Ordering
Once you have gone through the process of setting up Visual NF-One you're ready to place your first order. The options in the Ordering menu walk you through all the steps associated with placing your order.
The following options are available in Ordering:
Figure 3.1 Ordering Menu
Update Product Data
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Required
Required
Optional
Optional
Required |
This is the first step in placing an order, Update Product Data connects your computer, via a modem connection, to North Farm and retrieves the most current product list and pricing information. The files that are downloaded through this process are not included in the installation files, so it is critical that you do this initially and at the beginning of each order cycle.
A normal connection with North Farm will take just a short period of time, usually 2 - 4 minutes, to download the product data files.
Print Order Guides allows you to preview or print Order Guides for the members of your account. This is an optional tool for you to help manage your account.
Order Guides allow your members to review their purchase history and see the current prices, as well as whether the item is on sale for this order cycle. It also provides a space for the member to enter the quantity they would like to order and spaces to add additional items. In that respect, Order Guides can be used as an order sheet for your members.
If this is your first time using NF-One the data files used by this report will be empty. Once you have completed an entire order cycle the history files are built and you will be able to use this feature.
Enter Member Orders is the primary data entry screen. You will do most of your work in entering orders on this screen.
Clicking on Enter Member Orders displays the following information:
Figure 3.2 Enter Member Orders - Selecting a Member
You must first select which members' order you are going to enter. To select a member, click on the drop-down button at the end of the Select Member field.
After you have done that you should see a screen that looks pretty much like the one below:
Figure 3.3 Enter Member Orders - Entering an order
As you can see, there is quite a bit of information on this screen. It can be broken down into four major sections: Member Information, Product Information, Charges and Order Entry.
Member Information
This section contains information about the member whose order you are currently entering. The following is provided:
- Members' name
- Second Contact name
- Daytime and Evening phone numbers
Product Information
This section contains information about the item you are currently entering. The following is provided:
- Buyer's Notes - Notes maintained by our Buyers about pack size changes, vendor out-of-stocks
and other product related information.- Sale % - if the item is on sale, the discount percentage will be displayed.
- Min Order - this indicates the minimum quantity you must order.
- Unit Price, Case Unit and Case Price
Charges
This section contains the following information about your order.
- Product Subtotal - Product total for the current member order.
- Sales Tax - For the current member order.
- Surcharges - For the current member order (Does not include North Farm Equity).
- Order Total - For the current member order.
- Club Order Total - account's total for all members to show progress towards meeting minimums
or volume discount thresholds.Order Entry
This section is where you do the majority of your work. You enter the item number and quantity you want to order, whether it's cases or each quantities. The rest of the line contains information about the product.
| Note | Occasionally, you may encounter an item that says "Item not in catalog". The product data files are updated daily and contain the most current product offerings. So, as long as you chose Update Product Data before you began entering your members' orders, you have the most current information possible. If you encounter an item that is not found, North Farm Cooperative is not currently offering that product. If you have any questions about a specific item, please contact Member Services. |
To enter an order:
- Type in the item #.
- Press Enter once to order cases or Enter twice to order each quantities.
- Type in the quantity and press Enter again.
- Repeat for each item.
To delete an item from an order simply change the quantity to zero(0). When you save the order, the item will fall off the order.
To save the order, click on Save.
To exit the order without saving the changes, click on Clear.
| NOT ACTIVE | To print the order, click
on Print.
To enter the rest of your members' orders, click on Select Member and enter the next member's order. Repeat until all your members' orders have been entered. When you have finished, click on Exit to return to the Visual NF-One desktop. |
This option allows you to preview or print a report detailing order recommendations. This report displays items ordered that have not met the minimum order quantities, as well as information about better pricing if you order more of a certain item.
It is important that before you post your order that nothing is appearing as not having met the minimum order quantities. These items will not be ordered.
This option allows you to enter an item number and see which of your members have ordered it. It is a quick method to resolve issues detailed in the Order Recommendations report.
Figure 3.4 Adjust Order by Item
To make changes, type the item number in the Select Item field and press Enter. You will see all the members who ordered this product and can make changes to the quantities.
You can make adjustments to the quantity order to meet minimum order quantities or, by changing the quantity to zero, delete the item from a member's order.
Member Roster and Order Status
Member Roster and Order Status allows you to preview or print a report of all your members, their phone number (if you entered one for the member in the Member's Setup option in Setup) and their order total. If they did not place an order this cycle it will not show a total. Instead, you will see "No Order" for this member.
This option allows you to preview or print your order in a compiled format.
This option allows you to preview or print your individual members' pre-delivery invoice. This report shows you prices based on the product files that you download from North Farm. This report only approximates what your members will owe. It does not include North Farm equity nor does it include any out-of-stock information.
This is the last step in placing an order. Post Order to North Farm connects your computer, via a modem connection, to North Farm and uploads your order to North Farm. This option should be selected after you have entered all your members' orders, checked them for any errors or shortages on minimum quantities (using the Order Recommendations report) and are ready to send the order to North Farm.
The following screen will appear when you select this option.
Figure 3.5 Send Order to North Farm
Click on the Yes button to send the order to North Farm.
If you don't select this option, your order will not be sent to North Farm. Therefore, if you intend to place an order with North Farm via Visual NF-One, you must select this option.
After sending your order you should receive this message.
