Alma supports these basic Acquisitions workflows:
Purchasing workflow
- Orders can be created either manually, or via an order load (called EOD: Embedded Order data)
- Orders can be either one-time (monographs) or continuous (serials and standing orders)
- Purchase order lines (POLs) contain the order information, vendor, budget, renewal period for ongoing orders, etc
- Inventory (meaning: items and holdings) can be created automatically or manually during the POL creation
- Purchase order lines go through a validation phase to check for mandatory information and an optional additional review phase
- Once the POL passes review and validation it is "packaged" into a Purchase order (PO) and sent to the vendor (if applicable), either by EDI or email
- If it is neccesary to printout an order, it may be possible to send the email to a printer rather than to an email recipient.
Receiving workflow (Physical titles)
- Physical material can be marked as Received as a separate process or during the invoicing process
- For continuous orders, the Renewal date can be generated either automatically or manually
- After receipt, the titles can be assigned to another section for cataloging, binding etc, or marked In transit to be sent to their final destination
Activation workflow (Electronic titles)
- Electronic titles go through an Activation process (rather than a Receipt process) in Alma; the link is tested and then made active
- For continuous orders, the Renewal date can be generated either automatically or manually
Invoicing workflow
- Invoices can be created manually (either from scratch or from a POL or PO), from an Excel file uploaded into Alma, or loaded as EDI
- Invoices go through a validation and optional review process after creation
- Invoice approval is the final step