Building the Vendor Scorecard File

 Important: If you have upgraded to Release 8.6.9 or later and have a build file created in a previous release, you must purge your old file and create a new file prior to using the vendor scorecard.

Before you run the Vendor Scorecard File Report or view summary vendor scorecard information, build the scorecard file for the specific parameters you are interested in viewing. You can schedule the scorecard to build on a regular basis using the Phantom Scheduler.

Note:The system automatically schedules the scorecard file to build during off hours. If the build does not complete prior to the phantom stop time, the system stops building the file, and resumes again during off hours.

For purchasing metrics, the vendor scorecard file includes only purchase orders and direct sales orders that are completely received in the system. The scorecard excludes purchase orders that contain one or more credit items, as well as purchase orders that are marked as exceptional.

Depending on the volume of purchase orders and direct orders in your system, the amount of data that the system analyzes to build the report can be quite large. For this reason, we recommend that you build the scorecard file once a month, or at least quarterly, and use the reload options to gather data in the most efficient manner after you build the main file. We also recommend that you schedule the process to run during non-work hours.

 Important:If you want to save data from a previous file, save the reports you have run on previous files to your computer prior to building a new vendor scorecard file.

Building the Main Vendor Scorecard File

To use the vendor score card, you must first build the main vendor scorecard file for the select buy lines you want to analyze. After you build the main file, you can reload data and supplement the main file's data.

If you have successfully built a vendor scorecard file, when you open the Vendor Scorecard File Build window, the Main Build Information section is disabled. You can reload the data, add vendors and buy lines to the existing data, or purge the scorecard file.

Note: If you do not see the buy lines listed as expected, we recommend reviewing how your buy lines are set up in Assigning Vendors to Buy Lines. The Type field should be set to either Line, Both, or the ScoreCard check box should be selected.

 Important:During the Vendor Scorecard build process, in order to identify the buy lines associated to a vendor, the system looks to the vendors associated to the buy line. Since multiple vendors can be listed for a buy line, the system first looks in the Buyline Vendor Types window off Buy Line Maintenance for vendors that specifically have the ScoreCard check box selected for a vendor and then checks for any vendors that are set to Line or Both in the Type column.

 

ClosedTo build the main vendor scorecard file:

  1. From the Reports > End of MonthReports > Vendor Scorecard menu, select Vendor Scorecard File Build to display the Vendor Scorecard File Build window.

  2. Complete the following fields:

Field

Description

Start Date and

End Date

Enter the first date and last dates to include in the file.

Cost Basis

Select the cost basis, such as cost of goods sold (COGS) for which you want to gather metrics. The system uses the basis you select here to calculate the inventory metrics, such as average inventory value and overstock inventory value, available in the scorecard. The default is COGS-COST.

If you want to view inventory metrics for a basis different than what you originally used to build the file, you need to rebuild the file using the different basis.

Overstock Days

Enter the number of days that a product needs to be in stock before you consider it to be overstock. The system uses this number of days to calculate the value of your overstock inventory from a vendor. The default value is 90 days.

If you want to view overstock based on a different time period, you need to purge the scorecard file and rebuild it using a different number of days.

Stagnant Period

Enter the number of months that a product needs to be in stock before you consider it to be stagnant or dead stock. The system uses this number of days to calculate the value of your stagnant inventory from a vendor. The default value is 12 months.

If you want to evaluate stagnant stock based on a different time period, you need to purge the scorecard file and rebuild it using a different number of days.

  1. From the File menu, select Buy Lines to display the Buy Line List window, add the buy lines you want to include in the main build file, and click OK. You must select at least one buy line for the build file.

  2. From the File menu, select Vendors to display the Vendor List window, add the vendors you want to include in the main build file, and click OK.

  3. Set options, if needed, and generate the file.

Note: The system automatically schedules the scorecard file to build during off hours. Use the Vendor Scorecard File Build Detail Schedule window to schedule the build to sleep at peak operation times so the system remains running efficiently.

Scheduling Build Sleep Times

You can send your vendor scorecard build to run at any time. However, Eclipse provides tools to let you define when you want to suspend the build process so you do not impact your daily operations. For example, if you know Saturday mornings are particularly busy times in your warehouse, you can put the build on hold from 7:00 AM to 12:00PM on Saturdays so that your system runs optimally during that time.

ClosedTo schedule sleep times for the build:

  1. Set up your vendor scorecard build as usual. (See previous procedure)

  2. From the File menu, select Detail Schedule.

  3. Use the following options to tell the system when to suspend the build process.

Field

Description

M-F Sleep From / To

Enter the time to stop (From) and restart (To) the build process. For example, if you want to suspend the build between 8:00AM and 12:00PM, enter the following:

Saturday Sleep From / To

Sunday Sleep From / To

  1. Click OK to save your changes.

 

Reloading Build Data

If you need to add data for recent purchase orders, add vendors or buy lines, or reload a portion of data to gather corrections you have made, use the reload options to gather the data in the most efficient manner without having to purge and recreate the main build file.

If you need to change the initial date range, cost basis, overstock days, or stagnant period information, you need to purge the main build file and recreate it.

ClosedTo reload vendor scorecard data:

  1. From the Reports > End of MonthReports > Vendor Scorecard menu, select Vendor Scorecard File Build to display the Vendor Scorecard File Build window.

  2. Select from the following reload options:

Field

Description

Load Starting from Last Build

Select this option if you want to update the main build file to contain your most recent data. The system gathers data from the date listed in the End Date field in the Main Build Information section up until the current day, and adds the data to the main build file.

Use this option to gather the most recent data for your selected vendors and buy lines to save time, instead of rebuilding the main file.

Load New Vendors/Buy Lines

Select this option if you want to add new vendors or buy lines to the initial data. The system gathers the data for the additional vendors or buy lines for the dates specified in the Start Date and End Date fields for the main build file.

Use the File > Vendors and File > Buy Lines options to add the additional vendors and buy lines.

Reload Already Built Data

Select this option if you want to reload all or a portion of the data that already exists in the main build file. For example, if you had purchase orders marked as exceptional and changed that indication, or received purchase orders into the system late, you can rebuild the data to gather all the correct information for a vendor or buy line using this option. Enter the date range for which you want to reload the data in the Reload Start Date and Reload End Date fields.

Note: You can reload data only within the date range specified for the main build. If you need to include data before or after those dates, purge the main build file and create it again.

  1. Set options, if needed, and generate the file.

Note: The system automatically schedules the scorecard file to build during off hours. If the build does not complete prior to the phantom stop time, the system stops building the file, and resumes again during off hours.

See Also:

Running the Vendor Scorecard File Report

Logging Vendor Shipping Inaccuracies