SRM & Procurement Manager

Valuemation Service Request functionality makes it possible to define IT components and services and offer them to your service customers in a clearly structured service catalog.
Valuemation Procurement covers all aspects of the IT procurement process, from the initial request through the actual ordering process to the receipt of goods followed by invoice clearing and payment. It also provides supplier evaluation according to specified criteria.

Cart

The Cart gathers the selected items before submitting the request. Use it to revise the request content, to specify additional information common to all requested items and to submit the request.

Category browser

It can be used to select the category and, as the case may be, subcategory whose items and service will be displayed in the main Shop workspace.

Configurator

A product or service selected in the Shop workspace gets opened in the Configurator. Here it is possible to choose available options, get on overview of the resulting configuration and its price, and to send the configured item to the Cart.

Order

Order represents an external request for delivery of new products to a company. Typical ordered products are new hardware, software or maintenance/services. An order specifies a vendor, requested quantities of product types (order items), a delivery location and the current status of the order.

Order Item

Order items are closely connected with orders. Order items specify requested quantities of product types. They may also specify pricing and delivery details. If an order item is generated from a request item, the link between them is stored.

Payment Schedule

Payment schedules represent the expected schedule of costs or incomes on a budget (cost center and cost type). Payment schedules are typically associated with request items, order items and contract items. A request item, order item and contract item can have any number of payment schedules.

Payment schedules can be created with negative amount (they are displayed in red color), but they cannot be created for zero amount. If no costs are expected for a request item, order item or contract item, no payment schedule should be created for them. However, an offer with zero prices can be used with a request item, order item or contract item.

Offer Package

An offer package groups offers of one vendor that are somehow related, e.g. they are valid in a certain period of time. In reality, it usually represents a document such as catalog or pricing agreement. However, it may also just group offers without any document (e.g. offers of uncertain origin, ad hoc offers registered by one person). Offer packages hold common data (they may tell how it was imported, where it comes from…) and helps to process related offers together (replacing during import, searching).

Offer Package Type

The Offer Package Type object type groups offer packages with similar real life representation. It represents a relatively high level of generalization. The individual objects may differ widely.

Offer (formerly referred to as 'Pricing Offer')

Offer specifies the pricing/delivery details of a product type specific for a vendor and a period of time. Typically, these are price, discount, delivery time, prerequisites and comments. An offer is typically linked to one product type, but an offer with pricing/delivery details unspecific to a product type is also possible.

Offers – together with offer packages - are the basis for specifying data related to product types and associated with a specific vendor and time.

Product

Products represent IT infrastructure/configuration items from the sale and accounting point of view. It can be seen as an interface between components and orders/contracts.

Each piece or unit of delivered infrastructure is represented by 1 product. A product may represent not only some purchased infrastructure, but also a unit of maintenance/service that has been delivered. Such delivered maintenance/service can stand alone - e.g. a telephone service delivered on the basis of a contract with a communication company, or it may be linked to specific component(s) maintained by the delivered maintenance/service.

Product Class

Product class groups several product types into a larger group according to some general characteristics pertinent to the procurement/sale/accounting point of view.

Product Type

Product types represent types of IT infrastructure from the sale and accounting points of view.

Product type is the business name for all infrastructure or services that can be purchased under the same name, even from different vendors. A product type may represent not only a type of infrastructure that can be purchased, but also a type of maintenance or service that can be purchased. Product type defines whether and how the components should be created for each delivered product.

A product type must be assigned to a larger categorization group – product classes.

Request

Request represents an internal request (within a company) for delivery of a new piece of IT infrastructure to a person. Typical request is a request for new hardware, software or services. Request can be assigned to a target system to which products delivered on the basis of the request should be finally assigned by creating new components.

Request Item

The Request Item object type is closely connected with request. Request items specify a request technically. One request item specifies the requested quantity of one requested product type. It may also specify pricing details and status.

Saved Carts

The content of a cart can also be saved for later, postponed processing. Multiple carts can be saved. Using a saved cart to create a request removes the cart from the save carts collection.

Search Field

The search field in the top left-hand corner of the main Shop workspace which can be used for fulltext search within names of existing categories, subcategories, products and services.

Service Request Shop

The Service Request Shop is an interface which combines online shopping user experience with the power and flexibility of Valuemation Service Request functionality. To the end user it provides a streamlined, hassle-free way of requesting products and services. The administrator can use it to design smooth, standardized requesting processes.

Shop Workspace

The main Shop workspace represents the main working area which the selection of products and services is done in.

Submitted Requests

All requests submitted by the current user are registered. 'Submitted Requests' at the top of the main Shop workspace opens a catalog of these requests. It can be used for tracking previous requests and their status.

Templates

The content of a cart can be saved as a template for further repeated use. Multiple templates can be saved.