Purchase Order Database

[Scoop]

I'm trying to create a basic database for generating Purchase Orders.
I found the following post (among others) that recommends using
Northwind and changing "Customers" to "Vendors" to reverse Sales Orders
to Purchase Orders:

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...read/thread/9bf294a11fa39c41/6c54c48eb4396ed4

I have a few questions:

If I do as is suggested in the thread, each Purchase Order would have a
unique Vendor (but possibly multiple items from that vendor). Is this
typical or do most companies allow for ordering from Multiple Vendors
on a single PO?

More relevant to the suggestion/Northwind, doesn't the Suppliers ->
Products part of the structure already contain information you would
use for Purchase Orders? In other words, why change the "Customers"
table to "Vendors" as opposed to simply using the "Suppliers"?

 

[Larry Daugherty]

I'd be surprised if a simplistic change got you all the way to where
you want to go.

My experience is that a PO is on a single vendor. It could be a
vendor who handles merchandise from many manufacturers but you are
dealing with that one vendor.

Questions like that are really best answered by your customer, who in
this case is probably your company.

Before you get into trying to provide a solution you should know
extremely well what is the Problem you are being asked to solve and
what does the ideal solution (Product Specification) you are trying to
create look like?.

Only when you know the above should you try to evaluate things for
suitability or invest your time trying to modify some other
application.

HTH

 

[Scoop]

Larry,

You raise good points. I am essentially dealing with a clean slate.
That is, the company doesn't have a Purchasing Policy, much less a
process for issuing PO's. I am currently helping to develop these.
That said, it really is (or can be) basic...the company is quite small.

It sounds to me like it may be typical (not necessarily standard) to
issue a single PO per Vendor. Is this consistent with most peoples
experiences?

Do most companies use Requisitions that preceed the issuance of a PO?
If so, do these usually include multiple Vendors, thus resulting in
multiple PO's per Requisition?

 

[Larry Daugherty]

That's a business, not Access, issue.

 

[William Hindman]

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC010185481033.aspx?CategoryID=CT011366681033

....a simpler purchase orders template ...rather than trying to rework
Northwind ...take a look at this ...not what most developers would write but
probably a good base for your situation and level.

William Hindman

 

[Larry Daugherty]

Scoop,

The answers should come from your own management. If they won't help
then pick up the phone and call at least 3 vendors with whom you
expect to do business. What are their expectations or requirements?
It may be that some require both requisition and PO and that others
only require one or the other (to me it would seem that they're
equivalent and that a document titled one thing might serve as the
other). Find out from people in your same line of business. They
will probably be helpful.

Don't spend any time at all trying to find or design solutions until
you know what problems and issues you have to solve.

You are posting your questions into a *technical* newsgroup. You need
highly relevant and specific *business* information linked to your
business and/or location. Once you have that, look for solutions.

HTH