Overview of Converting in cieTrade

cieTrade.net's Inventory module supports material processing through the  Converting Job by allowing you to select feedstock (input items), define production costs/expenses, and create outputs (finished goods). 

To begin a new  Converting Job, navigate to Inventory > Converting and click the New Converting Job button provided in the top right corner. This will generate a New Converting Job.

Start by completing the reference fields along the top of the Converting Job

The   Dept and Trade Type fields are used to track financial information for distinct divisions of companies/distinct financial centers related to the expenses created by the job.

Use the  Warehouse drop-down to indicate the location where the material processing is occurring.

The  Posting-Date populates automatically with today's date when the Converting Job is Posted (discussed later). This is a 'financial' date which represents when the expenses on the job are recognized and when the output items are created in your inventory.

The  Status drop-down is used to indicate whether the job is in Work or Posted status. A job that is in Work status is still in progress. 

Note that Input and Output items associated with a job in Work status will not be available to other users, jobs, allocations, and shipments.

Continue by entering details about the Job.

The  Machine drop-down is used to specify the processing equipment that is being used to complete this job.

Use the  Operator drop-down to select the user entering or performing this job. This will default to the user entering the job automatically but can be changed.

The  Job Date, Start,and End fields are all optional references that can be used to further describe the job.

A  Default Supplier must be selected in order to define the Supplier for the Converted or Output items.

The  Output UOM must be pre-defined for the job and must match all Output items on the job. 

A  Job Description can be entered to describe the event, circumstances, or process related to this processing job ("Processing PET on #1" Above).

The remainder of the Converting Job is broken down into three parts:

• An Expenses section allows for the recording of an expense or expenses to be allocated among the inventory items created; 
• The Input section identifies the specific inventory items being processed; and
• The Output section defines the specific inventory items that this job has created and that the expense(s) entered above will be allocated among.

Expenses

To add expenses to the Converting Job, click the Add Expense button provided in the Expenses section. 

Use the drop-down provided to select the  Vendor invoicing you for the expense. 

Enter the  Price and Price UOM (e.g. FLAT, per LBS, etc.) from your Vendor's invoice. If a per weight unit of measure is selected, the Price entered will be calculated off of the total quantity of your Input (discussed below).

Once a Vendor is selected, the Vendor's default  Expense Account will populate. If necessary, select the appropriate expense account from the drop-down.

Input

In order to process material through the Converting Job, Source Stock must be added to the Input section. This can be done by manually selecting individual items (Select Inventory), or by selecting a mass quantity of products from a specific warehouse (Select Bulk).To add Input items manually, click the Select Inventory button provided in the Input Section.

The  Pick Inventory page provides search options (shown above) for the application of source stock to the Converting Job.

Use the Go button to search using the selected filters.

Use the check boxes to the left of the inventory items to pick the source stock and then click the  Apply button in the top right corner of the page to add the selected items to the Converting Job.

Assuming you have already selected a warehouse, you can use the Select Input Inventory form to pull bulk products from that warehouse. In this example we are pulling "Bulk- PET Bottles" out of a warehouse called "East Yard". You can hit Apply if you wish to convert the entirety of the product, or enter an alternative amount in the Quantity field.

Output

The final step in processing material through the Converting Job is to create your  Output items.

To add Output items to the job, click the  Add Item button provided in the Output section.

Select the Product/Grade being produced from the drop-down menu. 

cieTrade.net has the flexibility to handle paper or plastics specifications, such as Meltflow Index. These specifications will appear on any documentation you later generate relating to this particular product (e.g. the Bill of Lading Short Form). The appropriate specification fields will appear at the bottom of the detail window based on the Packaging Type selected.

Use the  # field to the right of the Packaging drop-down menu to enter the number of units being produced. Enter the Gross and Tare of the material being received or simply enter the Gross weight to populate the Net Quantity field. The Location, Condition, Class, and Comments are optional fields, used to further describe the item.

Once the paper or plastics specifications have been entered, clicking the pencil icon to the right of the specification field, or clicking the  Save & New or Save Button, will pull a text version of the specifications entered into the specification field.

Once all the information has been entered, the status should be updated to Posted in order to create the output items entered and accrue the necessary payable's for your vendors. These payable's will be created directly in the AP Ledger and will be available for posting as soon as the Converting Job has been Posted.

If necessary, a Posted Converting Job can be reversed given the following criteria: It must have been posted within the current open period; the output items created must not have been sold out on a Posted Shipping Worksheet; and the associated payable's must not have been paid. To undo a job, simply click the Edit Job button in the top right corner and then change the status from Posted to WORK. Saving a previously Posted Converting Job in WORK status will remove the associated Expenses from the AP Ledger and remove the associated Output Items from your available inventory.

If you have additional questions, please contact the Support Team via email to  support@cietrade.net.