Within The Business Edge you can import Vendor Contract Pricing. This enables you to add as many Contract Prices as needed to a specific Vendor through the import system. This is a helpful timesaver since you do not have to go into the Product or Vendor Master File and add Contract Pricing individually.
The steps for importing are listed below and will be explained step by step:
1. Create a Text Tab Delimited file and save it to The Business Edge server
2. Define the file in The Business Edge
3. Import the file into The Business Edge catalog system
4. Check the imported data to be sure that it is correct
5. Setup File Relationships
6. Update the Files
7. Delete the imported file
Step #1 Creating & Saving Your File:
The first step is to create your file in Excel or Open Office and save it to your folder on your server as a Text (Tab delimited) file. Navigate to Computer, Network. Locate the directory with your login name and click on that folder which is where you will save your file.
The following fields are required on your spreadsheet: Product Code, Vendor Code, Contract Start Date, and Contract Cost and Contract End Date. If there is no Contract End Date, the contract will not expire. Optional Fields that you can add to your spreadsheet are: Contract Minimum Quantity, Contract Minimum Line Charge & Vendor Package Quantity. The Vendor Package Quantity would only be relevant if you are using the ARS system and you would like Order Quantities to round to the Vendor Package Quantity.
Once you have saved your file, follow the path below:
Utilities
Import File Data
Enter & Edit Delimited Catalogs
Catalog Name: If this is a new Catalog you can enter a Catalog Name which should be meaningful to you. Once you have a Catalog setup you can reuse it for future imports as long as you keep the same columns for the data. You can select it in the future when doing a new import by going to Options on the right and selecting F2 Catalog Lookup.
External File Name: This is the location of the text file you saved on the server. The layout is as follows: /usr/users/username/filename.txt *(your username is your Business Edge login). The filename will also be used in this path so it is recommended that you keep the file name short, no spaces are allowed.
Pad Numeric References to: This is defaulted and does not need to be changed.
Delimiter – This is defaulted to Tab. Unless you have a file saved in a different format other than Text Tab Delimited you can simply press enter or esc. If you file is a Comma delimited you select the down arrow and select a different delimiter.
Step #2 Define the file in The Business Edge:
When done entering the fields in Enter & Edit Delimited Catalogs, hit escape or ok. You will be see the screen below.
If your spreadsheet has named headers (*displayed in blue in the excel screen shot below), i.e., Product Code, Vendor Code, etc., you can choose Auto Define under Options on the right. Auto Define will automatically import the first line of your file as the Headings.
You may want to drill into the columns and edit the field types and lengths for numeric fields. The default is a length of 15 as a Text field. Changing some to Numeric with a length of 10.5 for instance will show numbers with a decimal point and 5 digits after the decimal.
The screen below is how your catalog might look.
Step #3 Import the Catalog into The Business Edge catalog system:
After you have setup your Catalog the next step is to import the data. Select Import File Data from the Import Menu.
Utilities
Import File Data
Import Catalog Files
Select your Catalog by either typing in the name, or press spacebar and enter to see the drop down box of all the pre-existing Catalogs. Highlight the Catalog you would like to import and double click on it.
The external file name that you typed in when you first defined the file will display on the screen. The external file name pulls from the last import done through the selected Catalog. If this is a new Catalog that has never been imported you can enter the external file name as shown earlier in step 1. When everything looks correct you can press escape or click ok and the system will import the data into the Catalog system and display the number of records that were read as displayed in the screen shot below.
If you get a message stating that the file cannot be found, check the file name and case. The file name is case sensitive and must be exact. Leaving off the .txt at the end of the name or typing it in upper case instead of lower case will cause this type of error.
Step #4 Check the imported data to make sure that it is correct:
The next step is to check the data to be sure that it was imported correctly with the right column headings. Use the following path to select Enter Manual Catalog Information.
Utilities
Import File Data
Enter Manual Catalog Information
Type your Catalog name, click on the blue box on the left hand side or press spacebar and enter to see a drop down box of all the Catalogs that have been defined. Highlight the Catalog you would like to view and press enter to select it.
The data is shown below. The number of characters shown are the number you allowed when you defined your Catalog. If you would like to see more information within the columns, simply open up the columns by dragging the heading box to the right. Once the data is imported it will display with the proper date format and decimals.
If most of your data is fine but you notice a few things you would like to edit or delete, you can highlight the individual line, double click on it and edit individual fields or delete the entire line by clicking delete in the lower right hand side of your screen.
If you see a problem with all of the records you will need to Delete the Catalog information, fix your spreadsheet or definition depending where the error is and re-import the data. If you need to delete the entire Catalog please see the path in Step #6. One you are satisfied with the data proceed to Step #5.
Step #5 Setup File Relationships:
The path below is where you tell the system which columns in your spreadsheet match the fields you would like to import into The Business Edge. If you have extra data in your spreadsheet that you do not want to update do not enter it on the screen below.
Utilities
Import File Data
Enter File Relationships
A/P Relationships
Vendor Contract Cost Relationships
Update the Files:
The next step is to update the data through the following path:
Utilities
Import File Data
Update Files with Imported Data
Update A/P Data
Create Vendor Contract Costs
Type in the Catalog name or spacebar enter to bring up and select your catalog. The question “Divide Contract Cost by UOM Factor?” is only relevant if your purchasing UOM for the product is not per Each. If your Purchasing unit of measure in the Inventory Master is per C or M and the prices you are importing are per C or M you would answer Yes to Divide the Cost. This is because the Costs are stored per Each no matter what the Purchase Unit of Measure is. If you have per Each costs in your file you can answer No to this question.
When you are done making your selections and are ready to update, hit escape or click ok. If you are assigning parts that do not currently have Contract Pricing with the vendor answer Yes to “Create New Contracts”? and No to “Replace Existing Contracts”? If you are making changes to an existing Contract say No to “Create New Contracts” and Yes to “Replace Existing Contracts”?
You will then get a message indicating your import is complete.
Step #6 Delete the imported file:
The final step is to delete the Catalog information. If you are planning on using the same format over and over again you should always be sure to delete previous records. In order to delete the imported catalog information, follow the path below and select your Catalog and choose Yes to Delete all Catalog files
Utilities
Import File Data
Deletion Options
Delete Catalog Files
