As we've outlined in previous posts, there are 2 or 3 big changes coming in Avanti 5. In addition to these there are a number of significant new features which have been much requested. Right at the top of this list is Back-To-Back Ordering - the ability to process purchase orders back-to-back with sales orders to ensure a simple managed process for Just-In-Time fulfilment of non-stocked items.

Back-To-Back ordering fits in within the existing sales, stock and purchasing sections in the software. There's no elaborate setup, you simply tell the software which items are to be back-to-back ordered. When a sales order is raised for one of these items, the system will record it as a back-to-back order and it can then be assigned to a new or exising purchase order.

Sales orders which are recorded as Back-To-Back orders are included in a new section in the Stock Order report so you can see the unassigned back-to-back sales orders. You can then assign them within the report to new or existing purchase orders. You can also set items to automatically assign back-to-back orders to the item's supplier and if that supplier has an open purchase order it will add the item to the purchase order automatically.

The sales orders can then be tracked through the order processing workflow to check on orders awaiting assignnment to suppliers or to see sales orders awaiting delivery of the purchase order.

When the purchase order is delivered, the items are automatically assigned and allocated to the linked sales order. Once the sales order has the stock it needs to complete fulfillment, you can process the order to picking, dispatching and invoicing as you would any other sales order.

We believe Back-To-Back ordering will add a new and welcome dimension to Avanti's sales and purchasing order processing and fulfilment capabilities. Please let us know what you think :)