Type = How-tos, ; Topic = Multienterprise Information Network Tower (MINT),;Persona = TraceLink Administrator, User,; Orchestration = Manufacturing,; Function = Supply Chain, IT, Procurement,

Product activities

Product activity reports are routinely distributed to trading partners, suppliers, or upstream supply chain partners. This report is issued either at set intervals or in response to significant deviations in inventory levels outside the normal schedule.

Create and submit a product activities

Create and submit product activities. Additionally, customers can begin work on a product activities and save it for completion at a later time.

  1. Select a [MPL Network] from the Network drop-down in the header.
  2. Select a Team (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.
  3.  Select Commerce - Customer from the left menu.
    Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower.

  4. Select Product Activities.

  5. Select the New button.
  6. Enter the product activity number in the Product Activity Number field.

  7. Select the Save button.

    The screen refreshes with the saved product activity in the draft state and with the required sections populated.

  8. Select the Edit button.

  9. In the Transaction Information section, select Submitted from the Process Status drop drown.
  10. In the Product Activity Information section fill in the following fields:
    1. Product Activity Number field – . The unique identifier for the product activity.
      This field auto populates the value entered New Product Activity screen.
    2. Product Activity Date field – The date the transaction is created.
    3. Product Activity Purpose Code drop-down – The code specifies the purpose of the product activity transaction set. The valid vales are:

      1. PLANORDERS

      2. NOTIFICATION

      3. PURCHASEORDERS

    4. Start Date field – The validity start date of the transaction.
    5. End Date field – The validity end date of the transaction.

  11. In the Preassigned Purchase Order Numbers section, fill in the following fields:

    1. Select the Addicon.
    2. In the New Preassigned Purchase Order Number panel, fill in the following fields under Purchase Order Number Information:
      1.  Referenced Purchase Order Start field – Suggested purchase order number. If a range of suggested PO numbers is sent, this attribute would store the first number in the range.
      2. Referenced Purchase Order End field – The last PO number when a range of suggested purchase order numbers is sent.
      3. Company Identifier Type drop-down – The identifier type used for this company.
      4. Company Identifier Value field – The value associated with the identifier type used for this company.
    3. Select Apply.

      The new purchase order number information line item is added to the preassigned purchase order number table.

  12. In the Reference Transaction Information section:
    1. Select the Addicon. At least one reference transaction line item is required to submit a product activity.
    2. In the New Reference Transaction panel, fill in the following fields under Reference Transaction Information:
      1. Transaction Type drop-down – The type of transaction.
      2. Transaction Number type-ahead field – The unique identifier of the transaction.
        If the value does not match the available options, the value must be entered manually.
      3. Transaction Date field - The transaction date.
    3. Select Apply.

      The new reference transaction line item is added to the transaction reference table.

  13.  In the Customer and Supplier section, fill in the following fields under Customer group:
    1. Company type-ahead field – The name of the company sending the product activity. This field pulls from the Owner's company and location master data.

      The remaining Customer fields are auto populated with the values from the company or location's master data entry. If the name of the company is not present in the Owner's master data, the company name must be entered manually.

    2. Address 1 field – The address of the particular location.
    3. Address 2 field – Any additional address information.
    4. Country drop-down – The two-letter country code with country name for this location.
    5. State field – The state or region for this location.
    6. City field – The city for this location.
    7. Postal Code field – The postal code for this location's main address.
    8. Contact Telephone Number field – The company or location's phone number.
    9. Contact Fax Number field – The company or location's fax number
    10. Party ID Type drop-down – The identifier type used for this company or location. See Identifier and Item Code Types for more information.
    11. Party ID Value field – The value associated with the identifier type.
  14. In the Customer and Supplier section, fill in the following fields under Supplier group:
    1. Company type-ahead field – The name of the company receiving the product activity. This field pulls from the Owner's company and location master data.

      The remaining Supplier fields are auto populated with the values from the company or location's master data entry. If the name of the company is not present in the Owner's master data, the company name must be entered manually.

    2. Address 1 field – The address of the particular location.
    3. Address 2 field – Any additional address information.
    4. Country drop-down – The two-letter country code with country name for this location.
    5. State field – The state or region for this location.
    6. City field – The city for this location.
    7. Postal Code field – The postal code for this location's main address.
    8. Contact Telephone Number field – The company or location's phone number.
    9. Contact Fax Number field – The company or location's fax number
    10. Party ID Type drop-down – The identifier type used for this company or location. See Identifier and Item Code Types for more information.
    11. Party ID Value field – The value associated with the identifier type.
  15. In the Ship to Location and Ship From Location section, fill in the following fields under Ship to Location group:
    1. Company type-ahead field – The name of the company location where actual goods will be shipped by supplier.
    2. Address 1 field – The address of the particular location.
    3. Address 2 field – Any additional address information.
    4. Country drop-down – The two-letter country code with country name for this location.
    5. State field – The state or region for this location.
    6. City field – The city for this location.
    7. Postal Code field – The postal code for this location's main address.
    8. Contact Telephone Number field – The company or location's phone number.
    9. Contact Fax Number field – The company or location's fax number
    10. Party ID Type drop-down – The identifier type used for this company or location. See Identifier and Item Code Types for more information.
    11. Party ID Value field – The value associated with the identifier type.
  16. In the Ship to Location and Ship From Location section, fill in the following fields under Ship From Location group:
    1. Company type-ahead field – The company name of the supplier the goods will be shipped from.
    2. Address 1 field – The address of the particular location.
    3. Address 2 field – Any additional address information.
    4. Country drop-down – The two-letter country code with country name for this location.
    5. State field – The state or region for this location.
    6. City field – The city for this location.
    7. Postal Code field – The postal code for this location's main address.
    8. Contact Telephone Number field – The company or location's phone number.
    9. Contact Fax Number field – The company or location's fax number
    10. Party ID Type drop-down – The identifier type used for this company or location. See Identifier and Item Code Types for more information.
    11. Party ID Value field – The value associated with the identifier type.
  17. In the Line Items section:
    1. Select the Addicon. At least one line item is required to submit a product activity.

    2. In the New Line Items panel, fill in the following fields under Line Item Information:

      1. Line field – The number to identify the line item by (e.g. 50).
      2. Item field – The name of the product. If the user enters an item code instead, the field automatically displays the corresponding item name.
        The Item Code Type and Item Code Value fields are auto populated with the values from the product's master data entry. If the product is not present in the Owner's product master data then the product name or code must be entered manually.
      3. Item Code Type field – The product code type (e.g. IN-Product Code).
      4. Item Code Value field – The product code.
      5. Quantity field – The quantity inside the inner containers for a line item.
      6. Order Quantity field – The quantity ordered for the line item.
      7. On Hand Quantity field – The available quantity of the product in the line item..
      8. Planned Order Quantity field – The planned order quantity for the product in the line item..
      9. Planned Inventory Quantity field – The planned stock quantity for the line item..
      10. Total Sold Quantity field – The total quantity sold (used for forecast demand and sales) of the line item.
      11. Transferred Quantity field – The quantity moved between locations for the product.
      12. Unit of Measure drop-down – The unit in which the line item is measured.
      13. Referenced Purchase Order field – The purchase order referenced for the specific line item..
      14. Referenced Purchase Order Date field – The purchase order date referenced for the specific line item..
      15. Start Date field – The validity start date of the line item.
      16. End Date field – The validity end date of the line item.
      17. Line Notes field – Additional information about the line item being added.

    3. Select Apply.

      The new line item is added to the product activity.

    4. To add destination location quantity to a line item, select a item line row and then select the branch icon and fill in the following fields under Destination Location Quantity Information:
      1. Company Identifier Type field – The company location identifier qualifier for the line item.
      2. Company identifier Value drop-down – The company location identifier qualifier value for the line item.
      3. Location Quantity Value field – The quantity value at the destination location for the line item.
      4. Unit Of Measuredrop-down – The unit of measure for the quantity value at the destination location for the line item.
    5. Select Apply.

      The destination location quantity information is added to line item.

  18. In the Notes section, enter any additional comments or instructions.
  19. To submit the product activity:
    To save the product activity in a Draft state and finish it later, ensure the Move To button is not selected and then select the Save button in the draft state.

    1. Select the Move To button at the top of the screen.

      The submit status indicator circle is filled in with green to indicate the desired action upon selecting save.

    2. Select the Save button.

      The product activity is submitted.

Tips

  • In the Preassigned Purchase Order Numbers section, do one of the following:
    • Select the Addicon, to add a new preassigned purchase order number line item.
    • Select the Deleteicon to delete preassigned purchase order number.
  • In the Reference Transaction section, do one of the following:
    • Select the Addicon, to add a new reference transaction line item.
    • Select the Deleteicon to delete references to multiple transactions.
  • In the Line Items section, do one of the following:
    • Select the Addicon, to add a new line item.
    • Select the Deleteicon, to remove an individual line item.
  • In the Destination Location Quantity Information section, do one of the following:
    • Select the Add icon, to add a new destination location quantity information line item.
    • Select the Deleteicon, to remove an individual line item.
  • In the Notes section, do one of the following:
    • Select the Addicon, to add comments or instructions.
    • Select the Deleteicon, to remove comments or instructions.

 Complete and submit a saved product activity in the draft state.

  1. Select a [MPL Network] from the Network drop-down in the header.
  2. Select a Team (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.
  3.  Select Commerce - Customer from the left menu.
    Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower.

  4. Select Product Activities.

  5. Select the Filter button to find the product activities in Draft state.

  6. Select the Product Activity Number link in the results table.

  7. Select the Edit button.

  8. In the Transaction Information section, select Submitted from the Process Status drop drown.
  9. Confirm the product activity details and modify the fields if required. See Create and submit a new product activity for information about how to modify the product activity details.

  10. Select the Move To button at the top of the screen.

    The submit status indicator circle is filled in with green to indicate the desired action upon selecting save.

  11. Select the Save button.

    The product activity is submitted.

Tips

  • Select the Edit icon, to edit the details of preassigned purchase order number in the Preassigned Purchase Order Numbers section.

  • Select the Edit icon, to edit the details of reference transactions in the Reference Transactions section
  • Select the Edit icon, to edit the details of an individual line items in the Line Items section.
  • Select the destination location quantity information row and select the Edit icon, to edit the details of an individual destination location quantity information in the Destination Location Quantity Information section.
  • Select the product activity number row and then select the Deleteicon on the top of the Search Product Activity screen, to delete a product activity in the draft state .

A deleted transaction cannot be retrieved.

Search and view product activity

Perform this task to search for and view the details of the product activities sent or received by customer or suppliers. Viewing the details of a product activity enables customer and suppliers to quickly access order information (e.g. the quantity for each line item in an order) in TraceLink without having to search through the actual B2B message.

  1. Select a [MPL Network] from the Network drop-down in the header.
  2. Select a Team (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.

  3. Select Commerce - Customer or Commerce - Supplier from the left menu.

    Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower.
  4. Select Product Activities.
  5. Select the Filter button.
  6. Fill in one or more of the following fields to filter the results:

    1. State drop-down – The state of the product activity: 

      • Draft – The transaction is in the draft state.
      • Submit – The transaction has been created.
      • Processing – The application is getting ready to handle incoming transactions by doing some initial tasks, such as copying the files it receives.
      • Processed – The application changes the standard information into a format that is easy to use and specific to your transaction.
      • Preparing to Send – The application is getting ready to send out a transaction and is doing some initial tasks, like copying the necessary information for the process.
      • Sending –The application sends out business transactions to the buyer or supplier.
      • Sent – The transaction is successfully completed and shared with the receiving party.
    2. Product Activity Number type-ahead – The unique identifier for the product activity.
    3. Product Activity Date field – The start date of the product activity.
    4. Product Activity Purpose Code field – The code specifies the purpose of the product activity transaction set. The valid vales are:

      1. PLANORDERS

      2. NOTIFICATION

      3. PURCHASEORDERS

    5. Receiver type-ahead – Displays only if the menu item is Sent Product Activities. The name of the company the product activity was sent to.
      If the name of the company is not present in the Owner's master data then the company's name must be entered manually.
    6. Sender type-ahead – Displays only if the menu item is Received Product Activities. The name of the company the product activity was received from.
      If the name of the company is not present in the Owner's master data then the company's name must be entered manually.
    7. Last Modified field – The period of time in which the product activity was last updated:
      • Today – The transaction was modified within the last few hours.
      • Yesterday – The transaction was updated within the past 24 hours.
      • Last Week – The transaction was modified in the last 7 days.
      • Last Month – The transaction was modified in the last 30 days.
      • Last 3 Months – The transaction was modified in the last 90 days.
      • Last 6 Months – The transaction was modified in the last 180 days.
      • Custom Range – Select a specific period of time that the transaction was modified in from the calendar.

  7. Select Apply.

    A list of product activitys displays based on the filter results.

  8. Select the link for the product activity from the results table.

    The View Product Activities screen displays.

  9. View all the fields in the Transaction Information, Product Activity Information,Preassigned Purchase Order Numbers, Reference Transactions, Customer and Supplier, Ship To Location and Ship From Location, Line Items, and Notes sections.

For detail information about these fields, see Create and submit a new product activity.

Tips

  • Select the Viewicon on the Product Activity Details screen, to view the details of referenced purchase orders in the Preassigned Purchase Order Numbers section.
  • Select the Viewicon on the Product Activity Details screen, to view the details of reference transactions in the Reference Transactions section.
  • Select the Viewicon on the Product Activity Details screen, to view an individual line item in the Line Items section.

Reprocess and resubmit product activities

Reprocess the return authorization request if the Processing Status is set to Paused with Error on the Search Business Transaction screen. Use the following procedure to resolve any error messages encountered while submitting product activities.

  1. Select a [MPL Network] from the Network drop-down in the header.
  2. Select a Team (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.
  3.  Select Commerce - Customer from the left menu.
    Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower.

  4. Select Product Activities.

  5. Select the Filter button to find the product activities in Processing, Processed, Preparing to Send, or Sending state.
  6. Select the Product Activity Number link in the results table.
  7. View the following fields for error in the Transaction Information section: 
    • Process Status - Displays the status of the submitted purchase order
    • Last Transaction Error - Displays the error message.
  8. Select the Edit button.
  9. In the Transaction Information section, select Submitted from the Process Status drop drown.
  10. Select the Save button.
    The product activity request is moved from Processing state to Sending state indicating that the product activity is submitted successfully.

Do not select the Move To button, as it will cause the transaction to skip a workflow state, preventing successful delivery.

If a transaction is successfully sent to a partner but an issue occurs on the partner's side (e.g. in their ERP system), the sender can avoid re-entering all the details by rolling back to a previous workflow state and resending the transaction, thus saving time and effort for both parties.

  1. Select a [MPL Network] from the Network drop-down in the header.
  2. Select a Team (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.
  3.  Select Commerce - Customer from the left menu.
    Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower.

  4. Select Product Activities.

  5. Select the Product Activity Number in Sent state.

  6. Select the Edit button.

    The state of the product activity is automatically set to Sending state.

  7. Select the Move To button at the top of the screen.

    The submit status indicator circle is filled in with green to indicate the desired action upon selecting save.

  8. Select the Save button.

    The product activity is submitted.

The status of the product activity moves to Sent state.

Tag end