What’s Changing?
New functionality to configure email alerts for Purchase Orders sent via fax, and then take appropriate action - view details, resend if required.
Release date: Tuesday 16th April 2019
Reason for the Change
To give customers full visibility of all Purchase Orders sent via fax and enable them to process them accordingly if/when any fail. Currently when fax Purchase Orders fail, Fourth’s Service Team have to take action and contact the relevant parties. This can take time and distracts from the team focusing on resolving system issues and customer queries.
Release Notes
Alerting
The first aspect of the functionality is the ability to be notified of any failed fax orders via an email alert.
This option may only be accessible by a company System Administrator so alerts will need to be configured for individual users if required.
To set up failed fax email alerts:
Fig.1 – System Administration > Alerts
Fig.2 – Selecting Failed Order from the Alert drop-down
Fig.3 – Setting up a new alert
Please note: Users will need a valid email address associated to their user profile in the system.
Fig.4 – Assign Users tab highlighted
Only alerts for failed Purchase Orders will generate and only orders placed during the frequency specified. So, if 30 minutes is set as the frequency, only orders that have failed with the last 30 minute period will be alerted on.
Functional Changes at Site Level
The Home screen of FnB Live has been enhanced to show when fax Purchase Orders have failed and allows users to perform several actions to resolve this.
Previously, the Home screen only showed the ‘Pending Fax’ status, but this has now been enhanced to display failed fax orders as well, allowing users to perform actions pertaining to the fax orders placed through the system.
A status will now show against each Purchase Order sent via fax.
The statuses are as follows:
Fig.5 – The Home screen, with fax Purchase Order statuses displayed
When orders are trying to be placed via fax, the system will attempt multiple times, over several fax providers, to ensure that orders are received by the supplier.
Occasionally, for reasons outside of Fourth’s control, Purchase Orders cannot be sent.
If an order has failed there are several options available:
Check Reason for Failure
View a Failed Fax Order and Resend via Email
Resend the Failed Order via Fax
Check Reason for Failure
Fig.6 – Selecting a Failed status
A pop-up window will appear showing a transmission history, including a reason for why the order has failed. These are provided by the fax provider and will give an indication of the status sent by the supplier.
Fig.7 – An example failed order, with reason shown under ‘Description’
The most common errors seen in the ‘Description’ field in the transmission history are as follows:
In these cases the supplier will not have received the order so the delivery will not take place.
View a Failed Order and Resend via Email
When the PO Number hyperlink shows as blue this means no one has viewed either the transmission history or PO Details.
When the PO Number hyperlink shows as purple this means that a user has viewed either the transmission history or PO Details.
Fig.8 – Selecting a PO Number
This will open the Ordering screen, where the individual Purchase Order can be viewed.
Fig.9 – Viewing a Purchase Order on the Ordering screen – Printable View button highlighted
From the Printable View, the Purchase Order can be:
Fig.10 – Saving a Purchase Order via the Printable View screen
Resend the Failed Order via Fax
Upon selecting resend, the process of faxing the order to the supplier will restart.
Fig.11 – The resend button
The ‘Action’ Drop-down
Each fax order listed has an Action drop-down menu against it. This is used to record what action has been performed with each order.
There are three options available from the Action drop-down:
Fig.12 – The Action drop-down
After selecting an Action, the Purchase Order is set to a ‘successfully sent’ status and is removed from the Fax Queue screen on the Home page.
An audit entry is logged against the Delivery Note when any of these Actions are selected.
The description on the log will show with an Action of ‘Order Reset’ with a timestamp and the user who performed the Action.
Fig.13 – Order Reset Action showing in the log – Date hyperlink highlighted
Please note: Certain user permissions are required to resend Purchase Orders or use the Action drop-down.
These user permissions are located in Enterprise within the Security Access section of a user’s profile in the ‘Supplier Order, Delivery, Invoice & Credit Note Settings’ section.
Fig.15 – Access to Resend Orders and Access to Action Orders user permissions
Without these permissions enabled, the Fax Queue will display as shown in Fig.16.
Users will not be able to resend or select an Action, but will be able to view order details.
Fig.16 – Fax Queue for a user without the ‘Resend’ or ‘Action’ permissions
New functionality to configure email alerts for Purchase Orders sent via fax, and then take appropriate action - view details, resend if required.
Release date: Tuesday 16th April 2019
Reason for the Change
To give customers full visibility of all Purchase Orders sent via fax and enable them to process them accordingly if/when any fail. Currently when fax Purchase Orders fail, Fourth’s Service Team have to take action and contact the relevant parties. This can take time and distracts from the team focusing on resolving system issues and customer queries.
Release Notes
Alerting
The first aspect of the functionality is the ability to be notified of any failed fax orders via an email alert.
This option may only be accessible by a company System Administrator so alerts will need to be configured for individual users if required.
To set up failed fax email alerts:
- Log in to FnB Enterprise Manager
- From the left-side menu, go to System Administration > Alerts
- Select Add New Alert and then choose Failed Order from the Alert drop-down
Fig.1 – System Administration > Alerts
Fig.2 – Selecting Failed Order from the Alert drop-down
- Set the Frequency that the alerts are generated – Fourth recommends a frequency of 30 Minutes but this is at the discretion of each organisation
- Choose a date from which the alerts should start, using the Start from field
- Select either Organisation, Unit or Site to determine where the alert(s) will appear
- Select Finish to proceed
Fig.3 – Setting up a new alert
- Once the alert is set up, go to Assign Users and specify which email addresses the alert(s) will be sent to
Please note: Users will need a valid email address associated to their user profile in the system.
Fig.4 – Assign Users tab highlighted
Only alerts for failed Purchase Orders will generate and only orders placed during the frequency specified. So, if 30 minutes is set as the frequency, only orders that have failed with the last 30 minute period will be alerted on.
- Email alerts are generated from alerts@fnbshop.com. This email address may need to be whitelisted by organisations’ IT Departments so that these alerts can be received.
Functional Changes at Site Level
The Home screen of FnB Live has been enhanced to show when fax Purchase Orders have failed and allows users to perform several actions to resolve this.
Previously, the Home screen only showed the ‘Pending Fax’ status, but this has now been enhanced to display failed fax orders as well, allowing users to perform actions pertaining to the fax orders placed through the system.
A status will now show against each Purchase Order sent via fax.
The statuses are as follows:
- ‘Fax in Progress’ – this is for pending orders currently going through the process of being sent. At this stage the orders are trying to be sent to the supplier
- ‘Failed’ - for all orders that have failed to be sent/received by the supplier. At this stage the orders have not been received by the supplier and are considered Failed Orders
Fig.5 – The Home screen, with fax Purchase Order statuses displayed
When orders are trying to be placed via fax, the system will attempt multiple times, over several fax providers, to ensure that orders are received by the supplier.
Occasionally, for reasons outside of Fourth’s control, Purchase Orders cannot be sent.
If an order has failed there are several options available:
Check Reason for Failure
View a Failed Fax Order and Resend via Email
Resend the Failed Order via Fax
Check Reason for Failure
- Select the red Failed status
Fig.6 – Selecting a Failed status
A pop-up window will appear showing a transmission history, including a reason for why the order has failed. These are provided by the fax provider and will give an indication of the status sent by the supplier.
Fig.7 – An example failed order, with reason shown under ‘Description’
The most common errors seen in the ‘Description’ field in the transmission history are as follows:
- Phone number not operational
- Destination is busy
- Busy
- Destination is unreachable
- No answer (might be out of paper)
- Human voice answer
- Not a fax machine
- Ring busy
- Call was disconnected
- Unknown dial error (line not connected)
In these cases the supplier will not have received the order so the delivery will not take place.
View a Failed Order and Resend via Email
- Select the PO Number of a Purchase Order from the list
When the PO Number hyperlink shows as blue this means no one has viewed either the transmission history or PO Details.
When the PO Number hyperlink shows as purple this means that a user has viewed either the transmission history or PO Details.
Fig.8 – Selecting a PO Number
This will open the Ordering screen, where the individual Purchase Order can be viewed.
Fig.9 – Viewing a Purchase Order on the Ordering screen – Printable View button highlighted
- To see details of the Purchase Order as it would be sent to the supplier, select Printable View
From the Printable View, the Purchase Order can be:
-
Saved and emailed to the supplier
- Select File > Save as…
- Save the webpage as Webpage, HTML only
- Attach the saved webpage to an email and send to the supplier
-
Screen-printed and emailed to the supplier
- Screen-print the Purchase Order (CTRL+PrtScn)
- Paste directly into an email and send to the supplier
-
Placed over the phone
- Telephone the supplier and place the order, reading off the screen
- Alternatively, print the order out on paper and do the same
Fig.10 – Saving a Purchase Order via the Printable View screen
Resend the Failed Order via Fax
- Use the resend button against a failed fax order to send it again to the supplier via fax
Upon selecting resend, the process of faxing the order to the supplier will restart.
Fig.11 – The resend button
The ‘Action’ Drop-down
Each fax order listed has an Action drop-down menu against it. This is used to record what action has been performed with each order.
There are three options available from the Action drop-down:
- Emailed – the order was emailed to the supplier
- Phoned – the order was placed with the supplier over the phone
- Cancelled – the order was cancelled altogether
Fig.12 – The Action drop-down
After selecting an Action, the Purchase Order is set to a ‘successfully sent’ status and is removed from the Fax Queue screen on the Home page.
An audit entry is logged against the Delivery Note when any of these Actions are selected.
The description on the log will show with an Action of ‘Order Reset’ with a timestamp and the user who performed the Action.
- Select the Date hyperlink on the log to see audit entry information. This shows further details of what option was selected
Fig.13 – Order Reset Action showing in the log – Date hyperlink highlighted
Fig.14 – Order audit details
Please note: Certain user permissions are required to resend Purchase Orders or use the Action drop-down.
These user permissions are located in Enterprise within the Security Access section of a user’s profile in the ‘Supplier Order, Delivery, Invoice & Credit Note Settings’ section.
Fig.15 – Access to Resend Orders and Access to Action Orders user permissions
Without these permissions enabled, the Fax Queue will display as shown in Fig.16.
Users will not be able to resend or select an Action, but will be able to view order details.
Fig.16 – Fax Queue for a user without the ‘Resend’ or ‘Action’ permissions
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