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Supplier Resources in a Multi-Site Environment

In a multi-site environment, the site where a supplier resource is defined controls which suppliers are available for a particular purchase. The system uses the following rules to control the supplier resources available for a particular demand or P.O. line:

•	Only supplier resources for active, ordering suppliers are considered. A bidder-type supplier may be manually selected but is not defaulted by the system.

•	Only supplier resources for the demand’s type of purchase are considered. For example, if the demand is for a repair order, only repair order supplier resources are considered.

•	If at least one supplier resource exists for the resource at the demand’s site, only the supplier resources at the same site are considered. Supplier resources defined at other sites are not considered or available for the demand.

•	If no supplier resources exist at the demand’s site, the system reviews resources at sites higher up the site hierarchy (parent sites) until a site is located with a supplier resource. The supplier resources from this site are then available for this demand.

The following example will help to explain this process. The site hierarchy and supplier-resources in the illustration below are used in the examples.

As shown in the drawing, different sets of supplier resources have been defined at three of the sites. Suppliers S1 and S2 have supplier resources defined at the corporate level. The Eastern Division has one supplier resource from corporate supplier S1, and one from local supplier S3. Plant W2 in the Western Division has one supplier resource from corporate supplier S1, and one from a local supplier S4.

Here is how this information is used:

Site Where The Demand Is Placed (PO or WO):	System Selects Supplier Resources From This Site:	Supplier Resources That Are Available:
ABC Corporation	ABC Corporation	S1-R1, S2-R1
Eastern Division	Eastern Division	S1-R1, S3-R1
Plant E1	Eastern Division	S1-R1, S3-R1
Western Division	ABC Corporation	S1-R1, S2-R1
Plant W1	ABC Corporation	S1-R1, S2-R1
Plant W2	Plant W2	S1-R1, S4-R1

Preferred Supplier By Site and Purchase Type

You can select the preferred supplier for a supplier resource when entering the price information for the resource. Because of this, the preferred supplier for any resource can be specific to the site and purchase type. For example, your organization could have:

•	Different preferred suppliers for the same resource in different sites. This occurs most often when the sites are located in different geographical areas.

•	Different preferred suppliers for the same resource for different types of purchases. For example, one supplier could be identified as the preferred supplier for new purchases, while a second supplier is preferred for repairs.

•	Different types of suppliers defined at different levels of the hierarchy. For example, the suppliers for new purchases could be defined at the corporate level, while repair suppliers are defined locally.

Only regular prices can be designated to be used for a preferred supplier. Special prices cannot be marked as a resource’s preferred price.

The following graphic shows an example of a supplier resource structure in a multi-site environment.

To create supplier resources for different sites, see Creating a Supplier Resource.