A double-left-click on any row within the grid displays the original Bid Form from where the bid may be amended.
: Displays Validate Confirmation sub-form prompting Validate All Bids? and containing the following options:
Yes: This option recalculates the bid following any option additions or deletions which may take place. It also validates bid dates (against expiry dates within the address groups).
No: Returns to the Bids Tab without any action being taken.
- All the Acceptance Stages are complete.
- The quotation has not expired.
- A customer credit check takes place at this stage and the credit details in place for the customer must not be exceeded.
Following acceptance of the bid the order details are now displayed within the Order Tab (with the supplier against each specification line). All of the accompanying bids are retained for information.