 |
|
|
[i]merchant Functions
Inventory Management Software
Inventory management software systems must contain all of the
functionality necessary for acquiring, selling, tracking, and
if need be returning inventory along with customer ordering and
management, links to accounting and billing, and tie-ins to the
utilization of the Web. [i]merchant has been built with those
capabilities in mind. Its thoughtful design provides for these
elements while making them easy to use and understand yet comprehensive
and efficient for the store’s operations.
Purchasing
Purchase orders can be cut in two ways within [i]merchant, either manually by building the order one item at a time after setting up the header information that contains the vendor, order date, shipping method, etc., or through the automatic process that pulls items from a To-Be-Ordered list and creates as many orders as needed dictated by the number of vendors on the list and the choices made by the buyer.
The [i]merchant Purchasing Agent is the tool we use to create the orders from the To-Be-Ordered list. The buyer can create orders for all items on that list or can selectively pick the items desired. The Purchasing Agent interacts with the vendor record by using the ordering rules set up there which dictate minimum quantities and discount schedules. The Agent will create potential orders for all selected products/vendors but will segregate those that meet minimums and those that do not. It will also present all of the order details. The buyer can then create actual orders for just the ones meeting minimums, all orders, or just selected ones. Items on orders not created return to the TBO list.
Our inventory management software package affords the buyer complete
control over what items to buy, what quantities, and what vendor
gets the order.
Electronic ordering using FTP protocols is built into [i]merchant.
Inventory Look Up
A basic function of any inventory management software package is inventory inquiry. [i]merchant find screens are the same throughout the system and offer a jump-off point for a variety of activities. The search criteria for an item can be from one up to a combination of four of the properties that define the item or from an Advanced Search tool that allows the user to create a search in whatever way suits him or her best. All find screens can be exported to a .csv format or to a quick report.
Receiving
The receiving function is built from purchasing in that a purchase
order is recalled, an item is identified either manually or by scanning
it, and then the details pertaining to it are reviewed and corrected
as needed. When received the items retail price, on-hand amount,
and average cost are updated. Product labels can be created at this
time. There is also a link to open (un-allocated) customer orders.
Receiving can also be done on a bulk basis, receiving up to all
items on one or more purchase orders. Invoice number and date
can be attached to each receiving row for use with book returns
and invoice validation in accounting. There are also tools for
updating the manufacturer’s suggested retail price and the
buying price. And if the store would like to use a landed cost
the freight charges can be spread across all items in a shipment
via a store-created factor.
Customer Orders
The [i]merchant customer file holds all pertinent details of
the customer’s record, including name, address, phone, fax,
email, plus defining fields like customer type, automatic discount
code, tax code and exemption number if warranted, etc. It can
be accessed through standard look-up or through point-of-sale.
Customers can be individuals or entities of some sort like a school
system, library, or business. Orders can be created for any customer
at any time. As part of inventory management the software allows
for allocation of available items to the order at the time the
order is placed or at the time it is received. The item can be
automatically added to the TBO (To Be Ordered) list if it is not
available for allocation at the time of ordering.
Returns
Returns can be created for any vendor. The receiving system will
capture invoice number and date information that can be used to
help build the return. Inventory is relieved when the return is
printed and saved.
Accounting
An optional accounting extract is available in [i]merchant. Using
general ledger accounts that are assigned via the Accounting Category
and other parameter records, the system will assign daily activity
to the appropriate account. There are then extracts for point-of-sale
activity, cost-of-goods sold, invoice validation, and book returns.
They can be built specifically for QuickBooks or they can be put
into a spread sheet format for importing into any accounting package.
Used Book Buying
[i]merchant offers an optional used book buying subsystem that
is fully integrated with the other areas of the system, including
point-of-sale. The store can carry as many variations of a title
as desired based upon condition or other factors and each is tracked
separately. A customer is associated with the buy; items are bought
individually or as a bulk purchase; sales history is presented
to help with the buy decision; rules set by the store suggest
the buy and retail price, but can be overridden; a voucher that
is honored at POS is created; buys can be processed into inventory
immediately or later as desired.
Stand-Alone Point-of-Sale
Should connection to the database be lost due to internal network
problems or Internet issues for multi-store operations the registers
can be run using an optional stand-alone mode that has all needed
files for point-of-sale activity. The data is captured for later
update of the main database when it is again available.
|
|
|
|
