After evaluating inventory supply and determining that it is time to replenish certain items, warehouse managers must begin the reorder process. One way to replenish inventory is to order items from a vendor outside of your agency. Obtaining inventory from an outside vendor is referred to as external replenishment. External replenishment is used when your warehouse does not have a central warehouse from which to order, when the central warehouse does not have enough items to fill your order, or when the central warehouse does not stock the items needed.
The external replenishment process can be controlled by two elements:
Since an external replenishment
transaction involves purchasing items from a third party, adequate funds
must be available to complete the transaction.
Both of these elements will be discussed in detail later in this section.
The external replenishment process begins when a warehouse manager determines from the Replenishment Action Report (RRACT) that certain items are in need of replenishment. The warehouse manager must then create a requisition in the Purchasing module to request the items from an outside vendor. Once the requisition is approved, the NCAS automatically forwards it to the appropriate warehouse buyer. The buyer then converts it into a purchase order, which is sent to an outside vendor. When items are received at the ordering warehouse from the vendor, the receipt is documented in the Purchasing module so that accurate payment may be issued.
Although the entire external replenishment process takes place in the Purchasing module, the NCAS automatically updates item balances, such as on-hand and on-order quantities, in the Inventory module.
As a warehouse manager, you should understand the entire external replenishment process; however, you must only learn certain aspects of it in detail. You will learn how to: