Changing Vendors in a PO Line

Owned by Daryl Boone
Last updated: Jun 27, 2019 by Jennifer Koerber (Unlicensed)
7 min read


Options for Changing the Vendor in a PO Line

There are two ways to change the vendor in a POL after it has been sent to the vendor : one process sends a new order to the vendor and the other does not. 

Change Vendor Button in POL

  • Changes the vendor in the current POL, which re-enters the purchasing workflow, resulting in an order being sent to the new vendor if the Acquisition method is Purchase
  • The POL is removed from the PO, and if this is the only POL in the PO, the PO is deleted
  • One-time POLs:
    • the vendor is changed in the existing POL and the same POL number is used for the order being sent to the new vendor
  • Continuous POLs:
    • the existing POL is closed, a new POL with a new order number is created; the items and holding record on the existing POL are relinked to the new POL

Replace (only) Vendor Button in POL

  • Changes the vendor in the current POL
  • Does not create a new POL
  • Does not send notification to the new vendor  

 

It is also possible to change the vendor in a PO (which may contain any number of of POLs) or all POs associated with a single vendor, to that of another vendor:

Change Vendor in Order Job (Acquisitions >> Advanced Tools >> Change Vendor in Order).

  • Changes the vendor in the current POLs
  • Does not create a new POL
  • Does not send notification to the new vendor
  • Send notification to former vendor as appropriate

Change Vendor in POL

Use to change the vendor within a POL and send the order to the new vendor.

The status of the POL you wish to change must be:

  • One-Time Order = Sent, with none of its resources already activated or received.
  • Continuous Order = Sent, Waiting for renewal or Waiting for manual renewal

To change the vendor in the POL:

  1. Search for the POL using the persistent search bar
  2.  Choose Edit  on the Purchase Order lines display screen
  3. Click on the Change Vendor button in the Purchase order line details section of the POL  
  4. The following Confirmation Message will appear: "You have selected "Change Vendor" action. In this workflow the PO Line will be repackaged and sent to the new vendor. Are you sure you want to continue?" 
  5. Click Confirm
  6. The Change Vendor in Order box will appear. Type in (or search for) the new vendor and vendor account record for the order and click the Change Vendor in Order  button
  7. The POL will be removed from the PO, and if this is the only POL in the PO, the PO will be deleted
  8. A Confirmation message will appear stating that the POL has been updated and the POLs status will change to In Review (if it is missing data) or Autopackaging
    1. There may also be a line in this message about the status of the PO, if applicable
  9. If the POL is in status Autopackaging, a new order will be sent to the new vendor overnight
  10. If the POL is in status In Review, some action must be taken before the order is processed 
  11. Note that a new order will only be sent to the vendor if the acquisition method is Purchase

Information Carried Into the New POL After Changing Vendors

Physical Continuous Orders

Here is an overview of the information in the old physical continuous POL that appears/does not appear in the new POL that is created after using the Change Vendor button:   

Summary Tab

Fields from the former POL that are copied into the new POL: 

  • library and location
  • receiving note, routing during receiving, binding during receiving
  • subscription interval 
  • net price, list price, quantity for pricing, discount, fundcurrency 
    • if the new vendor does not accept the former vendor's currency, the new POL's status will be in Review until the currency is edited
  • acquisition method, material type, reporting code, rush, manual packaging, cancellation restriction, identifier, manual renewalsubscription from date
    • the subscription from date in the new POL will not reflect the start date of the subscription with the new vendor unless it is manually edited
  •  renewal date, renewal reminder period (days), renewal cycle (days).

Fields from the former POL that change or disappear in the new POL:

  • Note to vendor - disappears in new POL
  • Sent date - sent date in new POL becomes the date the new POL was transferred to the new vendor.
  • Invoice status - the new POL will initially have invoice status "No invoice" after the vendor transfer.
Other Tabs
  • Alerts tab - info is copied from the former POL into the new POL.
  • Invoice Lines tab, Communications tab, Interested Users tab - info not copied from the former POL into the new POL.
  • Notes tab - info not copied from the former POL into the new POL, which would include the migrated Aleph Library Note.
  • History tab - info not copied from the former POL into the new POL. The vendor transfer is not specifically recorded in the History tab of the former or new POL. However, the Associated PO Lines tab of the former POL references the new POL, and the Associated PO Lines tab of the new POL references the former POL after the vendor transfer.

 

Physical One-Time Orders

Here is an overview of what information in the physical one-time POL remains/does not remain after using either the Change Vendor or Replace (Only) Vendor options:

Summary Tab

Fields from the former POL that are copied into the new POL:

  • library and location
  • receiving note  
  • net & list price, quantity for pricing, fundcurrency 
    • edit the currency if the new vendor does not accept the former vendor's currency
  • acquisition method, invoice status, reporting code, rush
  • vendor reference number
  • note to vendor - since the note to vendor is reused, make sure it does not contain unwanted information that is irrelevant to the new vendor if using the Change Vendor button, as the note will be included in the letter to the vendor
  • invoice status

Fields from the former POL that change or disappear in the new POL:

  • routing during receiving - if checkbox selected before vendor transfer, becomes unchecked after vendor transfer 
  • Sent date - becomes the date the POL was transferred to the new vendor.
  • expected receipt date
  • manual packaging - if checked before vendor transfer, becomes unchecked after vendor transfer
  • cancellation restriction - if checked before vendor transfer, becomes unchecked after vendor transfer
Other Tabs
  • Alerts tab - some alerts remain (e.g. "ordered resource already exists in the inventory"); some alerts disappear (e.g. "overdue po line").
  • Invoice Lines tab - information remains after the vendor transfer
  • History tab - information in the POL remains after the vendor transfer. The former vendor as well as the new vendor appear in the History tab after the vendor transfer, but you will not be able to ascertain if a letter was sent to the new vendor by viewing the History tab.
  • Communication tab - communication to the former vendor disappears after the vendor transfer.
  • Interested Users tab and Notes tab - info remains after the vendor transfer.

Replace (Only) Vendor

Use to change the vendor within a POL without sending the order to the new vendor.

 

The status of the POL you wish to change must be:

 

  • One-Time Order = Sent or Waiting for Invoice
  • Continuous Order = Sent, Waiting for renewal or Waiting for manual renewal

To change the vendor in the POL:

  1. Search for the POL using the persistent search bar
  2. Choose Edit  on the Purchase Order lines display screen   
  3. Click on Replace (only) vendor in the Purchase order line details section of the POL. If you do not see the button, click on the row action item list icon to the left of the Change Vendor button to select Replace (only) vendor.
  4. A confirmation message will appear: "You have selected "Replace (only) Vendor" action, In this workflow the PO Line will be repackaged and will not be sent to the new vendor. Are you sure you want to continue?
  5. Click Confirm
  6. The Change Vendor in Order box will appear. Type in (or search for) the new vendor and vendor account record for the order and click the Change Vendor in Order  button
  7. The vendor is changed in the order
  8. The PO line is removed from the PO, and if this is the only PO line in the PO, the PO is deleted
  9. A Confirmation message will appear stating that the POL has been updated and the POLs status will change to In Review (if it is missing data) or Autopackaging.
    1. there may also be a line in this message about the status of the PO, if applicable
     
  10. The PO line's status changes to In Review (if it is missing data) or Autopackaging and progresses as usual through the purchasing workflow. When this PO line is packed into a PO or moved along via the Order Now command, it is not sent to the vendor.

 

Information Carried Into the New POL After Changing Vendors

Physical Continuous Orders

Here is an overview of what information remains/does not remain in the physical continuous POL after using the Replace (Only) Vendor button: 

Summary Tab

Fields from the former POL that are copied into the new POL:

  • receiving note
  • subscription interval 
  • net price, quantity for pricing, discount, fundcurrency 
    • be sure to edit this field if the new vendor does not accept the former vendor's currency 
  • acquisition method, rush, manual renewal
  • subscription from date - (i.e. the subscription from date will reflect the start date of the subscription with the old vendor unless it is manually edited)
  • renewal date, renewal reminder period (days)
  • Invoice status
  • Note to vendor
  • vendor reference # 

Fields from the former POL that change or disappear in the new POL:

  • routing/binding during receiving- if checkboxes are checked, they become unchecked after the vendor transfer
  • claiming grace period, expected receipt after ordering (days), expected receipt date
  • List price - disappears after the vendor transfer
  • Manual packaging - if checkbox selected before vendor transfer, checkbox becomes unchecked after vendor transfer
  • Sent date - changes to date of vendor transfer
Other Tabs
  • Invoice Lines tab - info remains after the vendor transfer.
  • Communications tab -info disappears after the vendor transfer.
  • Interested Users tab - info remains after the vendor transfer.
  • Notes tab - info remains after the vendor transfer.
  • History tab - info remains after the vendor transfer. Also, the vendor change is recorded in the History tab.

 

Physical One-Time Orders

See above for an overview of what information in the physical one-time POL remains/does not remain after using either the Change Vendor button or Replace (Only) Vendor button.

Change Vendor in Order Job

Use to change the vendor in ALL the POLs within a PO; or to change the vendor in ALL active POs and POLs.   

Training Required to Use Jobs

This is a very powerful tool and should only be used with extreme caution and after significant training


This is a batch job found under Acquisitions >> Advanced Tools >> Change Vendor in Order.

If a PO is selected, the change affects all PO lines associated with the PO, including closed PO lines.

If no PO is selected, the change affects all PO lines in active POs for the selected source vendor/account.

To create a Change Vendor in Order job:

  1. Go to Acquisitions >> Advanced Tools >> Change Vendor in Order
  2. Click Add Job.The Add Job dialog box appears
  3. In the Source vendor/account field, select the original vendor.
  4. In the Target vendor/Account field, select the new vendor.
  5. To restrict the vendor change to a specific PO, select a PO. The Source vendor/account field become disabled and set to the source vendor/account of the selected PO.
    1. If a PO is selected, the change affects all PO lines associated with the PO, including closed PO lines.
    2. If no PO is selected, the change affects all PO lines in active POs for the selected source vendor/account.
  6. Click Add if you want to add another vendor switch or Add and Close if you're done. Given the power of this job, it is recommended that you do one change at a time.
  7. Once the job runs, the vendor account details for the PO/PO lines will be changed without changing the status of the PO/PO lines.