Automatic Purchasing Option

[kbrown07 (keith brown)]

Is there a way to set up a self-purchasing option? Like say for example. I have 10 buckets on hand. I want to make sure that I always have at least 10 buckets. Is there a way for me to keep an inventory of those buckets? Then say I want to have a self-purchasing option. One where with an open PO, an order is sent to my bucket supplier automatically when my inventory drops let’s say to 5 buckets. Is there some way of doing that?

Thanks.

[MattHelfrey]

You would want to look into Kanban POs or Blanket POs.

There has been some discussion on here that may be relevant to your question.

Blanket Purchase Orders

Unless I’ve missed something since Vantage 8, It sure would be nice to set up a PO Line with a maximum quantity and/or value and just release lines as you need them. When you release, it keeps track of how many/how much one has released and puts a hard stop when either the quantity/value are exceeded or the blanket expires. Purchase Contracts get close but they have a fixed frequency where I want to release as needed. POSuggestions could be satisfied by releasing a quantity on an existing blan…

[kbrown07 (keith brown)]

Thank you, Matt, I will look into that.

[timshuwy (Tim Shoemaker)]

also look into Purchase KanBan option. You can define a kanban PO in the part table, and specify the trigger point, and then as you fall below the 5 pieces, the kanban PO will automatically get a new release to bring you back to your desired qty. Note that just because it increases the PO, you still need to notify your supplier. since the PO was updated, it is also marked as needing printing, so you can find it.

[kbrown07 (keith brown)]

A coworker of mine was just talking about that the other day. I wasn’t aware the Epicor had such an option. Do you know where I might be able to find out more about the KanBan option? We are trying to learn more about Epicor and put it to better use. Years ago, we had an option, through Epicor, to automatically send out orders when our inventory got low. I was trying to find out more about what that program was. Thank you for all the help.

Keith

[Ernie (Ernie Lowell)]

Epicor’s “Replenishment” functionality is part of the Inventory Management section. As of this moment there isn’t a document for 2025.1, but the functionality probably hasn’t changed significantly from 2024.1 (which DOES have a document available). The section is called “Using Replenishment Workbench”.

2024.1 Inventory Management User Guide

[timshuwy (Tim Shoemaker)]

Well… you are in luck @kbrown07 … I just searched and found that I had created a mini-white paper on the subject of Purchase KanBan over 11 years ago back when I was a consultant. Some of the information needs minor updates (all smart client based screenshots) but overall, the procedure works.
Hmm… this gives me an idea for a new User Group presentation.
Epicor Purchase Kanban.pdf (937.8 KB)