P.O. BOX 130 I PATERSON, NEW JERSEY
I I
Figure 44. Every Package Shipped to the Retailer Contains a Card Like This
counter stock, the clerk removes the reorder card. At the end of each day, or perhaps weekly or biweekly, all reorder cards that have accumulated as the result of the period's sales are placed in a preaddressed en-velope and mailed.
or a substitution has been made. The order clerk can pull the obsolete card, and, if there is a substitution, include the new card for the item replacing the one which is obsolete.
Processing
the
Card The manufacturer's order department maintains acentral order-control desk where these unit reorder cards are checked for price changes and obsolescence as soon as they arrive in the mail. The control desk clerk has a supply of cards for any items on which a price change has occurred, and he can quickly substi-tute these for the original reorder cards. In the cases where an item has been obsoleted, one of two things has happened: either the item has been discontinued
He now sends all the cards-reorders, price changes and substitutions-to the machine accounting depart-ment, where they are merged with the customer master cards. Acknowledgment, invoice, packing slips, ship-ping notices, salesman's copy and accounting depart-ment copies are prepared in one transaction, and at high speed (Figure 45).
I
PACKING SLIPSHIPPING NOTICE OFFICE COpy
J SALESMAN'S COpy
I
ACKNOWLEDGMENTCABLE ADDRESS: HENFA MEMORIAL 7-8881
d-/-w'tidb: !aj.hionj. ifnC!.
MEMORIAL SQUARE D91354
PATERSON, NEW JERSEY
SOLD TO: DEPT. 31S ACCOUNT NO. 3674
WEISS & WILSON 488 MAGNOLIA BLVD.
~~W®~@~
SHIP TO: WICKTON, TENN.
SAME
MAIL REMITTANCES TO P.O. 140, PATERSON, N. J.
DATE I ORDER NO. SHIP VIA SALESMAN I TERMS
5116/6-
I
14732 TRUCK BARRE TT \290-10 NET-
30c<
v.: ~ Z It t. 1 ~ Z
TOTAL QUAN.STYLE 0
<5 PRICE AMOUNT TOTAL
v 48 50 52 24 26 28 30 32 DOZ. 12th.
~
4 9 CD 7 12 12 Q~ 9 12 12 12 12 12 7 Q) 9 $~
2 • 0 $ 209. 5g
4169 7 6 6 27 .00 13.50
sa33 2 6 6 18.00 9.00
S833 2 1 1 18.00 1.50
60 3 1 1 8.00 .66
6479 9 2 2 36.00 6.00
$ 246. 66;~
t
-COlOR CODES: 2 BLACK 6 WHITE The seller hereby warronts that the fibre content of the products covered by this invoice is clearly and
-3 TEAROSE 7 PINK truthfully discloted and marked on tags, labels. or bronds aHoched to the respective products, in accord·
4 BLUE 8 LIME once with the provisions of the trade pra.ctice rules for the rayon and sitk industry. All ckJims for dam·
-age. and shortages must be mode within 10 days from dote of receipt. No claims will be allowed at 5 BEIGE 9 CANARY time of settlement. lhis merchandise cannot be 1'eturned without our written consent.
Figure 45. One Processing Step in the Accounting Machine Produces Them All
Further, the cards are reproduced into sales and pro-duction cards, available for weekly reorder summary reports, and for numerous analyses and reports for all branches of top management.
Usually, when merchandise is received from vendors or from the manufacturing process, automatic reorder cards are placed in the packages. When these cards are returned by the retailer for reorder, necessary cus-tomer information is gang-punched from the master card.
Some :firms use a variation of this procedure. They do not include the reorder cards in their shelf stock, but have them accompany packing slips, prepunched with customer information. The reorder cards are then placed in the packages as the merchandise is prepared
for shipping. ,
Both the retailer and the manufacturer or distribu-tor supplying him :find it desirable to check the basic stock in the store at frequent intervals. About once a month, when the salesman in the territory calls, basic stock is re-evaluated, to consider any adjustments that should be made.
One can readily see that it would be difficult to ob-tain an accurate, comprehensive and timely analysis of stock movement and inventory with manually posted methods. CrOSS-indexing colors" materials, styles, sizes and various proportions would lead to hundreds of possible combinations. Obviously then, this automatic reorder and sales analysis method saves the retailer considerable time and effort, and makes for more effi-cient and pro:fitable operation.
Automat;c Reorder Control
by
Retail andCha;n StoresAutomatic reorder procedures, originally developed by the manufacturers, have been adopted by the retail
print punch price ticket is used rather than prepunched cards.
Department stores also use automatic replenishment procedures for basic stock of merchandise such as men's shirts, sheets and pillow cases, women's hosiery, etc. Both the shipping of merchandise from the ware-house and the reordering of merchandise are controlled automatically. All types of machines, including punched card and large data processing systems, are being used to process the reorder cards, depending on the indi-vidual retailer's requirements.
Advantages of the Automat;c Reorder System
Vendors, manufacturers, distributors and jobbers using this system have pointed out advantages both from their own point of view and from the retailer's position as well:
1. Retailers participating in the plan report substan-tial increases in sales. They attribute this to having the right quantities of the right stock on their shelves, fewer stock-outs, faster turnover, and rapid service from the mill or distributor.
2. Simpli:fied reordering saves time and work for re-tail store personnel.
3. Errors in orders and shipments are greatly re-duced - equally advantageous to manufacturer and retailer.
4. Changes in colors, styles and models can be han-dled quickly, with minimum confusion to the retailer.
5. It is a fundamental of the system that the retailer secures the assistance of the manufacturer in planning a new basic stock each season; national advertiSing is correlated with spot promotions, and better results are achieved.
6. Production planning and control, billing, shipping and accounts receivable are simpli:fied and stabilized for the manufacturer.
7. The reorder card serves as an effective advertis-ing medium. It can be designed to promote the manu-facturer's products, and it reaches the retail operator rather than to have infrequent peaks.
Service Parts Inventory Control
Most companies producing machines or mechanical devices have to provide spare parts for repairing and maintaining this equipment. Many supply these parts directly from the factory to the service outlets, either company-operated or under independent management.
Others supply a wholesale distributor, who in turn supplies the retail service outlets. In most cases these service activities are small, and simplicity in the parts inventory control system is highly desirable. In many cases, stocking and identifying parts is only a part-time job, and it does not justify an intricate system.
There are many plans used by manufacturers with the problem of supplying many branch outlets with a practical and readily accessible parts supply. The plan described here combines the most common basic fea-tures of the many variations. Shipments to implement this plan can be made directly from the factory, or from a wholesale distributor level.