Purchase Orders, Factors, Shipping

[Jason]

I am not really happy with the way RMS handles purchase orders shipping costs
and the lack of features for international customers. I also can't figure out
the foreign currency features, other than from a POS tendering standpoint. I
am looking for a workaround to these problems:

- The Formula feature does not allow you to multiply the PO costs by a factor.
- The shipping costs inexplicably does not factor into the Item Cost when
the PO is received. This is part of the inventory value and should be
factored into the costs!

Why?
I import goods to my country where I am charged ocean freight, various
duties and fees, and handling costs. Since each item has seperate rates and
costs associated with it, I simplify the process by figuring out the total
cost for each invoice in my local currency and then apply a factor to the
invoice/PO cost.

I need to send my suppliers in the US a PO with the US cost of the item.
However, when I receive it into inventory, I need to change the PO costs to
my local currency and apply a factor to account for the shipping, duties, and
other costs incurred that will form my Inventory Value.

If the shipping cost field worked where it applies the amount to the items
on the PO before calculating item costs when committing to the database, my
problems would be solved. I would enter the POs in US dollars, then figure
out my factor and use the shipping cost field to apply my other costs and
convert to local currency.

If the Formula feature allowed you to multiply the PO costs by a factor, my
problems would similarly be solved.

As it stands now, I make my PO in US dollars, give it to my supplier, and
when my goods arrive, I calculate my total cost in local currency and come up
with a factor to multiply each line item cost by. I manually input these
values. This is not fun when there are hundreds of line items, and especially
not fun when you make a mistake and can't find the line item causing the
problem.

I guess a SQL statement might be able to multiply the PO costs by a factor
that is prompted for. I would have no idea how to do this, however.

Am I missing something with the Formula feature or shipping cost field?
Also, is there something I am missing about the foreign currency features of
RMS?

Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jason]

Just an update... I think I might be able to use the Sales Tax column on the
PO (althought this is not the preferred solution). Will the sales tax be
included in the item cost when I commit the PO to the database?

If the factor I need to multiply my PO item by is 7.5, I could enter 650% in
the Sales tax column and this should do the trick...

I still don't see why SO does not apply the shipping costs to the line items
on the PO, though. This seems like a real deficiency.

 

[Rob]

Retail Realm has a product called 'Landed Cost' that should be able to
accomplish what you need.

Rob

Description of Product:
***************************************************************************************
There are many meanings to "Item Cost"
.. Cost of the item
.. Last cost of the item
.. Replacement of the item
.. Cost of item from different suppliers
However, the cost of buying from a supplier does not always reflect all
associated costs such as: packaging, transport,
taxes, duties, insurance etc. This is what is meant by "Landed Cost". Landed
Cost Calculations allows you to:
.. Define the elements that make up the landed cost
.. Define the relationship of what cost may be contained in each element.
Received Purchase Orders from RMS are brought across as "Open" status in the
Landed Cost module. Upon receipt
of the supplier's invoice you can edit and verify the invoiced amount and
LCC value. You can calculate Landed Cost
for each delivery note, and keep track of them in the system. The closed
invoices will be matched against the "Sales
Ledger" and all transactions will be updated. Landed cost works as an
"Average FIFO".
***************************************************************************************