Buyer administrators can configure one or many reference number rules so that these rules can generate a reference number to be applied to the supplier fields. The method of assigning the reference rules uses a template name for the reference number rule created.
For new suppliers created, the reference number function allows you to specify the format of a reference that will be automatically generated by Tradex and can then be used to uniquely identify the supplier either in Tradex or in an external system such as a financial accounting system. This format has been designed to be used with the notification routine or rules that monitor the newly approved suppliers and then export the details to a third-party application.
The following is the workflow for generating a reference number:
· The supplier (or buyer on their behalf) updates or edits values in the system.
· A notification rule is run based on the changed supplier values (these fields or values are defined in the Trigger tab in Notifications. For more information, see Configuring the Notifications.
· If the action script in the notification rule refers to a reference number generator, the system generates the reference number for the supplier. The action script refers to the reference number generator by its name.
To configure the reference numbers, perform the following steps:
1. Click Supplier Management Configuration > Reference numbers from the Administration tab.
The Reference numbers - list page is displayed.
2. Click New at the top right portion of the page to create a new reference number.
The Reference numbers - Create page is displayed.
3. Enter the following details in the Reference numbers - Create page displayed.
· Name: Enter a name for the reference number.
· Description: Enter a description for what the reference number is for.
· Collection: Select the section for which you want to create the reference number from the drop-down list.
· Tab: Select the question type corresponding to the section selected in previous step.
· Field: Select the relevant field or question from the drop-down list.
4. Click the following buttons to define the sequence in which the reference number is generated:
· Question: Click this button to add the selected question into the Reference box. For example, $Record{TP}.{MAIN_ID}.
· Allowable: This function removes characters that are not allowed from the field when generating the reference number. For example if the supplier name is selected to form part of the reference number, this function can remove spaces, commas and other punctuation marks. Click this button to add the allowed text characters in the reference number generated. For example, A-Za-z0-9.
· Substring: This function defines a maximum number of characters to be used when generating the reference number. For example if the supplier name is selected to form part of the reference. this function can select the first few characters. Click this button to specify a certain number of characters to use, For example, $Substring{$Record{TP}.{NAME}, 1, 3} to specify 3 characters starting with the first character.
· Sequence: Click this button to define the sequence. For example,${Sequence((4)}. The number represents the size of the sequential number. For example, 0001.
· Free text: You can enter free text directly into the reference number field to add a fixed element to any part of the reference. For example, C at the start of the reference number.
5. Click Save to generate the reference number.
Note: When buyer administrators set up the notification rules and define the actions in the Actions tab, the appropriate reference number template will be selected from the configured list.
Consider that you have configured a reference number format as in the following example:
$Substring{$Allowable{$Record{TP}.{MAIN_ID}, A-Za-z0-9}, 1, 3}$Sequence{4}
When the notification rule is run based on a trigger and it refers to a reference number generator, the system calculates the values in the following sequence:
Calculate the value for {$Record{TP}.{MAIN_ID}.
Pass this value to the {$Allowable function - Allowable characters are A-Z or a-z, or 0-9.
Pass this value to the $Substring function - Acceptable characters are 1 and 3.
Use the number of digits defined in $Sequence{4} to make it unique. For example, if the reference number generated is 00RefName0002, the value 0002 is the sequence.