Introducing "Project Planned Items" and new dashboard column & filter options in Procurement.
Table of Contents:
New Dashboard Columns & Filters
You may have noticed the customizable columns in the Item Catalog which you will also find on the Project Planned Items dashboard. We've also added some new "quick filter" options, all of which we will eventually incorporate throughout the platform.
- Select columns in the Column View dropdown
- Drag and drop columns to your liking
- Use Save My Views to save custom views, with the option to set a default
- Use the horizontal scroll along the bottom to view additional columns
- Use the Search Options along the top of the dashboard to quickly adjust your view by project, vendor, item, date range, and more.
- Use the red X to clear selections
- Use More option to access all filters
Project Planned Items
Similar to a project list, the "Project Plan" (located within the Procurement menu) is a project-specific list of items that includes a budgeted quantity (by area, optionally) as well as the ability to request multiple eQuotes, locking in the preferred supplier. Budgeted vs. ordered quantities are reflected on the Project Plan dashboard for better insight.
Order directly from the Project Plan by simply entering quantities for selected items (rather than starting a new PO and adding items to the PO via search or groups). PMs can also release material from Planned Items, putting it in the Material Release queue for the purchasing team to execute.
The Project Planned Items view will not only help PMs managing solo projects, but will also benefit the purchasing department who can now view material needs on a higher level (all projects and suppliers) with granular detail (by item, dates needed) and have greater visibility on lead time and price expiration.
Register for the training webinar (live or on-demand).
To get started using Project Planned Items:
- Create a project plan via the "hamburger menu" on the Project Planned Items tab, by either downloading/uploading our template or choosing Create List and copying items from the company list (or another project)
- To request pricing from your suppliers, filter to the project and use the checkboxes to select the items, then choose Send eQuote from the hamburger menu. Follow the email prompt.
- Vendors will receive an email with a link to view and update project pricing in a browser tab. They can also provide lead time, price expiration, item codes and add notes. You will receive an email notification when they complete the quote.
- View eQuotes and lock in pricing via the hamburger menu (you do not need to select the project and/or items beforehand to view the eQuotes).
- When viewing eQuotes, you have the option to resend the quote request or use Buy Best to compare multiple vendors quotes.
- You can also manually check the item and vendor/price you want to save to the project plan.
- Click Update Prices to save and update the project plan accordingly.
- To order or release material from planned items, first click Start PO(s) or Start Release, then enter quantities on the corresponding line items.
- Click Create PO or Create Release below to complete.
- For releases, you will have the option to send a team email notification. The order can be found in the Material Release tab for fulfillment per usual.
- For POs, you will have the option to open the PO to edit/issue per usual.
- If you start a PO from scratch (rather than enter quantities directly on the project plan), you can still select from the Project Planned Items, or check any vendor's daily pricing (if any has been loaded), or enter prices manually.
- The price on the PO will have an annotation showing where the price originated:
- Project Plan
- Vendor List
- Manual Entry
Please contact our support team with any questions. We encourage you to join the training webinar (or request the recording) for a closer look at Project Planned Items, and speak to your CSM about any additional training needed for your organization.