Microsoft Dynamics® NAV

Preliminary Requirements and Process Review

Questionnaire
Functional Requirement Document—SAMPLE

Prepared for

CONTOSO

Project

Microsoft Dynamics Implementation

Prepared by
Eduardo
Contributors
[Document contributors]
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1

2 Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 2

2.1 General................................................................................................................................................................. 2

2.2 Project Team ....................................................................................................................................................... 3

2.3 Data Migration ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

2.4 Training ................................................................................................................................................................ 4

3 IT Manager Role ..................................................................................................................................... 5

3.1 Other Applications .............................................................................................................................................. 5

4 Accounting Manager Role .................................................................................................................... 7

4.1 General Ledger ................................................................................................................................................... 7

4.2 Cash Management ............................................................................................................................................. 7

4.3 Inventory .............................................................................................................................................................. 8

4.4 WIP ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8

4.5 Credit Card Processing...................................................................................................................................... 8

4.6 Commissions ....................................................................................................................................................... 9

4.7 Fixed Assets ........................................................................................................................................................ 9

5 AP Coordinator Role ........................................................................................................................... 11

5.1 Payables ............................................................................................................................................................ 11

6 AR Administrator Role ........................................................................................................................ 12

6.1 Receivables ....................................................................................................................................................... 12

7 Payroll Administrator Role ................................................................................................................. 14

7.1 Payroll................................................................................................................................................................. 14

8 Sales Manager Role ............................................................................................................................. 15

8.1 General.............................................................................................................................................................. 15

8.2 Pricing/Discounting .......................................................................................................................................... 15

8.3 Mobile ................................................................................................................................................................ 15

8.4 Marketing - General......................................................................................................................................... 16

8.5 Marketing Activities .......................................................................................................................................... 16

9 Sales Order Processor Role ............................................................................................................... 17

9.1 Order Processing ............................................................................................................................................. 17

10 Purchasing Agent Role ....................................................................................................................... 20

10.1 General............................................................................................................................................................... 20
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10.2 Items................................................................................................................................................................... 20

10.3 Planning ............................................................................................................................................................. 20

10.4 Pricing/Discounting........................................................................................................................................... 21

10.5 Order Processing .............................................................................................................................................. 21

11 Shipping and Receiving Role ............................................................................................................. 23

11.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................ 23

11.2 Receiving ........................................................................................................................................................ 24

11.3 Picking ............................................................................................................................................................. 25

11.4 Shipping .......................................................................................................................................................... 25

11.5 Physical Inventory .......................................................................................................................................... 27

12 Production Planner Role ..................................................................................................................... 28

12.1 Routing ............................................................................................................................................................ 28

12.2 Bill of Materials ............................................................................................................................................... 28

12.3 Revisions ......................................................................................................................................................... 29

12.4 Planning .......................................................................................................................................................... 29

13 Shop Supervisor Role ......................................................................................................................... 31

13.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................ 31

13.2 Capacity .......................................................................................................................................................... 31

13.3 Order Processing ........................................................................................................................................... 32

13.4 Subcontracting ............................................................................................................................................... 33

14 Project Manager Role .......................................................................................................................... 34

14.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................ 34

14.2 Processing ...................................................................................................................................................... 34

14.3 Time/Expense Entry ...................................................................................................................................... 35

14.4 Billing ............................................................................................................................................................... 35

14.5 Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................... 35

15 Dispatcher Role.................................................................................................................................... 36

15.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................ 36

15.2 Service Contracts........................................................................................................................................... 36

15.3 Service Items .................................................................................................................................................. 37

15.4 Pricing .............................................................................................................................................................. 37

15.5 Dispatching ..................................................................................................................................................... 37

15.6 Customer Service .......................................................................................................................................... 38

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16 Outbound Technician Role ................................................................................................................. 40

16.1 Order Processing ........................................................................................................................................... 40

17 Human Resource Manager Role ........................................................................................................ 42

17.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................ 42

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1 INTRODUCTION
This document should be completed during the Diagnostic Phase of the project. The goal of this document is to collect
answers to key questions that will help define the preliminary scope of the project. After the completion of this
document, the consultant should have all the answers needed to construct a preliminary proposal during the sales
process. Once the project is approved and the Analysis Phase begins, another set of questions will be executed to
define the final scope of the project.

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2 OVERVIEW
2.1 General

 Who initiated this project and why?

o Our current system is passed its prime and we are executing way too many work-a-rounds to get
business done.

 What are your business goals for this project? What does your company expect to achieve by implanting the
new system?

o Install an ERP system that will allow us to grow and take advantage of some of the latest technologies
and last for some time to come.

 What are the most important issues you want to solve?

o More efficient sales order entry, more accurate inventory, and faster delivery of product through the
supply chain.

What are the overall timeline expectations?

o We have a timeline by management to be up and live by the end of the year.

How many companies do you want to include in Microsoft Dynamics NAV?

o One company.

 How many users are required in each company?

o 30 users in the one company.

 Explain service provided by each company?

o The one company builds generators and sells engines to variety of industries.

 Do you have any website store fronts?

o No

Do you have any retail store fronts?

o No

 What modules (applications) are you considering for each company?

Contoso USA, Inc.

Module Required?
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Financial Management YES

Warehousing YES
Sales YES
Purchasing YES
Manufacturing YES
Service YES
Jobs NO
Marketing YES
Human Resources YES

2.2 Project Team

Have you identified your project team?

o We have identified the user in each department that will lead their area. Everyone has been told of the
importance of the project and they will need to dedicate the extra time needed.

Will you have a dedicated resource from your team to service as the project manager for your company?
o We have cleared some of the responsibilities of one user who will act as the primary project manager
on our side.

Are all key project team members local?

o Yes

Will you leverage any other vendors to execute any other parts of the project? (Data Migration, Project
Manager, etc.)
o No

2.3 Data Migration

 To get an idea of the general volume of data to be migrated, complete the flowing table. The data tables listed
are the typical areas that may consume the most time in a project.

Import Task Cleanup Comments

Migration Required?
Option

General Ledger History

Customers
Sales Orders
Customer History
Posted Customer Documents
Vendors
Purchase Order
Vendor History
Posted Vendor Documents
Items
Item History
Bill of Materials
Routings
Production Orders
Jobs
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Job History
Service Items
Service History
Contacts

Do you have the resources to extract the data yourself?

o We do not require any assistance. We have the resources.

Have you determined the level of complexity involved in extracting the data?
o Extracted data from the current system is fairly easy and we don’t expect it to be a problem.

2.4 Training

How do you want to train your employees on the new system? Do you prefer us to train only those personnel
who in turn train other employees? Or do you prefer that we train all employees directly?
o We are not comfortable with the train the trainer concept and would like all training to be conducted by
the VAR.

Do you have a preference where your employees should be trained? (For example, on site, off site, etc.)
o We would like all training to be conducted off-site as to get our employees to focus on the training and
avoid as many distractions as possible.

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3 IT MANAGER ROLE
3.1 Other Applications

What are your internal infrastructure capabilities?

o We have three people in the IT Department. One IT Manager, one network engineer and one support
person.

What are your company’s remote access requirements?

o We currently need have five users that will need access from a remote office.

Do you use Microsoft® Office applications? Please specify those you use. (For example, do you use
Microsoft® Office Word, Microsoft® Office Excel®, Microsoft® Office Outlook®, and Microsoft® Office
SharePoint Server?)
o We currently use Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Do you currently deploy Microsoft® SQL Server®? Do you own SQL CALs?
o No, we will need the number of CALs to match our Microsoft Dynamics NAV sessions.

If you currently run SQL Server, then are you currently leveraging SRS?
o We are not leveraging SRS at the moment, but would like to.

If you currently run SQL Server, how knowledgeable is your IT staff about using it?
o We are currently not running SQL Server, but know we need it.

If you are not using Microsoft applications, describe the products you are using.
o N/A

What reporting tools do you leverage?

o We are currently using Crystal Reports for all of our reporting. We have several users that are very
good at using this tool and would like at all costs to keep it around.

How many users are currently creating and running reports?

o We have three users, who are not part of the IT Department, that are primarily responsible for creating
reports.

Do you consider your user community to have a large number of custom reporting requirements? Or do you
expect default (out of the box) reports to meet your business needs?
o We have a user community that is used to being able to create custom reports as they choose.

What Business Intelligence (BI) Tools do you leverage?

o We do not currently use a BI Tool, but do require an easy to use, out of the box solution going
forward.

Do you require Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)? If so, do you use X.12 or EDIFACT?
o We do receive orders from a couple customers and they require X12.

Do you have any document imaging requirements?

o We currently do not require document imaging, but would like to explore this in a second phase.

Do you wish to use responsibility centers?

o No

Is [Company Name] going to be using business analytics?

o This will not be required as we will use the BI solution chosen.

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Is Company Name] going to use business notifications?
o We do require business notifications. Notifications of late shipments and late receipts.

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4 ACCOUNTING MANAGER ROLE

4.1 General Ledger

 Do you require a set of business rules to not allow certain combinations of general ledger (GL) accounts and
dimensions?

o There are no restrictions

 Do you process intercompany transactions? If so, describe.

o No intercompany transactions are required.

 Do you require multi-company consolidation?

Yes

 Do you require multiple currencies? If yes, which currencies?

o A requirement exists for the USD and the EURO in some transactions.

 Do you require multiple languages? If so, list languages used by your company:

o English is the only required language.

 Do batches need approved for posting?

o Year end closing batch is approved by the accountants

 Do you have extensive monthly and yearly closing processes?

o The monthly closing takes approx 4 hours. The yearly closing takes approx 8 hours.

4.2 Cash Management

 How do you currently execute bank reconciliations? Is there any import or online aspect to the process?

o Bank reconciliations are done manually. No import aspect exists

 What kind of check stock is required for each bank account? Preprinted or blank?

o Blank check stock

 Is there a specific requirement for the format of the check for each bank account?

o Blank check stock in the stub, check format with signature for one bank account

 Will you require the Microsoft Dynamics NAV system to print a signature?

o Yes

 What other payment forms are used? ACH, EFT, SIFT , etc.

o None

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4.3 Inventory

 What costing methods do you use?

o FIFO, standard

 If you use standard costing, explain how costs are calculated and maintained.

o Calculated based upon BOM rolled up cost which has labor included as a phantom item. Updated
yearly

 Do you incorporate labor costs and overhead costs into your production costs?

o Yes, a standard labor rate of $13.80 per hour. That rate is multiplied by 225% to include overhead.

 Do you maintain a consignment inventory?

o No

 Are landed costs included in inventory? What landed cost add-ons are used?

o No landed costs are required because we don’t receive any shipments from overseas.

 Describe any specific inventory issues that you have.

o Reconciling inventory to GL is cumbersome.

4.4 WIP

 Do you currently process work progress (WIP) with your Jobs? If yes, explain process and requirements.

o Yes. Must have accurate daily postings from all job expenses to WIP. Once a Job is completely billed
all expenses should be relieved from WIP. This is especially true for Fixed Price

4.5 Credit Card Processing

 Do you currently process credit cards?

o Yes

 Who is your current payment processor? Do you have multiple processors?

o Payment Tech

 How many users process credit cards?

o Five

 How do you currently process the credit cards? Card swipe stand alone machine?

o Directly with the payment processor, no card swipe

 Do have retail store fronts? How many stores?

o N/A
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 Do you sell or redeem gift cards or gift certificates?

o No

 Do you process debit cards? If yes, are they just processed like credit cards or do you allow the entry of pin
numbers?

o No

 If you have retail store fronts, are credit card signatures required?

o N/A

4.6 Commissions

 What are the commission rules? Are commissions paid per customer, product, etc.? Are commissions based
on the price or the cost?

o Salespeople are paid commissions on the cost of the item. It is by product not specific to any
customer

 Do you require split commissions?

o Yes

 Are commissions paid through Payroll or Payables?

o Payables

 Are commissions paid at the time of sale or payment of invoice?

o At the payment of the invoice

4.7 Fixed Assets

 Do you require fixed assets tracking?

o Yes

 Are you currently using a fixed assets package?

o No, currently handled by auditors.

 What types of depreciation books do you maintain? (For example, financial, tax, earnings, etc.)

o Financial

 What depreciation methods do you use?

o Straight-line

 Do you require maintenance tracking?

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o Yes

 Do you require insurance tracking?

o No

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5 AP COORDINATOR ROLE
5.1 Payables

 Is there a special process for the addition of a new vendor?

o All vendor additions are requested and routed through accounting.

 Do you identify vendors in a way as to only display only certain vendor records?

o No

 Do you have any special payment terms for vendors?

o 2% net 30, 30 days, 60 days

 Describe any special invoice processes you company uses.

o Nothing special. Purchase Orders are invoices directly from the orders.

 Do you receive Invoice discounts from vendors, such as an automatic percentage off when spending a certain
amount?

o No

 Do you collect VAT for purchasing?

o No

 Do you execute detail reconciliation against invoices for freight charges?

o Reconcile freight charges to freight invoices

 Is tolerance checking used at the time of receipts?

o No

 Do you require a manager approval process on payments?

o No, accounting manager does all payment journals

 Do you have any unusual requirements for Aging Receivables? Describe the aging buckets used? Collect a
copy of the Aged Accounts Payable Report.

o Nothing special. We require 0-30, 31-60, 61-90 and Over 90 days.

 Describe any specific payables issues that you have.

o Reconciliation of payables to the general ledger

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6 AR ADMINISTRATOR ROLE
6.1 Receivables

 Is there any special process for the addition of a new customer?

o All customers are added by the accounting department only.

 Do you identify customers in any way to only show certain vendors to certain users?

o No

 Explain your invoicing process. Do you use batch processing?

o Invoicing is done at the time of shipping. No batch processes are used

 Are there any instances in which you send product to one address and the invoice to another address? This
doesn’t include those instances where you have a parent and child company relationship. Rather, this
includes instances when the company is the same legal entity, but uses two different addresses.

o No

 Explain how credit limits are established for customers. How does the approval process work when a
customer is over credit limit and tries to submit additional orders?

o Credit limits are on a by customer basis. If the customer is over their credit limit, the order will need a
managers approval before shipment

 Do you combine multiple orders on one invoice?

o No, one order per invoice

 Do you collect VAT for sales?

o No

 Do you employ prepayments? If yes, explain process.

o Yes. For select customers, there is a prepayment for a percentage of the total ordered required before
the order can be shipped.

 Do you have recurring invoices in your business process?

o No

 How are invoices delivered? (For example, by e-mail, fax, e-mail, or both)

o All of the above

 Is there a required format for invoices?

o Logo is required at the top of the invoice. Remittance information at the bottom of the invoice.

 What procedures do you use to track orders that have been shipped and are ready for invoicing?

o It is currently a manual process which is not very effective

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 Are there special requirements in the Cash Receipts process? Describe the process:

o No special process. Customers may pay multiple invoices on one check

 Do you send Customer Statements? If yes, is the format mandatory and how are statements delivered?

o Yes. No mandatory format

 Do you use finance charges on customer statements? If so, explain formula.

o Yes

 Do you send customer payment reminders?

o Yes

 Do you have any special payment terms?

o Normal payment terms i.e. 10 net 30, 30 days, 60 days

 Do you have special requirements for Aging Receivables?

o No special requirements, buckets are 30 days each and we require 0-30, 31-60, 61-90 and Over 90
days.

 What steps are involved in collection management? Is there a dedicated collection staff? If yes, how many
people?

o No dedicated collection staff. One user in accounting monitors the aged receivables report and makes
calls on those accounts over 30 days.

 Describe any specific receivables issues you currently experience.

o Knowing what is available to be shipped and what needs invoiced

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7 PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR ROLE

7.1 Payroll

 Do you require a payroll module/application? Do you outsource payroll processing??

o Require Payroll Module

 How many employees are included in payroll?

o 50

 Is an interface required? Do you require that payroll information be imported?

o No

 Is a time entry system required to record time worked?

o Yes

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8 SALES MANAGER ROLE

8.1 General

 Are there certain periods of the year that are busier than the others?

o Our annual sales tend to be fairly consistent with the warmer months being a little busier

 Do you categorize your customers in a specific manner? If yes, do these categories serve to limit which
customers a user can view?

o We do categorize them by a group we have defined, but the group does not limit the viewing.

 Do you require customer to have the ability to update their own account information via the Internet?

o No

8.2 Pricing/Discounting

 Explain your pricing/discounting structure.

o Discount Groups are assigned to each customer and the groups are assigned a discount percentage
across all product.

 Do you offer special pricing or discounting? (For example, by Customer, by Item Group, by Customer Group,
etc.)

o Yes, by customer group

 Do you use special pricing or discounting by quantity?

o No

 Do you use campaign pricing?

o No

 How does pricing or discounting get updated and when?

o Customer Discounts are evaluated every 6 months and adjusted manually.

8.3 Mobile

 Are there any mobile-access requirements for salespeople, order entry, service technicians or others?

o Salespeople need the ability to enter orders in the field

 What solutions do you currently deploy?

o None currently

 How many users are required?

o 10

 Do you currently have adequate hardware to meet these needs?

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o Yes

8.4 Marketing - General

 Do you require a contact management system?

o Yes

 Do you already use a contact management system that you don’t want to replace? Will an interface be
required?

o No

 What is your primary reason for a contact management module? You need to identify whether it looks like the
Microsoft Dynamics NAV Relationship Management module will meet their needs or will Microsoft Dynamics®
CRM need to be required.

o To track prospects, send literature and sales fliers. Appears NAV will meet their needs. No Microsoft
Dynamics CRM.

 What kind of information describing the contact do you require? Industry Groups, Mailing Groups, Company
Size, Purchase Frequency, etc.

o Industry group, mailing group, purchase history

 Do you maintain a list of prospects that are not current customers? If yes, how do these prospects get entered
into the system?

o Yes, we sometimes have a spreadsheet of prospects that we need to import into the system as just
prospects.

10.2 Marketing Activities

 Do you require the tracking of opportunities for your sales team?

o Yes

 Do you require the tracking of tasks (“to-dos”) for your sales team?

o Yes

 Do you currently manage marketing campaigns?

o Yes

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9 SALES ORDER PROCESSOR ROLE

9.1 Order Processing

 Explain sources you receive orders from such as web, phone, e-mail, etc. Do you anticipate adding additional
sources in the future?

o Phone, e-mail, fax.

 Does your sales process include sales of product only, service only or product and service?
o Service/Labor is sold during the servicing of product in the service department.

 Do you use a quoting process? If yes, explain the process.

o Yes. Quotes are given to existing and prospective customers. On approval by customer, quotes are
converted to orders.

 Do you require an approval process for quotes? If yes, describe.

o No

 If quotes are used, is there a required format or terms that have to be attached and how are they sent (For
example, by e-mail, fax, mail, etc.)
o Formatted like the sales order. Sent by e-mail, fax or mail depending on the customer.

 Describe your company’s order process:

o Customer service receives order via phone, e-mail or fax. Customer account is entered by accounting
if they don’t already exist. Credit Check is run through accounting. Order is entered and released to
warehouse.

 Who and how many users are entering orders? How many orders are entered on a daily basis?

o All orders are entered by users in sales. Salesman may fill out form manually, but never enter in
system.

 Do you require an approval process for orders? If yes, describe.

o Yes, when a customer has gone over their credit limit, the manager has to approve the order. If the
order is over a certain amount, the manager has to approve the order.

 Are orders grouped, using specific attributes, to only allow certain users to view certain orders?

o No

 How many different order-related dates are required?

o Order Date, Requested Delivery Date, Promised Delivery Date

 How do you determine promise dates for customers?

o The current system uses an availability calculation. Need to investigate exact formula.

 Are there any conditions in which an order is not allowed to be taken?

o Credit Limits previously described.

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 Are there any conditions in which an order is not allowed to be shipped?

o If the prepayment has not been paid, the order cannot ship.

 How does order entry search for items when entering orders?

o By description

 Do you hard reserve specific inventory against specific orders?

o No

 Are item substitutions used?

o Yes, order entry has the authority to do this.

 Do you sell groups of items as kits? If so, explain in detail.

o Yes. Kits are prebuilt and sold as one unit

 Are your products in need of a Configurator? Are their choices within a product like color, size, etc? If yes,
describe the rules required behind the models required.

o No

 Do you require scanning, storing and associating of any documents to order?

o Yes, occasionally we need to attach the customers purchase order to our sales order.

 Do you require the ability to archive orders for reuse?

o No

 Do you send an order confirmation? If yes, is there a required format or terms that have to be attached and
how are they sent? (For example, by e-mail, fax, mail, etc.)

o Yes. Format same as sales order, no terms, sent by e-mail/fax depending on the customer

 Do you need to print text information or special messages on an order? Where should this text be printed?
Does it ever require a starting and ending date?

o No

 Do you require automatic notification to customers of changes in document status? If yes, is there certain
format and file type to be followed?

o No

Do you process returns? If yes, explain process. Does it include RMAs?

o Yes. A customer may order the wrong item, its damaged or the wrong item is sent, a return order is
created to receive the items back into inventory

 Do you require the tracking of inventory rentals? If yes, explain and document how many users entered this
type of order.

o No

Do you require an installment sales process? For example, selling inventory and allowing the
customer to make payments with interest over a specific period of time. If yes, explain.
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o No

 Describe any specific order processing issues that you have.

o Order changes while picking is on process often calls problems.

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10 PURCHASING AGENT ROLE

10.1 General

 Do you group or categorize vendor records in a specific manner? If yes, do these categories serve to limit
which vendors a user can view?

o There are no grouping requirements for vendors and no viewing restrictions.

 Do vendors need the ability to update their account own information via the Internet?

o No

 Do you have any specific requirements/needs for Vendor Performance?

o There is a requirement to track actual receipt dates against expected receipt dates.

10.2 Items

 How long are your item numbers?

o 20 Characters

 Do the digits in the item number represent anything? Do you require a meaningful item number? If yes,
describe:

o Yes. Model #, Horsepower on key items.

 How long are your item descriptions?

o 30 Characters

 Is there any special requirement for units of measure and their conversion?

o No, but we do have items that we purchase by one UOM and sell by another.

 What is your process when adding a new item to the system?

o A standardized form is filled out and follows a routing from purchasing to warehouse and ends with
accounting.

 Do you need to store pictures for any items?

o Not at this time but would like to in the future

10.3 Planning

 Do you use centralized purchasing?

o Currently no, but we would like to move to a centralized process.

 Do you use requisitions?

o No

 What currently triggers reordering of items?

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o Reorder Points are kept for most items.

 Do any of your vendors require minimum order thresholds? If yes, explain.

o Yes, a couple of our vendors require a minimum dollar order.

 Do you need the ability to plan purchasing based on previous usage? Note: This can be an expensive and
complicated process and should be used only if your company absolutely requires it.

o We would like this feature in order to better forecast busier times of the year.

 Do you require a different set of ordering parameters based on the location where inventory is being held?

o No, we only have one location.

 Do you require maintaining of a vendor catalog of potential purchased items? For example, if there are items
that you have never sold, and don’t current want in your item list, these items could be maintained in another
list and then brought into the item master only when a customer wants to purchase them.

o Yes, we have a number of vendor items that we have never sold, but we want readily available in
case a customer wants to purchase.

 Describe any specific planning issues that you have.

o Just keeping our inventory as low and responsive as possible.

10.4 Pricing/Discounting

Explain your pricing/discounting structure.

o Pricing is set by primary vendors periodically for most items. Otherwise it is just the last purchase
price.

 Do you receive special pricing or discounting?

o No

 Do you receive special pricing/discounting by quantity?

o We do have one vendor that will allow us discounts based upon volume.

 How does pricing/discounting get updated and when?

o Couple vendors will provide price files quarterly that we now have to manually update those items.

10.5 Order Processing

Do you need the ability to leverage blanket orders? If yes, explain exact requirements.

We do have one agreement with a vendor to purchase at the beginning of each year a set amount by
month.

 Do you use purchase orders?

o Yes

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How does order entry search for items when entering orders?

o Sometimes by vendor item number, at other times by description.

 Are orders grouped using specific attributes to only allow users to view certain orders?

o No

 Do you require an approval processing for order? If yes, describe.

o A couple users generate purchase orders, but the purchasing manager needs to approve all orders.

 Do you require the ability to archive orders for reuse?

o Yes, this would be helpful for the orders where we often reorder the same quantities each month.

 Do you require the execution of purchase orders for subcontracting purposes? If yes, explain requirements.

o Yes, we do send out material to a couple vendors that provide a service and return the material.

 What process do you currently use to track expected receipts?

o We currently process a report that tracks late receipts.

 Is there a required form for the purchase order document?

o We are not tied to a mandatory format for purchase orders.

 Do you need to print text information or special messages on an order? Where should this text be printed?
Does it ever require a starting and ending date?

o We do require on some specific information on directions of how to ship product to us.

 How do you deliver purchase orders to vendors? For example, by mail, fax, e-mail, etc.

o E-mail mostly unless vendor does not have e-mail, then fax.

Do you require automatic notification to vendors of changes in document status? If so, is there certain
format and file type to be followed?

o No

 Describe any specific order processing issues that you currently have.

o We have a real challenge keeping an eye on overdue receipts.

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11 SHIPPING AND RECEIVING ROLE

11.1 General

 Do you have multiple warehouse locations?

o No, we only have location.

Do you track items at a bin level?

o Yes, each item has a default bin.

 Do you require bins to be classified? (For example, by frozen, dry, non-static, etc.)

o No

 Do specific bins require special equipment to move inventory?

o No

 Do you transfer stock between locations?

o No, but we transfer between bins.

 Do you require a separate shipping and receiving step for transfers? When you execute a transfer is the
inventory immediately expected to be transferred to the destination location? This information will help
determine if a journal or transfer document will be needed to complete inventory transfers.

o Not since we only have one location.

 Do you require tracking of the inventory being transferred while it is in transit?

o No

 Do you require serial numbers on items? If yes, at what points? (Inbound, Internal, Movement, Outbound,
etc.)
o Yes. Serial Number on Outbound only

 If you do require serial numbers, how are serial numbers assigned? Do you use the manufacturer’s serial
number?

o We do use the manufacturer’s serial number

 Do you require lot number tracking on items? If yes, at what points? (Inbound, Internal, Movement, Outbound,
etc.)?

o No

 If you do require lot number tracking, how are lot numbers assigned?

o N/A

 Do you require length, width, height and weight to be tracked for inventory?

o No

 Do your raw materials have an expiration issue?

o No

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 Do you leverage wireless devices for warehouse movements?

o Yes, Hand Held Scanners are use to transfer inventory.

11.2 Receiving

 Explain the current receiving process.

o Receiving against a PO in the system and PO Receipt documents are manually marked and given to
the office for filing.

 Does the warehouse staff record the receipts in the system or do you require that task to be completed by
office personnel?

o Warehouse Staff

 Are warehouse employees responsible for recording the actual received items and quantities in the system?
Or are they only be allowed to record the quantities on the packing slips and an office employee will record
the data in the system?

o They should be allowed to receive exactly what is received unless it is more than what was ordered

 Is scanning equipment required?

o Yes

 Do you allow the receiver to receive quantities more than the order quantity?

o No

 Is any specific label printing required for products being received?

o Yes, we require placing a label on all products.

 Is there a level of cross docking required during receiving?

o No

 Is a quality control step required during receiving?

o No

 How is damaged freight handled?

o Product is move to a specific area and a Purchase Return Order is created

 Do you leverage any kind of handheld device to process receiving?

o No, but we are looking down the road to possibly using this to speed up the process.

 Explain the inventory put away process? Is inventory just placed in a default bin or is a larger intelligent
process needed to determine the best bin to put away the inventory?

o A PutAway document is printed upon receipt which indicates what BIN the item should be placed

 Describe any specific receiving/put away issues that you have.

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o Receiving the correct quantity

11.3 Picking

 Explain the picking process. Do you pick by order? Do warehouse personnel use wave picking?

o Pick Tickets are generated by order.

 How do you determine what to pick and when?

o Pick Tickets are manually printed in the warehouse once order entry is done. If the order cannot be
picked, it is placed in a stack of papers in the warehouse that are checked daily.
How are back orders handled?

o Available quantities are shipped and that is reflected on the packing slip. The remaining quantity is
then shipped when available.

 Do you require the communication of specific packing instructions for certain products?

o Yes

 Is a quality control step required during picking?

o No

 What documents are required during the picking/packing process? Pick List for picker and packing slip for
package? Can one document serve for both?

o Separate documents Pick List for Picking and Packing Slip for shipping

 Describe any specific picking issues that you currently have.

o Need to use Outbound Warehouse Request screen that shows all Picks for that day

11.4 Shipping

 How many packing stations do you have?

o 3

 What companies do you use for primary shipping? (For example, UPS, FedEx, Airborne, etc.)

o UPS, FedEx, Airborne, etc. UPS, FEDEX, BestWay

 How many packages are shipped on avg. per week, per company, per shipping service?

o Approximately 25

 What LTL or over the road shipping Companies do you use? (For example, Roadway, FedEx Freight etc.)

o Roadway, FedEx Freight etc. Roadway and FexExFreight

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 Do you require Bills of Lading?

o Yes

 Do you use Parcel Post via US Postal Service?

o No

 Do you use COD via UPS and FedEx? If yes, do you spread COD charge equally to all Packages if there is
more than one package in order?

o Yes use COD. No not charged equally

 Are there additional shipping and handling charges added to sales orders? If yes, what are the business rules
for assigning them (i.e. customer based shipping charges, standard per order charges)?

o Yes, additional percentage is charged on top of normal ups rates

 Do you utilize rate shopping?

o No

 Do some customers get free shipping?

o Yes

 Do you ship out of different locations within your physical warehouse or different shipping locations?

o No

 Do you have international shipments? What is your average number of shipments per week? What is the
average dollar value per shipment?

o Yes. 2 a week. Average 10K a shipment

 Do you use bar-code scanners? If yes, what types (make and model)? Is there one at each packing station?
Do you have a backup?

o Yes use scanners. Just normal wedge scanners. There is one for each packing station and we have
just one backup total.

 What types of scales do you use and how many do you have? What make and model? Is there one at each
packing station? Do you have a backup?

o Yes use scale to weigh packages. Fairbanks Scale. There is one for each packing station and we
have just one backup total.

 What make and model of Thermal Printers do you use for UPS/FedEx labels? Is there one at each packing
station? Do you have a backup?

o UPS Eltron Label Printer. There is one for each packing station and we have just one backup total.

 Do you require automatic notification to customers of shipments? If yes, is there certain format and file type to
be followed?

o Yes. Send notification by E-mail and should include Sales Order #, Ship Date, and Tracking
information

 Describe any specific shipping issues that you have.

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o Tracking Information for shipments

11.5 Physical Inventory

 Explain your physical inventory process:

o Monthly by Location and BIN

 Do you use cycle counting?

o Yes. Logical Groups by Aisle

 Describe any specific physical inventory issues that you have.

o Getting Accurate Counts and accounting for Production Orders in Progress

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12 PRODUCTION PLANNER ROLE

12.1 Routing

 What are your company’s routing numbering requirements?

o Routings will all be on a one-to-one relationship with the items. Therefore, the routing will mimic the
item number.

 How accurate are the routings?

o Routings will require some cleanup as time studies have not been conducted in over a year.

 What is the number of steps required?

Routings typically include somewhere between 3-10 steps.

 Overlap

o We do not overlap operations.

 Dual threading

o We do not dual thread our operation.

 Raw material consumption relationship to work steps – link codes

o We do wish to consume parts as a result of completing the product. We want to do this for the
subassemblies we manufacture and put on the shelf for future usage. We plant to tie the consumption
of parts to the last operation.

 Related information needs (tools, quality, personnel, instructions)

o There are specific tools and instructions associated with specific routing steps that will need to be
included. Much of what we do is tribal knowledge not printed in work documents. We have a work
force that has been with us for years with little turnover.

 Are material/items linked to specific routing steps?

o Specific routing steps are currently associated with specific material on the bill of materials.

 Is it a standard process to modify the production order routing in the production process?

o No generally not, although we do need alternate routings when machines are out of service.

12.2 Bill of Materials

 BOM numbering requirements?

o BOMs will all be on a one-to-one relationship with the items. Therefore, the BOM will mimic the item
number.

 How accurate are the Bills of Material?

o Many Bills of Materials will require a period of cleanup as some materials on BOMs have been
discontinued and product design hasn’t always been kept up in the BOMs.

 How many levels does the organization maintains in their bills of material
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o The most complicated bill only goes 2 levels deep.

 Are “Phantom” items being utilized?

o Phantom items are being utilized in current BOMs. You may also find phantom items inside of other
phantom items.

 Is it a standard process to modify the production order bill of material in the production process?

o This would be a rare event for us.

12.3 Revisions

 BOM versions

o We do not use revisions. A change in our BOMs creates a new part number.

 Routing versions

o We would like to have predefined and easily called out alternate routes. We can do several operations
in different machines but these machines run at different rates.

 Drawing versions

o We use dash numbers after the main part number to indicate drawing revisions. We follow the
discipline of changing the part number if form, fit or function change.

 Part revisions – how indicated?

o We incorporate the revision in the part number. We do not have a separate field for the part revision.

12.4 Planning

 Does your organization currently operate in a Master Production Schedule (MPS), and Material Requirements
Planning (MRP) environment

o We run MRP daily and have trouble keeping up with the requisition side of things. We need a way to
retain requisition from MRP run to MRP run. It will often take a day or two to determine a source and
get a quote .prior to ordering.

 Do you buy parts to a particular manufacturing order?

o We configure to order, if we need parts for a configuration we will get them.

 Do you need to anticipate market demand and build prior to order?

o We do this for subassemblies we put on the shelf. MRP does not recognize the need for these if we
just create production orders. We want MRP to see them when they are part of a larger unit.

 Are your manufacturing lead times greater than the time between customer order and expected deliver?

o Not so far but we hope to reduce time to delivery.

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 Is the “Available to Promise” procedure currently being practiced?

o No.

 Do you need two-level master scheduling? Family planned and item planned?

o We do something like this to forecast rigs of a certain general type.

 Do you have blanket orders with your customers that define your demand (MTO common)? We see blanket
orders as independent demand in the MPS. See additional planning topics in the documentation.

o No we do not have blanket orders.

 Is the “Capable to Promise” procedure currently being practiced?

o We would like to use this to get a delivery date on rigs.

 Describe any specific planning issues that you have.

o Always a challenge to have raw material forecasted for actual orders and not have too much inventory
on the shelf.

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13 SHOP SUPERVISOR ROLE

13.1 General

 What types of manufacturing are performed? (Make to Stock, Make to Order, Assemble to Order, Engineer to
order)

o We are both a make to stock shop for subassemblies and a Make to Order shop for rigs. Typically we
manufacture 1or 2 rigs of like configuration at a time.

 Are you manufacturing at more than one location? Are the same parts manufactured at more than one
location? Do you need to manage capacity at more than one location?

o We only have one manufacturing site.

13.2 Capacity

 What types of operations are needed for your manufacturing process?

o We do finish grinding of subcontract castings, we do assembly, we do painting,

 Are you organized into departments, lines, cells, or work groups?

o We have organized the shop into production lines by product type. There are off the line groups to do
some particular machining. We capture the labor for the entire line without distinction of operation. In
this it is like a cell.

 How is your shop floor laid out?

o Three progressive track production lines and then supporting special operations on the sides. Raws
arrive at one end and finished parts go out the opposite line.

 Do you dedicate a series of machines to a particular part line?

o The line operation is mostly assembly. The paint both serves all the lines.

 Do you schedule to run on particular machines?

o No we don’t machine schedule, we work center schedule then may cite the machine used in
production so we can capture the time on the machines.

 Do you track capacity by machine?

o Yes

 How do work shifts relate to the work center/machine centers?

o We work the whole plant on the same shifts. We don’t have some lines work different hours. We might
do so in the future.

 What shifts apply to which work center/machines?

o We work one shift across the plant at present.

 Is your manufacturing process resource constrained?

o Yes we can only assemble at a particular rate.

 Do you need to build more than you can accommodate at present.

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o We do need to build to the shelf some items used in the assembly process.

 Do you need to manage the limiting resources?

o We occasionally offer overtime for the trouble spots but it is not a regular event.

 What are your bottlenecks at present? Do you need finite scheduling of these bottlenecks?

o We do not need to finite schedule. We are able to manage without it.

13.3 Order Processing

 Do you quote manufactured parts? How do you create a quote for a new part?

o No

 Do you require scanning, storing and associating of any documents to order?

o CAD Designs are sometimes required to attach to a specific production order.

 Do you need data capture automation? Lots of ways to collect labor – what is needed, desired?

o We are looking at a fairly robust solution that will allow shop floor workers to record their time daily.
This should also assist in all time entry and help feed payroll.

 Material consumption – do you flush materials? When? (Beginning, end, at particular steps...)

o Material is flushed when the last operation on the routing is posted.

 Do you track the manufacturing consumption by lot?

o No

 Do you need to report output in a unit of measure different than that which defines the bill of material for the
product?

o I produce feet of product but I like to report output in lbs because I get a more accurate consumption. I
then convert the lbs to feet. The bill of material is based on producing a foot of product.

 We have ability to flush capacity consumption too – What proportion of the cost of your product is labor? What
proportion is material, what is overhead?

o We do not want capacity consumption flushed. We want to just reflect what was actually recorded
against each order.

 Is any specific label printing required for products being produced?

o A custom label is required upon the completion of each generator with specific data.

 Describe any specific order processing issues that you have.

o It is often very challenging to know exactly where the progress of an order sits for tracking and
customer service answers.

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13.4 Subcontracting

 Do you subcontract out any production activity?

o We do send out material during some processes to be oxidized.

 Is this cost rolled into your production costs?

o This cost is currently represented in our BOMs as phantom item with an assigned unit cost.

 Do you need to track by a unique lot number those batches of parts going to and from subcontract
manufacturing?

o Not by lot, just tracking the purchase order to the production order is sufficient.

 How are the parts marked to indicate they are part of a particular batch (lot)?

o N/A

 How do you keep track of what is out and when it is supposed to come back?

o Not very well. Larry in shipping keeps a spreadsheet of what has been picked up by the subcontractor
and is outstanding.

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14 PROJECT MANAGER ROLE

14.1 General

 Explain what kinds of jobs are processed:

o Custom console systems are built to specific requirements from customers.

 Are there “parent and child” project relationships in your jobs?

o No

 Do these jobs include a bill of materials or router?

o Yes

 Are there specific prices for material and services for each job?

o Yes, prices are defaulted, but can be changed per job

 At what level do you track job costs? Do you use Phases, Tasks, etc.?

o At Phase and Tasks

 Will Resources be utilized?

o Yes

 Would you like to assign specific skills to resources?

o Not required

14.2 Processing

 Do you reserve certain purchase orders or existing inventory to jobs?

o No

 Explain how the job budget is initially created? Is there some type of external program or spreadsheet that
might need to be imported?

o Yes, custom spreadsheet is used to come to the final budget numbers. We don’t think this can likely
be duplicated in the software.

 What kind of printed documents do you use to communicate work on jobs?

o Job Budget Reports and Job WIP Reports, Job Actual to Budget

 How is job specific usage recorded?

o Material requisition reports and timesheets are keyed at the end of each day.

 Describe any specific processing issues that you have.

o Prioritizing and fulfilling demand and monitoring job actual to job budgets

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14.3 Time/Expense Entry

 How does time need to be collected specific to jobs?

o Daily by employee, work type code and phase

 Do you currently use a time entry system? Is it currently integrated with payroll?

o No

 Does this also need to include expenses?

o Yes

 Who enters the time? Manager, actual workers?

o Supervisor

 Is a website or intranet required to enter this time?

o No

14.4 Billing

 Explain how jobs are billed?

o Reports are taken for each job and reviewed to see if all phases are complete

 Are jobs time and materials? Do jobs have fixed prices?

o Some but very few, Most are fixed price.

 Is there installment billing or contract billing?

o Some jobs are billed based upon agreed upon milestones with the customer.

 Describe any specific billing issues that you have.

o How to confidently ensure all time and expenses have been collected and billed before final bill is sent
and if a charge comes in after the final bill how to get that included in the budget versus actual
calculation

14.5 Analysis

 Explain the critical reports required to analyze job progress and profitability.

o We have three key reports that are specific to our business that we use to accomplish this. I almost
guarantee these will need to be created.

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15 DISPATCHER ROLE
15.1 General

 What type of Services do you provide? Is it periodic preventative maintenance or are you repairing product?

o Warranty and Non Warranty. Work is done on a time and material basis. Periodic Maintenance is also
offered.

 Is the service repair work done by you or another party like a distributor?

o Sometimes us, sometimes a distributor

 Does the service require on site work or is the product always sent in to be serviced?

o Sometimes on site, sometimes sent in to distributor, but preventative is always on site

 Do you serve as a pass through for manufacturer warranties?

o Yes, but not very often

 Do you supply loaners to be used by the customer during servicing? If yes, explain process.

o Very Rarely but usually is done by the Distributor

 Are service zones required to be associated with customers and resources?

o No

 List the different service order types that will be used.

o Warranty, Non Warranty, Preventative

 Shall skill codes be tracked and associated to specific resources?

o No

15.2 Service Contracts

 Do you offer any kind of Service Contracts or Maintenance Agreements? If yes, explain.

o Yes, Specific services are provided for a monthly fee and agreeing to an annual contract.

 How do you sell these contracts?

o Service contracts are offered upon the sale of each generator. Follow ups are also done on those
customers that originally refused during initial purchase.

 How do these contracts get renewed?

o Expiration Date is tracked and each month someone follows up on the renewals.

 Do you guarantee a certain response time?

o 48 Hour Response

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15.3 Service Items

 What critical information is stored for service items? Components? Customer sold to? Ship/Installation Dates?

o Customer Sold To, Location of Service Item, Components, Warranty Information and Serial Number

 How do you determine which products are under warranty and for how long?

o This is Per Manufacturer

 Do you have a standard warranty period for parts and services per each product sold?

o Yes this is dictated by Manufacturer

 Do you maintain a log of activity for each service item?

o Yes

 Do you require the tracking of items in service to be tracked by a location or shelf?

o A separate area in inventory is reserved to hold service inventory.

15.4 Pricing

 Are parts used in servicing only used in servicing and not sold directly to the customers or also used in
Manufacturing?

o Parts used in service are sold as replacement parts and used in manufacturing.

 How are prices determined for service parts? Any special deals for customers?

o Manufacturer Price List

 How are prices updated?

o Spreadsheet from Manufacturer

 How are prices determined for labor? For example: Different per technician, Different per Customer, Different
per Work Type, Different for urgency of work to be done, Etc.

o Determined individually by Distributor for warranty work. Preventative maintenance labor prices are
across the board for all technicians, but the rate can vary depending on the urgency.

 Are there any travel fees charged in addition to labor and parts?

o This is Per Distributor for warranty. None for preventative work.

15.5 Dispatching

 How do Service Orders originate? (By Phone, Fax, E-mail, Customer Service Rep, etc.)

o Phone or E-mail

 Do you generate periodic service orders based upon these contracts? Explain how those are created.

o Yes at the beginning of each month.

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 How are service orders assigned to a technician?

o Geographical first then certified Distributor in the area. All this is done by the service manager.

 Are the service orders identified with specific attributes to help determine who should be assigned to the
order? Area, type of order, type of work to be performed?

o Yes, Area and type of work

 Does the Service Manager assign these orders? If not, who?

o The Service Manager

 Is there any application used to help balance resources across workload?

 No

 How does the technician receive assignments? (For example, by e-mail, in person, pick up, etc.)

o Phone Call or E-mail

15.6 Customer Service

 How many customer service representatives (reps) are there in your company?

o 10

 What are the key inquiries most often used by the customer service reps?

o Order Status, Item Pricing.

 Do Customer Service Reps create new sales orders?

o Yes

 Do Customer Service Reps process return merchandise or material authorizations (RMA)s?

o Yes

 Do Customer Service Reps create new service orders?

o No

 Do you provide a customer “help desk” where individuals answer phones and log support calls? If yes,
explain.

o Yes, we do have a team of specialists who field questions to help troubleshoot the product we sell.

 If you do have a help desk, are those calls answered by one individual and then routed to other specialists or
does the person answering typically handle the length of the call?

o Users who answer the calls address the questions.

 Do you keep a “knowledge database” containing common service issues and solutions?

o No

 Do you keep a troubleshooting database?

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o Yes

 Do you assign support cases and track to internal staff?

o Rarely.

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16 OUTBOUND TECHNICIAN ROLE

16.1 Order Processing

 Explain the order execution process?

o Once the order is assigned to a technician, the tech retrieves the product from the service shelf,
reviews the service, begins work and records fault/symptom codes and any material or labor used
once the service is complete.

 If product is repaired internally, then explain receiving process. Is this product kept in different area of
inventory? Is it received by the ordinary receiving staff?

o An RMA is processed which creates a Sales Return Order and then processed when the part is
returned. This puts the Part into a Repair BIN. The part is repaired then a Sales Order is created to
send the repaired item back to the Customer

 Does the technician require any lookup capabilities for the Customer or Service Contract they are carrying
out?

o No that has already been taken care of by the Service Help Desk

 Does the technician require lookup capabilities for warranty Information, past service, contract agreement,
etc.?

o No that has already been taken care of by the Service Help Desk

 Do you track component serial numbers in the product being serviced? That is, if a serialized component is
replaced, then do you need to record that and the new serial number associated with the service item?

o Yes

 Do you track any troubleshooting information that should be available to the technician for servicing?

o Yes we use a Fault Reporting system

 Are there special checklists that need to be kept and accessed at a later date during servicing?

o No

 What documents are required to be printed for the technician?

o The Sales Return Order and Receipt

 What information is recording by the technician during servicing?

o The repair disposition is manually written on the Sales Return Order and entered in the RMA window

 Do you use a laptop or any handheld devices during the execution of the service?

o Laptop, but the technician does not require it to be integrated with the ERP system.

 Do you track inventory by Technician or Service Truck?

o No

 Do you process any internal service on product that is being held in your own inventory?

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o Yes

 If product is repaired internally, then explain the process to ship the product back to the customer. Does the
customer pay for the service? Is there a default shipping method included?

o A Sales Order is created with the appropriate costs to send the part back to the Customer. At times
the Customer pays for the Service if not under Warranty

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17 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER ROLE

17.1 General

 Do you currently use a human resource (HR) application? If so, for what purposes?

o Yes, to record information about new hires and current employees

 Do you require just tracking of basic employee information like address, birth date, start date, termination
date, contact information, etc.?

o Yes

 Do you require tracking employee absences?

o Yes

 Do you require tracking of qualifications specific to each employee?

o Yes

 Do you require the HR application to assist in employee recruitment? (For example, track available positions,
applicants, requests for transfers, etc.)

o Yes. Applicants and requests for transfer

 Do you require the HR application to have an employee self service website?

o No

 Do you require the HR application to manage an employee review process?

o No

 Do any third party solutions need to be integrated with your HR application?

o No

 Are there any other critical requirements for your HR management process?

o No

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