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Sent to UCSC May 2004

Question and Answer Section
from the Peoplesoft Experts

Rumors

Q: There is a rumor that there is consideration being given to the PeopleSoft users' working shift work in order to have the system run more efficiently. Is this being considered?

A: I am aware of people adjusting their personal schedules in an attempt to work around the slow response time. Something of that magnitude would be subject to the Departments' discretion.

General Questions

Q: Is there a way to tell a POS from a Catalog order? If not, is this issue being addressed? If this issue is being addressed, when can we expect a resolution?

A: Currently, the Open PO Encumbrance Report and queries, POX_ENCUMBRANCES_BY_PO and POX_OPEN_ENCUMBRANCES_BY_PO will all show the origin. We have made the enhancement request to add this field to the manage requisitions page.

Q: Why does the amount encumbered on an account not get charged against that account if it was not reconciled? Why does it come off a default account instead? When this is done how can an open encumbrance be traced?

A: The PO must be attached to the statement line to direct the expense to the PO chartfield otherwise the expense will be applied to the default chartfield. An open encumbrance can be found by running the queries, POX_OPEN_ENCUMBRANCES_BY_PO POX_OPEN_ENCUMBRANCES_BY_CHARTFIELD
POX_OPEN_ENCUMBRANCES_BUYER

Q: A couple of times a day, particularly around the hour and quarter hour, the system slows down until it seems to stop. Can you tell us what causes this?

A: The budget check process runs every 15 minutes. The process itself is run by the Business Unit (UTHSC-H, UTINT, UTRVL); however, the jobs are staggered on the quarter hour. The process is offset 15 minutes to be run by business unit to expedite the processing.

As of 3/26, the process runs every 30 minutes in hopes of improving system response.

Q: Is there a way to print a customized vendor table?

A: Currently in test is an improved ability to look up/search for vendors including partial field searches and filtering. The vendor search table has also been modified to include the ordering location name and address. A query would allow you to print if you truly want a copy of the table.

Q: How do you follow up on an order that hasn't been received? There is no confirmation number given.

A: The process for order follow up is essentially the same as it was in TUFIMS. We have requested that catalog suppliers forward order confirmations to the departmental buyer.

Orders placed via the Special Request function often require the Departmental Buyer to call the vendor to verify order confirmation.

A note on SR orders - buyers should be verifying price and availability prior to entering the request into PS. This will eliminate much of the uncertainty regarding availability.

As we move to sending orders electronically, order confirmations will be sent automatically to the buyer's email address.

Q: Is it possible to get all the information from an order (requisition number, PO number and receipt number) on one screen?

A: The document status page shows you the similar information as DHIS did in TUFIMS.

The activity summary shows this level of information by purchase order line.

Q: Is there a way to tell if something ordered through the catalog has been back ordered?

A: We have requested that all catalog suppliers send order confirmations to the departmental buyer. If this is not happening please notify the purchasing department so that we correct the problem.

On critical orders you may want to call the supplier's customer service department to verify receipt of the order.

At this time it's my understanding that only Sigma Aldrich is not sending the order confirmation to the buyer listed on the PO - they do send the confirmations to the purchasing department. If requested we can forward that confirmation to the buyer's fax#.

Questions and Suggestions From Users

Q: What can I do to prevent electronic faxes from being sent twice? I just received two shipments of a radioisotope, and I only wanted one.

A: Keep in mind anytime a change is made to an order and the Budget Check status moves to "not checked" - the PO will be re-dispatched to the supplier. It is important to make sure that the dispatch method is changed from fax to phone on the Header Details link.

Many suppliers have difficulty dealing with "Change Orders". Most commodity suppliers handle each order, whether or not is says "Change Order" on the PO as a new order and will fill it and ship it.

Q: The procedure for reconciling procurement cards is very difficult. Can it be simplified or at least made more users friendly?

A: There are additional responsibilities for reconciling the procurement card due to the credit card purchase orders encumbering funds. The process is fairly simple if addressed daily, as we have users reconciling properly over 100 transactions per month.

We do have some enhancements planned that will simplify the PO line attachment routine and another to enhance the auto verification process.

Q: I don't think my training was adequate. It takes more than a one day session to learn how to use this non intuitive system. Follow-up training after a month or so would be helpful.

A: A new class for department buyers is being considered in conjunction with the development of a Buyer's Guide similar to the Maelstrom but with more information including documentation and funding requirements for non PO vouchers. The class could be expanded to include certain aspects of transaction entry but is most intended to replace basic PeopleSoft transactional training.

Q: When you have more than one buyer in a department, is it possible to set PeopleSoft up where either buyer can change orders, regardless of who put the order in?

A: Yes