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The purchase order processing functionality allows you to incorporate data from your organisation's purchase order system into Import Letters of Credit processed through the Trade Services system. When you upload a purchase order data file to the Trade Services system, you can control the details of the upload by selecting a PO definition and associated LC creation rules.
This help topic includes the following sections:
Import Letter of Credit Creation (Issue and Amend Transactions)
Manual Addition of Purchase Order Line Items to Letters of Credit
In order to process purchase orders, your organisation must be set up to process purchase orders and you must have security rights to process purchase orders.
Successful processing of purchase orders in the Trade Services system involves the steps outlined in the table below.
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Step |
Action |
Description |
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1 |
Set Up Required Reference Data |
First, a user with appropriate security rights must define the reference data necessary for successful purchase order processing. This reference data includes: For more information, see Reference Data Required for Purchase Order Processing. |
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2 |
Prepare the Purchase Order Upload File |
Consult with the data administrator for your organisation's purchase order system to obtain a file of purchase order data you want to upload to the Trade Services system. To be uploaded, the purchase order data file must be in ASCII format with either delimited data (with a comma, semicolon, or tab character) or fixed length data. In addition, the upload file must contain fields for the following information:PO Number, Beneficiary Name, Currency, and PO Amount, each adhering to the data types and maximum length specified for each field in the PO upload definition used to upload the file. Additional data fields contained in the file must also be defined in the PO upload definition. For more information, see Preparing the Purchase Order Data File. |
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3 |
Upload the Purchase Order Data File |
Uploading a purchase order data file transfers the purchase order data from your local drive to the Trade Services system. You can upload one file at a time, and each upload process is associated with a PO definition. When you upload a purchase order data file, you choose how you want to use the uploaded purchase order data:
For more information, see Purchase Order File Upload. |
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4 |
Automatically Create Import Letters of Credit |
If during the upload process you chose to group uploaded PO line items into LCs, transactions are created for all purchase orders that meet the grouping criteria in the LC creation rules. After this initial grouping, you can view purchase order line items that remain unassigned; you can then add or revise the LC creation rules and initiate a new process to create Import Letters of Credit or you can manually add the unassigned purchase order line items to existing Import Letters of Credit (see Step 5, below). For more information, see Purchase Order Grouping and Selection and Import Letter of Credit Creation. |
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5 |
Manually Add Purchase Order Data to Letters of Credit |
If during the upload process you chose to make the PO line items available to be manually added to transactions, you can view unassigned purchase order line items and add them manually to existing Import Letters of Credit. For more information, see Unassigned Purchase Order Line Items. |
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6 |
Process Import Letters of Credit |
After Import Letters of Credit are automatically created for purchase order line items, the transactions display in the Pending Transactions page and must be verified, authorised, and processed by your bank, according to the standard transaction workflow in the system. |
The following access settings and reference data items must be defined before anyone in your organisation can process purchase orders in the system:
On your organisation's corporate customer profile, the Process Purchase Orders checkbox in the Instrument Capabilities & Authorisation section must be selected.
On a security profile assigned to at least one user, the Process Purchase Orders checkbox in the Instruments section must be selected.
In the Reference Data Area with PO Definitions page, a PO definition must be present that specifically supports the data included in a PO data file. You can create multiple PO definitions, referencing a different one for each upload to support the data contents of the file you are uploading.
For example, you would create a PO definition to support data files downloaded from a purchase order system used by your organisation. That PO definition details the data and file definition of the data file to be uploaded, as well as the layout for how the purchase order line items are to appear in the Import Letter of Credit Goods Description text area. For more information, see Creating PO Definitions.
In the Reference Data Area with LC Creation Rules, at least one (and probably more) LC creation rules must be created for each PO upload definition. Each LC creation rule defines the criteria for the grouping and selection of purchase order line items into Import Letters of Credit. Each LC creation rule is associated with an instrument template that contains data to support instruments created for the rule grouping. Because the associated templates are closely interrelated to the LC creation rules, it is possible that a template will exist for every rule.
For example, you would need to create at least one LC creation rule for the PO upload definition you plan to use for uploading your data file. During the file upload process, purchase order line items are grouped into Import Letters of Credit according to each of the LC creation rules, as well as by the default grouping by Beneficiary and Currency. Examples of grouping and selection criteria that can be included in an LC creation rule includes Latest Shipping Date range and values for any data element included in the purchase order data file. For more information, see Creating LC Creation Rules.
The following steps occur after the user presses Upload PO Data on the Purchase Orders page. Assumes all reference data detailed in Reference Data Required for Purchase Order Processing above.
The system retrieves PO definition entered in the Locate and Upload PO Data page for the purchase order data file being uploaded.
The system retrieves the file format, order of data fields, size of data fields and associated field names specified in the PO definition. If file format is "delimited", search for delimiter character in file.
For each purchase order line item being processed, ensure that the PO line item is in the correct file format, determine the PO number and line item number.
The system checks each purchase order line item to ensure that none matches any unassigned purchase order line items already uploaded to the system. If a match is found, the system stops processing that line item.
The system performs the following steps for each field in the order that each field is specified in the PO definition:
- Checks data type for each field (date, text, and so on). The system stops processing the PO line item if a field is of the wrong data type.
- Checks length for each field (cannot exceed length specified in PO definition). The system stops processing the PO line item if a field exceeds its maximum size.
The system ensures that the required fields are present in the purchase order data file. If data is not present for one of the required fields, the system stops processing for the PO line item. The required fields include amount, ben_name (beneficiary name), currency, po_num (PO number).
If the user specified on the Locate and Upload PO Data page to "Group uploaded PO line items into LCs based on your LC creation rules", then the system proceeds to the grouping and selection process (see below).
If the user specified on the Locate and Upload PO Data page to make purchase order line items available for manual addition to Import Letters of Credit, then the uploaded purchase order line items display as unassigned line items in the Purchase Orders page.
The following steps occur after the purchase order file upload completes if the user specified on the Locate and Upload PO Data page to "Group uploaded PO line items into LCs based on your LC creation rules". The following steps also occur after the user presses Create LCs Using Rules from the Purchase Orders page to create Import Letters of Credit
The system retrieves PO definition for the upload, if this grouping process is occurring with an upload, or the system retrieves a list of all PO definitions that apply to the list of unassigned purchase order line items to be grouped.
The system retrieves a list of all LC creation rules for the PO definition. The rules are ordered in descending order of creation date.
The system groups all purchase order line items according to the values specified in the PO Data Item and Value drop-down lists in the LC Creation Rule page. The following are rules that apply to the grouping:
- Each purchase order line item can be placed into only one group. Each purchase order line item is placed in the first group for which it meets grouping criteria.
- Each grouping criteria are joined together with an 'AND' condition. When a user has entered multiple values in the Value drop-down list, the values are read as an 'OR' condition, with a '!" separator between the values. For example, if the PO Data Item selection is Supplier and the Value is 'AMART!BMART!ZMART', the value of the supplier field can be AMART, BMART, or ZMART in order for the purchase order line item to be selected for the grouping.
The system groups all purchase order line items according to the range of Shipment Date days specified on the LC Creation Rule page.
The system groups all purchase order line items by Beneficiary and Currency.
The system groups all purchase order line items by maximum amount allowed per Import Letter of Credit specified on the LC Creation Rule page, using the following rules:
- If the currency of the purchase order line items is the same as the base currency of the corporate customer, group the purchase order line items by the maximum amount specified in the LC creation rule being applied.
- If the currency of the purchase order line items is recognized as a valid currency code by the system, convert the Maximum Amount specified for the Import LC creation rule to the currency of the purchase order line items.
- If the currency of the purchase order line item is not recognised as a valid currency code, the system retrieves currency field of the template associated with the LC creation rule.
There are a maximum of 94 purchase order line items that can be grouped. After the maximum is reached, a new group is started for the line items.
The system creates Import Letter of Credit transactions for each group of purchase order line items.
The following steps occur after the system has grouped all purchase order line items according to the LC creation rules for the PO definition.
The system creates issue transactions for each purchase order line item group created during the grouping process.
The system creates amend transactions in the following cases:
- If the system finds matching purchase order line items assigned to amend transactions with a status of Authorised and not Processed by Bank
- If the system finds matching purchase order line items assigned to any transaction with a status of Processed by Bank.
When creating the transactions, the system builds the purchase order line item data into the Goods Description field of each transaction according to the Goods Description layout in the PO definition used.
Any purchase order line items that are not assigned to an issue or amend transaction remain unassigned and are displayed in the Purchase Orders page. Users can then adjust or add more LC creation rules and then use the Create LCs Using Rules button on the Purchase Orders page so that additional unassigned line items are selected for a group, or users can work with the unassigned line items manually.
The following transaction fields are derived from purchase order line item data for every instrument that is automatically created by the purchase order creation process:
Amount - The sum of all purchase order line item amounts.
Currency - After a match is found against system currency codes, the system checks the instrument template and uses that currency, if specified; if no currency is specified on the template, the currency from the uploaded purchase order data file is used.
Shipment Date - The latest shipment date for all purchase order line items in a group.
Expiry Date - The shipment date plus the presentation days. If the presentation days is not set in the template, then the system uses 21 days as the presentation days.
Beneficiary Name, Address, and Designated Bank - After an exact match is found for the Beneficiary Name against system party names, the system adds the address and designated bank (if one exists) for the matching party to the instrument.
Goods Description - The contents of the Goods Description includes the column heading row, the purchase order line item rows, and footer rows. The Goods Description data comes from the purchase order line item data, while the format, or layout (including column heading and footer information) comes from the PO definition.
As the system performs the processing described above, the system adds information and error messages to the purchase order upload log, which is accessible through the Purchase Orders page. The information added to the upload log includes the status of the purchase order file being uploaded or that has been uploaded, as well as purchase order line items that do not meet the LC creation rules. For more information, see Viewing the Purchase Order Upload Log.
At any time after a purchase order data file is uploaded to the system, there might be purchase order line items that are unassigned to Import Letter of Credit transactions. These unassigned purchase order line items display in the Purchase Orders page. Following are the situations that cause line items to be unassigned:
The line items did not get selected for a grouping during the Purchase Order Grouping Process.
The line items were removed from an Import Letter of Credit transaction to which they were added (either through the Import Letter of Credit creation process or through the manual addition process).
The transactions to which the line items were assigned were either deleted or cancelled by the bank.
You can manually add these unassigned purchase order line items to existing Import Letters of Credit transactions. You can also remove purchase order line items from Import Letter of Credit transactions, which causes them to become unassigned and display in the Purchase Orders page. When you manually add and remove purchase order line item data for a transaction, the following fields are derived:
Amount - The sum of all purchase order line item amounts.
Shipment Date - The latest shipment date for all purchase order line items in a group.
Expiry Date - The shipment date plus the presentation days. If the presentation days is not set in the template, then the system uses 21 days as the presentation days.
You can delete unassigned purchase order line items from the Purchase Orders page. After the line items are deleted, they cannot be assigned to transactions. In addition, line item data (both assigned and unassigned) can be modified through additional data uploads. In this case, the purchase order upload log will include information about how the system has handled the modified data.
This is a placeholder section in case there is information that doesn't fit into any of the above areas.
The following table provides information about other features important to working with purchase orders in the system.
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