Substruct Knowledge Base

Receiving an order involves several steps.

• First you must run the Invoice Wizard and download you invoice files from Ace Hardware’s computer system.
• Then you must send the invoice file you wish to receive against to the Receiving Client.
• The Receiving Client is then used to check in the order.
• After the order is checked in, you must download the data back on to the server.
• At this point you can look over the invoice. Make any necessary corrections or adjustments to the invoice.
• Then you update the completed invoice into Cougar Mountain, updating on-hand counts and adding information to the history file.
• The invoice is then archived for future reference.
• Every time you download an invoice, you also download nightly product updates called Hotsheets. To update your system with these updates you need to print new product labels with new prices, put those labels up through out your store, and then update the new data into Cougar Mountain.

For more information on each of these steps, click one of the links bellow.

• Using the Invoice Manager Client
• Using the Receiving Client
• Hotsheets

The Order Editor has many useful features. After you have created a section either manually, with a handheld device, or with Computer Assisted Ordering, you can open your section with the Order Editor. With the Editor you can: double check your order and compare your data to data in your Cougar Mountain database, check for duplicates and errors, change retail prices, print labels, generate reports, and add items your forgot. You can even compare one of your orders against a Computer Assisted Order!

The Four Views of the Order Editor

The Order Editor has four different views you can use to view your data. Each view is detailed below.

• Order
  This is the default view, and its the main screen that you will do most of you editing from. It will display all valid data that you have collected. When you are finished with an order, the stock numbers from this view will be compiled into your final order.
• Duplicates
  This view will display any duplicate records that exist. Once you delete one of the duplicates of an item, and only one line for that item remains, the items is no longer considered a duplicate. If you refresh the view by clicking a different view and clicking back to “Duplicates” the item will be gone.

  Important Note: Make sure that you delete any duplicates before you finished your order.

  Tip: The Duplicates view is very useful when you are viewing multiple sections at a time. This will allow you to cross-reference sections and clear up any duplicates that occur.

• Outs
  The “Outs” view is designed to show all invalid stock numbers: items that were added to your Order but were not in Cougar Mountain. These “outs” are often typos, which can easily be corrected by enter your cursor into the Stock field and typing the correct number. They are also often items that aren’t in the Cougar Mountain database and need to be added.

  Note: If you want to order an item that is not in your system, your should order in on Acenet instead of using Subtruct Utilities. Then, when the item comes in with the order, all the correct information will get loaded into the system. This prevents user error and saves time.

  Tip: The Search feature, described below, is very useful for dealing with “Outs”.

• Labels
  This view will show you all of the items that have were designated as needed a label on a handheld device. You can add items in this view, but keep in mind that the Order Editor will not only print a label for the item, but it will also add the item to your order. To print labels for items that you do not want to reorder, use the Label Maker.

  Note: Unlike the Cycle Counts Editor, the “Label” field is hidden to save space.

The Order Editor Table

The Order Editor Table is made up of an assortment of fields displaying data about the items being counting. Each field is described below.

• Stock
  The stock number of the current item. Under the Outs view, this field can be edited. Once you leave the field, the new corrected field will be looked up, and if it is found, the record will be added to the main section.
• Description
  The description of the item. If the item is an “Out”, the field will display “INVALID STOCK NUMBER”.
• Order Desc.
  The description given to the Order Section that the record is a part of. This field is useful when view more than one section at a time.
• OM
  The order multiply. This is the “Unit Package” from Cougar Mountain. The quatity you order must be devisable by the OM - for example, if the OM is “10″, you cannot or 2 or 15. Instead you must order 10, 20, etc.
• RU
  Retail Units. This field is the regular number of selling units. Typically, the RU is the same as the OM, but when it is different the OM is the amount you order and the RU is the amount you sell. For example: Item # 31981 is a box of Wire Nuts. You order them by the box (100 in a box), but sell them as singles ($.13 a piece).
• Ship
  Ship Quantity. This is a very important fields, as it contains the exact quantity that you are ording from Ace. This field is blue to help remind you of it’s importance. If you type in a number that is not devisable by the OM, the value in this field will be rounded according to the rounding method you set in Ordering Options. (Click here for more info on Ordering Options.)
• Min
  The minimum on-hand value. This number is auto-generated by Inventory Control and is the recommend minimum quantity of stock you should have on hand based on your sales history. When using computer assisted ordering, an item will be reordered when the on-hand is lower that the min.
• OH
  The current on-hand quantity.
• HHQty
  Handheld Quanity. This field is the number counted before any rounding.
• Retail
  The current retail price of the item in Cougar Mountain.
• Cost
  The last cost that the item was received at.
• Ext Cost
  The last cost mutlipied by the quantity being ordered
• Margin
  Margin (or profit margin) is a measure of profitability expressed as a percentage. It’s calculated as net income / revenue = profit margin.
• Class
  The 3-digit Ace merchandise class. In Cougar Mountain, this field is called Product Type.
• Dis
  The discontinued code. This field will be blank unless the item is discontinued, in which case a discontinued code will appear. While items with a discontinued code can be reorder, they will never be added automatically with Computer Assisted Ordering, and if the item was discontinued by Ace, the product will probably not come in.
• Label
  The Print Label check box. When printing labels (by pressing the Print button when in the Labels view), all items that have this box checked will have a label printed.

  Note: Unlike the Cycle Counts Editor, in the Order editor the “Label” field is hidden to save space.

The History Box

This box contains the description, quantity, and date of the most recent inventory history transaction (that is not from Point of Sale). This box is used when problem solving inventory problems. Here is an eample: You count an item and you determine you only have 1 on the hook. The computer says you have 7 on hand. You look at the history line and see that you received 6 yesterday. The history line helped you discover that you have 6 more, but they were stocked in the wrong location.

Deleting Records from the Editor Table

To delete a record from a Order section, simply click the “X” button to the left of the record you wish to delete.

Using the Search Feature

The Order Module has the ability to keep track of the order in which records are added to a Order section, allowing you to track down what items were entered before and after any given item in the section. This is useful for locating the origin of invalid or incorrect records on the floor by determining what products were entered before and after the problematic record.

To use the Search feature, simply click the Magnifying Glass button to the left of the record you wish to perform the search on. A “Search Results” window will appear. The middle line will display the target record’s stock number and description. The top line displays the record input before the target record, while the bottom line displays the record input after the target record. If the target record was the first or last item added to the section, then “Beginning of File” or “End of File” will be displayed, respectfully.

Create a Report from Search Results

When you are viewing the results of a Search, click Add to Report to add the results a report queue. Results will continue to add to the this report queue until you press the Delete Search button. When you are ready to print the report, click the Print button in the lower right hand corner of the window. From the Print dialog box, select Search Report and click Print.

Note: The print button will not bring up the Print Dialog Box when you are on the “Labels” view.

Other Reports Available in the Order Editor

Not including the Search Report, there is one other report you can run while using the Order Editor: Detail. To print this report, click the Print button in the lower right hand corner of the window. From the Print dialog box, select “Detail” from the left and then click Print.

Note: The print button will not bring up the Print Dialog Box when you are on the “Labels” view.

• Detail
  The Detail Report will display all of the records show in the current view. This report is useful for archiving and order or section.

Adding New Records to a Section in the Editor

To add an item to a section in the Order Editor, use the Add New Item section in the bottom left hand corner of the window. Enter the stock number of the item, select the section you wish to add it to (if you are viewing multiple sections at once), and click the Add button. The Editor will look up the item in your Cougar Mountain database. If the item is found it will be added to the section with a ship quantity equal to the ship pack size. To order more that the minimum amount, change the “Ship” quantity. If the item is not in the Cougar Mountain database you will be informed that the number was invalid.

Printing Labels with the Order Program

When you are counting records with a handheld device, you have the option to print a label. Simply check the “Label” box (on the handheld device) and then when view the “Labels” view of the Order Editor, press the “Print” button in the bottom right hand corner of the window. A “Select Print Position…” window will appear. Select where on the blank sheet of labels you would like to start printing (this is useful for reusing partially used sheets). Then press the “Print” button to print the labels, or the “Preview” button to view them.

Note: Unlike the Cycle Counts Editor, in the Order editor the “Label” field is hidden to save space. If you want to add an item to your order AND print a label for the item, add the item while under the “Label” view.

Computer Assisted Ordering (or CAO) is a very useful and productive way to automatically generate orders based on your sales history compared to you current on hand quantities. With CAO you can generate extremely accurate orders in a very short amount of time. According to Ace Hardware Corp., stores that use CAO have larger sales increases with less inventory on hand. Here are some advantages to using Computer Assisted Ordering:

• Shorter ordering times: one employee can generate an average order in under two hours, compare to several employees one or more days with manual ordering.
• More efficient orders: by ordering based on sale, you prevent ordering to much or to little.

A Computer Assisted Order is generated by taking your current on hand quantities and comparing them to a Min (minimum) value that gets set by Inventory Control. When generating the order, the computer will take into account the rounding methods that have been set in the ordering options, and it won’t order any items that have a Discontinued code. If the vendor code for the order is I1 (Ace), then the computer will also exclude any products that have a merchandise class on the “Exclude” list in Order Options.

Creating a Computer Assisted Order

To generate a Computer Assisted Order, click “Add Computer” button in Order Assembly. If the order you are working on has an IN code of “I1″ (Ace), then the Computer Assisted Order Wizard will open. If you are creating an order for any other IN code, the computer will automatically generate an order.

The Computer Assisted Order Wizard for Ace Orders

Whenever you generate a Computer Assisted Order for and Ace order, the Computer Assisted Order Wizard will open and guiding you though generating the order. CAO has the ability to order Ace items base on department number (using each items merchandise class number). This is very useful for easing into the CAO process: you can start be only ordering one department at a time.

• When you open the Wizard, follow the on screen instructions.
• After clicking “Next >”, you will be asked to check the merchandise class ranges that you wish to generate an order for. Click “Next >” when you are ready to continue.
• The wizard will show you a list of the classes it will order. Click “Finished” to generate the section.
• After the order section has been generated, it will appear in Order Assembly where it can be edited, added to, deleted, and compared just like a manual or handheld order.

For more information on you Inventory Control with Computer Assisted Ordering, click the link below.

• Using Inventory Control

With Subtruct Mobile, you can use a wireless handheld device to collect data for your orders. To start adding data to an order, follow the steps below.

Creating a New Section

• Open the Substruct Mobile web application by using your mobile device’s web browser to navigate to the address listed in your preferences. For more information on this address, click here.
• Click on the Ordering button.
• Highlight the pending order you want to add records to and click Edit.
  Note: You must first create an order using Substruct Utilities on your main computer before you can use Substruct Mobile to add records.

• The Section List will appear. Click Add New to create a new section.
• Input a name for the section, such as “Tool Order” or “Plumbing”, and click OK

Adding Records to an Exisiting Section

• Hightlight the section you wish to add to from the Order Section List.
• Click Edit.
• Input the stock number or UPC code into the Stock field and click Scan.

  Note: If you use a handheld with a built-in scanner, the Scan will get clicked automatically when you scan an item.

• The following information about the item you are ordering will be displayed:
  • Description
    A description of the item.
  • Stock
    The stock number of the item.
  • His
    The date, quantity, and description of the most recent inventory history transaction (that is not from Point of Sale). This field is used when problem solving inventory problems. Here is an eample: You count an item and you determine you only have 1 on the hook. The computer says you have 7 on hand. You look at the history line and see that you received 6 yesterday. The history line helped you discover that you have 6 more, but they were stocked in the wrong location.
  • Retail
    The current retail price of the item.
  • Cost
    The most recent cost of the item.
  • OH
    The current on hand count of the item.
  • Min
    The minimum on hand quanitity of the item as determined by Inventory Control.
  • Dis
    The Discontinued Code of the item. This field will be blank if the item is not discontinued.
  • OM
    The Order Multply of the item.
  • RU
    The number of Retail Units receive when ordering one Order Mutilpy of the item/
  • MC
    The Ace 3-digit Merchandise Class number of the item.
• In addition to the information above, the following things appear on this screen.
  • Camera Button
    Pressing this button will display a .jpg image of the item. Before you can use this feature, you must first have images linked to you stock items in Cougar Mountain and you must build an image file for Substruct Mobile.
  • Qty Field
    This field is where you input your desired order quantity. If this number is not devisable by the ship pack size, the Order module will round it up or down, depending on your settings.
  • Print Label Checkbox
    If you want to flag the item and print a label for it later, check this box.
  • Add Button
    When you are finished inputing a order quantity into the Qty, click this button to move to a new record. This button will read “Update” if you are editing an item instead of adding a new item.
  • Look at Order Button (Magnifying Glass)
    Pressing this button will take to a screen overlooking all of the records in the section.
  • Navigation Buttons
    Use these buttons to navigate between records. They are: First, Previous, Next, Last, and New. New will add a new record and abort any changes to the record you are currently editing.

Once you are finished inputing records to a section, you can access it like a Manual Order or Computer Assisted Order in the Order module of Substruct Utilities.

With a Palm OS based handheld, you can gather data for the Order module from anywhere in your store. Before you can use your Palm device, you must make sure it meets all of the following requirements: it must have DDH Software’s HanDBase 3 installed, it must have the Substruct Order database installed in HanDBase, and it must have an infrared (IrDA) port in order to beam orders to your computer. For assistance meeting these requirements, contact technical support.

Collecting Data for an Order on a Palm OS Device

HanDBase 3 is a database program designed for use with Palm OS devices. Inside the program you will find the three main Substruct databases: Order, Labels, and Counts. The following steps will walk you through opening HanDBase 3 and using the Order database to gather data.

Opening HanDBase 3

• Click the Home icon on the screen of you handheld.
• From the top right-hand corner of the screen, select All from the categories list.
• Find and click on HanDBase 3 (it looks like a picture of a thumb). This open the program.

Opening the Order Database

Once you are in HanDBase 3, you need to get to the main screen of the Order database. This screen has Order written on a tab in the top left hand corner of the screen. If you are not at this screen, us the steps below to get there. Otherwise, see the Entering Records into the Order Database section below to continue.

• If you see Edit Record or New Record instead of Order, click the OK button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. You should now be at the main screen of the Order database.
• If you see a different database name, such as Counts or Labels, then you are in a different database altogether. See the Getting to the Home Screen of Handbase 3 section bellow. Once you are at the Home screen of HanDBase, highlight Order and click Open.

Once you have the Order database open, see the Entering Records into the Order Database section below.

Getting to the Home Screen of HanDBase 3

Use the Home screen of HanDBase 3 to open the Order database (if it is not already open).

• If you are already at the home screen of HanDBase, you will see a list of all of the installed databases (Order, Labels, etc.) If you do not see this list then follow the steps below to get there.

  1. If the top left-hand corner of the screen says Edit Record or New Record then click OK. You should now be viewing all of the records contained in the current database. See number two.

  2. If you are at the main screen of a database you will see the name of that database in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Click the Home button (this button is different that the Home button on the input pad. This button says the word “Home” under it.) You should now be at the HanDBase home screen (it should say “HanDBase” in the top left-hand corner). From here you can open the database you wish to use.

Entering Records into the Order Database

Once you are in the Order database, you can begin adding records.

• Click New to create a new record.
• Enter or scan the stock or UPC number into the Stock field.
• Enter the quantity you wish to order into the Qty field.

  Note: If you know you want to order only one order multiple of an item, and you have your Order module settings set to round ship quantities up to the nearest ship pack, you can skip this step and leave the ship pack at “0″. This saves time, enabling you to order a whole section just by scanning items and then hitting New.

• If the item needs a new label, you can flag it using the Label check box. Then, once you have loaded the data into your computer, you can print out all the labels at once.
• Click OK to save the record, or click New to save and create a new record.

Once you are finished collecting data and you want to load it into Substruct Utilities for reviewing, editing, and comparing, see the Beaming a Handheld Order Database section below.

Deleting One Record from a Database

• From main Order screen, select the record you wish to delete.
• Click on the Edit Record tab to bring up the menu bar.
• From the Record menu, select Delete Record.
• When asked, “Are you sure you want to delete this record?” click Yes.

Deleting All Records from a Database

When you are ready to start a new order, you must first delete all of your old records from the database.

• From main Order screen, click on the Order tab to bring up the menu bar.
• From the Actions menu, select Delete Records.
• When asked, “Delete All Records _Within_ Filter ranges or _Outside_ of Filter range?” click Within.

Important Note: Keep in mind that deleting all records is much different than deleting the entire Order database - deleting all the records happens frequently, but deleting the database will require you to restore your handheld from backup!

Beaming a Handheld Order Database

Once you have finished collecting data, you need to transfer the Order database from the handheld to the computer you are compiling your order on. This is done by beaming the database using two infrared “eyes”: one located on the top or side of your handheld device and another plugged into a USB or serial port on your computer. Follow the steps below to beam your Order database.

• On your handheld device, go to the Home screen. “HanDBase” should be in the top left-hand corner.
• Line up the infrared eye of your handheld with the infrared eye plugged into your computer. Keep the two 6 to 8 inches apart.
• Wait for the screen on your handheld to say “Waiting for Sender…” This means that a wireless connection has been established.
• Click Cancel. (You want to send a file, not receive one.)
• Highlight Order from the list of databases.
• Click Beam.
• Click IR.
• Look at your computer screen. There should be a window asking, “[Your handheld name] would like to send the following file to your computer through a wireless link. File: Order.hbp. Do you want to accept this file?” Click Yes.
• The database will now be transferred. For more information on where this file will get transferred to, click here.
  

  Loading a Handheld Database into Substruct Utilities

  After you have beamed your Order database to your computer, the database needs to be loaded into the Order module of Substruct Utilities.

  • Open the Substruct Utilities Order module.
  • From the list of orders, select the order you wish to add the handheld section to.
  • Click the Add Handheld button.
  • A window asking you to name the order section will appear. Enter a name for the section, such as “Plumbing” or “Joe’s Order”, and click OK.
  • After the records finishing loading, a window will appear telling you how many records were added. The order section will then appear in Order Assembly where it can be viewed, edited, compared, and compiled into you final order.
    

You can add new sections to Order Assembly by using the Add Manual button. This will bring up a window asking you to name the section. Type in a name, such as “Joe’s Order”, or “Plumbing Wall”, and click OK.

Once you have named and created the new section, you can begin adding items to it. Type the stock number into the Stock field, and the quantity that you wish to order into the Quantity field.

Once you have finished typing in your order, click Save and the records will be generated into a Order section that you can open with the Order Editor. You can then edit and add to the order, double check for outs and duplicates, print reports and labels, and finally combine it with other sections to create your final order.

After you have created a new order with the Create New Order Wizard, you can begin adding records to with Order Assembly. To open an order in Order Assembly, highlight the order and press the Open Order button. The Order Assembly window will open.

The Order Assembly Window

Order Assembly allows you to create sections of you order using several different methods. You can then view one of more of these sections at a time using the Order Editor. The Editor is great for double checking quantities, costs, and totals, as well as checking for duplicates and outs.

Adding Sections to Order Assembly

There are four ways to gather and add data to a new section to Order Assembly. Click on one of the links below for more information.

• Adding a Manual Order
• Adding a Handheld Order
• Adding a Wireless Order
• Generating a Computer Assited Order

Using the Order Editor

To edit the contents of one or more of the sections, highlight the section(s) you want to edit and click Edit Selection(s). This will open the Order Editor. For more information on the Order Editor, click the link below.

• Using the Order Editor

Note: To highlight a section, just click it in the list. You can highlight multiple sections this way. To un-highlight a section, just click it again.

Deleting Sections from Order Assembly

To delete one or more of the sections, highlight the section(s) you want to edit and click Delete Selection(s).

Note: To highlight a section, just click it in the list. You can highlight multiple sections this way. To un-highlight a section, just click it again.

The ordering process begins with creating an order database for all of you order records to be stored in. The New Order Wizard will help you through this process.

To create a new order, press the New Order Wizard button located in the top right hand corner of the main Order window. The wizard will appear. Click “Next >” to continue.

The wizard will display a list of all of the Inventory (IN) Codes and their descriptions from the Inventory module of Cougar Mountain. Choose “Ace” (IN code “I1″) as your vendor, and click “Next >” to continue.
See below for more info on IN codes.

Finishing the New Order Wizard

After you have selected a vendor, the wizard is ready to be completed. Click “Finished” to create the new order and close the wizard. You are now ready to start ordering using Order Assembly.

Inventory Codes

IN codes are codes setup in Cougar Mountain that determine how items in inventory are dealt with. This includes: valuation methods (FIFO, Weighted Average, etc.), tax code assignments, and GL accounts (for use if GL Integration is ON).

Typically these codes are assigned to different vendors and tax settings, but when using Substruct Utilities with Cougar Mountain, code “I1” (uppercase “i”, number “one”) is always the Ace Hardware Corp. inventory code: every items that comes from an Ace warehouse has an IN code of “I1″.

The Ordering module is for creating and sending electronic orders to Ace. It has many different methods for creating an order: you can create orders by typing them in manually, using a handheld device with a built-in scanner, or you can use the auto-replenishment feature and create a Computer Assisted order. Ordering also has the ability to combine any of these methods, allowing you to generate multiple parts of an order at the same time.

Using the Main Ordering Window

The main Ordering window is used for the following tasks:

• Creating orders
• Opening orders in Order Assembly (to add records, edit records, etc.)
• Deleting orders
• Sending orders to Ace
• Changing Computer Assisted Ordering settings

Creating an Order Using the New Order Wizard

For information on creating orders using the New Order Wizard, click here.

Using Order Assembly to Compile an Order

For information on adding to and compiling orders using Order Assembly, click here.

Deleting an Order

To delete an order, highlight the order you wish to delete and then press the Delete Order button.

Sending an Order to Ace

Once you have finished adding items to your order you need to electronically transmit it to Ace’s computer system for processing.

• Highlight the order you wish to send.
• Click the Save and Send Order button.
• A dialog box will appear telling you the approximate total cost of the order and the total number of lines on the order. Double-check these numbers, and click Export to continue.
• At this point several things will happen.
• A data file containing your order with be created in your Completed Orders folder - if you were to generate an order on 12/7/2004, this file would look something like “ACE120704″.

  For more information on specifying where your Completed Orders folder is, click here.

• ProComm Plus will open and run a script for transmitting orders. The script will use your modem to automatically connect to Ace’s computer system. It will then prompt you for the location of the order file.
• Substruct Utilities will display a dialog box asking if the order was successfully sent to Ace.
• You should now switch from Substruct Utilities to ProComm Plus (using either the Windows Task Bar or [Alt + Tab]).
• ProComm Plus should have a file browsing window open. Use it to locate your Completed Orders folder and then double-click the order file you wish to send.
• The order file will transmit to Ace. Once the transfer has finished, ProComm Plus will give you a conformation code. Write this code down and then close ProComm Plus.
• Switch back to Substruct Utilities. There should be a dialog box asking if the order was sent correctly. Clicking “Yes” will change the order from “Pending…” status to “Completed” status, and it will no longer be editable.

Note: In order to send an order electronically, Symantec ProComm Plus must be installed and configured on your computer. More information on setting up Substruct Utilities to work with ProComm Plus can be found here.

Ordering Settings

Ordering Settings contains settings for Computer Assisted Ordering and ship pack rounding. To access the Ordering Settings menu, click Options > Settings… in the top left hand corner of the Order window.

For more information on Computer Assisted Ordering, click here.

Ace Merchandise Class Exclusions

You can tell the computer not to order certain Ace merchandise class groups be entering them into this box. For example, you may order candy for your checkout line from a 3rd party vendor, but some of their SKUs are in Ace’s database. By entering merchandise class number “927″ into this box, candy will no longer be automatically reordered from Ace.

Ship Quantity Rounding

When using Ordering, you can only order in multiples of ship packs. When you type in a order quantity (or from a handheld device) that is not a multiple of the ship pack, the quantity must be rounded. This is where you defined the rounding, whether it be “Always Round Up”, “Always Round Down”, or “Round to Nearest Ship Pack”.

There is also a checkbox for rounding quantities less that one ship pack to one ship pack. This is useful for when you order 1 of an item, but the ship pack was greater than one: check this box if you wan the system to round it up even if you choose “round down” above.

The Report Settings window is used to set many of the preferences needed to generate various reports.

Non-Inventory Tab

From the list box, check the items you want to show up in the Non-Inventory Report. Some of the codes may be used as an Alternate Tender or Paid Out code and you man not want to see them on this report.

For more information on the Non-Inventory Report, click this link:

• Non-Inventory Report

Alt Tender Tab

Specify which alternate tender code you use for Store Use and for Policy A. Those codes will now show up on the correct report.

For more information on the Alternate Tender Report, click this link:

• Alternate Tender Report

Zip Code History Tab

Specify which code your cashiers use to track Zip code history, if any.

For more information on the Zip Code History Report, click this link:

• Zip Code History Report