Priorities are used when planning on the basis of finite capacity. You determine the planning sequence by specifying a priority.

You should first register priorities on the Priorities form, and then assign them to a customer or a sales order, for example.

When scheduling operations using the Perform lead time planning process, you then select the priorities you have set in different locations. You can assign the following priorities:

Customer priority:	Production files are scheduled based on the priorities you have assigned to customers on the Customers form (in the Customers module).
Sales priority:	Production files are scheduled based on the priorities you have assigned to sales orders on the Specification tab of the Sales orders form (in the Sales module).
Shipping date:	The shipping date in the sales line (Sales module, Sales orders form, Lines button) for which the production file will be used, determines how the production files are scheduled.
Sales line status:	The status in the sales line (Sales module, Sales orders form, Lines button) for which the production file will be used, determines how the production files are scheduled.
Production end date:	Production files are scheduled based on their end date (production modules, Production files form, Planning tab).
Production priority:	Production files are scheduled based on the priority set in the production file (production modules, Production files form, Planning tab).
Production status:	Production files are scheduled based on the status set in the production file (production modules, Production files form, General tab).

Choosing ascending or descending priorities

For every priority, you can set an ascending or descending sorting order.

Scheduling order if Ascending	Scheduling order if Descending
Priority 1	Priority 3
Priority 2	Priority 2
Priority 3	Priority 1

Specifying multiple priorities

It is possible to specify multiple priorities, in order to achieve a sort within a sort. If the priorities specified do not result in an unambiguous order, scheduling will take place based on ascending production file codes, or, in other words, based on the scheduling principle First Come, First Served (FCFS).

Example 1

1. Customer priority, ascending
2. Shipping date in sales line, ascending
3. Production file status, descending

All production files with customer priority 1 are planned in order of the shipping dates specified in the sales lines for which the production file will be used. Where production files have the same customer priority and shipping date, the production file with the highest status will be scheduled first, followed by the production file with the next highest status. Production files without customer priority will be scheduled last, based on the shipping date specified in the sales line.

Example 2

1. Production file priority, ascending
2. Shipping date in sales line, ascending

All production files with production priority 1 are planned in order of the shipping dates specified in the sales lines for which the production file will be used. Production files without production file priority will be scheduled last, based on the shipping date specified in the sales line. You can assign the following priorities:

Customer priority:	Production files are scheduled based on the priorities you have assigned to customers on the Customers form (in the Customers module).
Sales priority:	Production files are scheduled based on the priorities you have assigned to sales orders on the Specification tab of the Sales orders form (in the Sales module).
Shipping date:	The shipping date in the sales line (Sales module, Sales orders form, Lines button) for which the production file will be used, determines how the production files are scheduled.
Sales line status:	The status in the sales line (Sales module, Sales orders form, Lines button) for which the production file will be used, determines how the production files are scheduled.
Production end date:	Production files are scheduled based on their end date (production modules, Production files form, Planning tab).
Production priority:	Production files are scheduled based on the priority set in the production file (production modules, Production files form, Planning tab).
Production status:	Production files are scheduled based on the status set in the production file (production modules, Production files form, General tab).

Choosing ascending or descending priorities

For every priority, you can set an ascending or descending sorting order.

Scheduling order if Ascending	Scheduling order if Descending
Priority 1	Priority 3
Priority 2	Priority 2
Priority 3	Priority 1

Specifying multiple priorities

It is possible to specify multiple priorities, in order to achieve a sort within a sort. If the priorities specified do not result in an unambiguous order, scheduling will take place based on ascending production file codes, or, in other words, based on the scheduling principle First Come, First Served (FCFS).

Example 1

1. Customer priority, ascending
2. Shipping date in sales line, ascending
3. Production file status, descending

All production files with customer priority 1 are planned in order of the shipping dates specified in the sales lines for which the production file will be used. Where production files have the same customer priority and shipping date, the production file with the highest status will be scheduled first, followed by the production file with the next highest status. Production files without customer priority will be scheduled last, based on the shipping date specified in the sales line.

Example 2

1. Production file priority, ascending
2. Shipping date in sales line, ascending

All production files with production priority 1 are planned in order of the shipping dates specified in the sales lines for which the production file will be used. Production files without production file priority will be scheduled last, based on the shipping date specified in the sales line.

In the offer stage, the scoring chance enables you to indicate the chance of you actually getting the order.

Multiple offers may refer to the same reference object. For example, you may have issued two offers to two different customers, that relate to the same project. If a scoring chance has been filled in on both offers, the Number of offers and As percentage fields on the Sales offers form will tell you:

• That two offers have been created for the relevant reference object
• The average score

Use this informational field to indicate how you received the sales offer or order: by phone, fax, mail, Internet, etcetera. You can use this field to group data.

The communication type can also be used to automate the communication with a contact by means of a script. To automate the communication, fill in the communication type in the contact settings, and select this contact on the purchase order or order confirmation. The standard script I0075 (Send purchase orders) or I0076 (Send order confirmation) is used for the automatic communication specified in the communication type. For example, a PDF is automatically created from a purchase order, and then added to an email addressed to your supplier's contact.

The value of this field determines the search path for the price. When a price customer has been specified, the price data will be retrieved via the search path determined by the customer concerned. The customer could, for example, have a sales contract, or belong to a group of customers that gets a discount (procurement consortium). In the case of a procurement consortium, you create the procurement consortium as a separate customer, and then enter specific price and discount arrangements and conditions. By referring to the procurement consortium (i.e. the price customer) in the sales order, the alternative conditions will be applied to the sales order.

The price customer is automatically copied from the Customers file. The price customer in the sales offer and sales order is the default price customer for sales lines.

A reference object could be an external project for which several customers are submitting a tender, and who all ask you to make an offer for parts to be used in that project. You will refer to this project in several sales offers. On the Sales offers and Sales orders forms, you can group information by reference object.

The Number of offers field indicates how many offers have been issued that all refer to the above-mentioned reference object.

If multiple scoring percentages have been entered for offers referring to the same reference object, the As percentage field shows the average scoring percentage for these offers.

When the Complete check box is selected, all underlying sales lines and production files will have a 'History' status type. The Complete date field shows the date on which the sales order or sales offer was confirmed as complete.

See also Confirm sales order/offer as complete.

Note: Once a sales order has been confirmed as complete, it is no longer possible to add any new sales order lines to it. Also, you cannot create any new production files that will be linked to the confirmed sales order.

This field shows the number of underlying sales lines by status type (Offer, Order, Actual costing or History). The information in this field is updated automatically based on the status of the sales lines.