Prerequisites:
Define items. See: Defining Items.
Create suppliers and supplier sites in the Suppliers window. See: Suppliers.
To define the supplier and item/commodity combination:
Navigate to the Approved Supplier List window.
In the Organizations window that appears, choose the ship-to organization for which you want to define Approved Supplier List (ASL) entries.
Choose one of the following options to which you want to assign a supplier:
Item - Assigns a supplier to a particular item.
Commodity - Assigns a supplier to a group of items belonging to a category (or commodity).
Note: If you have defined your item in the item master with the Must Use Approved Vendor flag set to Yes, Purchasing will use the item level ASL when both item and commodity ASLs exist. If the flag is set to No, both commodity and item ASLs would be considered.
Select an Item or Commodity.
Choose a Business from the following:
Direct (Supplier): Company sells their products directly to you
If you choose Direct, choose the supplier Name and optionally, the Site.
Attention: The supplier Name and Site, if you specify one, must match the sourcing rule Supplier and Site to default the supplier information or source document information successfully. See: Defining Sourcing Rules.
Manufacturer: Company manufactures and sells through distributors
If you choose Manufacturer, choose the Manufacturer Name.
Distributor: Company sells products made by manufacturers
If you choose Distributor, choose the distributor Name and optionally, the Site. You must associate the Distributor with a Manufacturer, meaning you must define a Manufacturer before you define its Distributor.
Choose the supplier's approval Status.
Use one of the default Statuses provided, or choose a status of your own if you defined other statuses in the Approved Supplier List Statuses window. See: Defining Approved Supplier Statuses.
If you debar a supplier for a specific commodity, the supplier is prevented from supplying all items within that commodity. However, if you approve a supplier for a commodity, the item-specific status for the supplier still takes precedence.
Optionally choose the supplier item number.
For Suppliers and Distributors, this supplier item number defaults to your purchase order and requisition lines, and is used to validate the source documents.
Optionally choose a Review By date.
You can use this date to determine when a proactive business review will be performed for the supplier.
Choose the Record Details tabbed region.
Choose one of the following in Global:
Yes - This ASL entry is valid for all inventory organizations in your operating unit.
No - This ASL entry is local-that is, valid only for the organization you chose in the Organizations window when you first navigated to the Approved Supplier List window.
Note: If you have two ASL entries for the same item or commodity-one Global entry that applies to all organizations in your company and one local entry that applies only to your organization-the local entry takes precedence.
Optionally specify additional information, such as Supplier Scheduling, source documents, and capacity details for the ASL entry.
To disable an ASL entry that you no longer want to use:
In the Approved Supplier List window, identify the line (ASL entry) you want to disable.
In the Key Attributes tabbed region, select the Disabled check box for the line.
The item-supplier combination in this ASL entry is inactive for new documents that you create. Note that disabling an ASL entry is not the same as debarring a supplier. Debarring a supplier prevents sourcing to that supplier for that item or for all items in that commodity. Disabling an ASL entry disables just that line. You will still be able to source to that supplier if a separate ASL entry for the supplier is enabled.
If you disable a local ASL entry, Purchasing uses the Global entry instead, if there is one.
To re-enable a supplier and item/commodity combination:
Deselect the Disabled check box.
The item-supplier combination in this ASL entry is now active for new documents you create.