Performing Pre-Receipt QC Testing

In situations where QC test results are not known in advance, via inherit QC testing or Vendor provided results, users may perform pre-receipt QC testing via Purchasing > QC Result Entry or by using a Work Flow flagged with "Require for Receipt." Materials are tested and results entered at time of physical delivery, but prior to performing the receipt transaction in DEACOM. This scenario usually involves taking a sample of the material to perform the Quality Control Tests. The results are then entered into DEACOM and the Purchase Order is received. This option is used when QC results are not known in advance but must be taken before marking the material as received.

It is important to note the following when deciding which option(s) to use:

  • Pre-Receipt QC Testing is not required. The Purchase Order may be received without the system requiring the entry of Pre-Receipt QC results. The received items will still be received into the Pending QC status (provided the item has a QC Group assigned) where QC testing can be performed.
  • Work Flows can be flagged as required, in which case users must mark the Work Flow as complete before the Purchase Order can be received.
  • Pre-Receipt QC Testing uses the same QC result entry forms offered by normal purchasing QC, whereas a Work Flow is simply a check indicating a task was completed. Users are not required to enter notes when completing a Work Flow, so specific information on the testing that was performed is not required and therefore must be handled with user training.
  • Pre-Receipt QC Testing is performed on a Lot by Lot basis, and QC results are available to view on the Lots in DEACOM. Work Flows are handled on the Purchase Order header and apply to all lines on the order, they cannot be done on a line by line basis; Therefore pre-receipt testing can only be tied back to a specific item or line on the Purchase Order if the user indicates this information in the notes attached to the Work Flow. In the event of a recall, the ability to tie QC information or results entered via a Work Flow to a specific Lot is challenging.

Companies may choose to use Work Flows for Pre-Receipt QC Testing in conjunction with normal purchasing QC. In this case, a Work Flow could be used to indicate a pre-receipt QC check was performed before the items are received into Pending QC at the conclusion of the Purchase Order receiving process. A typical example is a tanker truck that will unload all material into a storage tank. A pre-receipt QC check may be necessary to determine basic quality characteristics before all the contents in the tanker truck are offloaded. Complete QC testing can then be performed after receipt using the normal purchasing QC process. If QC test results are known in advance of delivery, via a Certificate of Analysis provided by the Vendor, the Pre-Receipt QC Testing option can be used as specified on the Entering Vendor Provided Pre-Receipt QC Results page.

Configuration

Refer to the Configuration section of the Entering Purchasing and Stability QC Test Results page for the required setup.

Process

Companies have two options for handling Pre-Receipt QC testing upon delivery:

  1. Via QC Tests specified on the Purchasing > QC Result Entry "Pre-Receipt QC" report and linked to a specific order.
  2. The use of a Work Flow to list and allow entry of QC results, which must then be marked as complete before the system will allow receipt of the Purchase Order.

Using the Pre-Receipt QC testing option

Using the Pre-Receipt QC testing option follows the same initial steps as the Entering Vendor Provided Pre-Receipt QC Results process and concludes with the act of receiving the Lots in DEACOM. The process consists of three steps:

  1. Enter pre-receipt QC details. Refer to the "Entering Pre-Receipt QC Vendor and Purchase Order criteria" section of Entering Vendor Provided Pre-Receipt QC Results for process steps.
  2. Enter pre-receipt QC results upon material delivery. Refer to the "Entering Pre-Receipt QC results" section of Entering Vendor Provided Pre-Receipt QC Results for process steps.
  3. Receive Lots that have pre-receipt QC results entered. Refer to Receiving Purchase Orders for general process steps and ensure the exact same Lot number for which QC results were entered is specified in the "Lot" field.

Using Work Flows to complete pre-receipt testing

Work Flows may be flagged as "Required for Receipt", meaning that Sequence must be marked as complete before a user may receive materials on the Purchase Order to which it is linked. If a user attempts to receive the order without first completing the Work Flow Sequence, they will be prompted and the receipt will not occur. The process of using Work Flows to complete pre-receipt testing consists of four steps:

  1. Create a Work Flow and ensure the "Required for Receipt" flag is checked on one or more of its Sequences. Refer to Configuring Work Flows for process steps.
  2. Assign the Work Flow to one or more Vendors via the Order Defaults tab.
    1. Assigning a Work Flow to a Vendor record will act as a default for when new Purchase Orders are entered. Alternatively, the Work Flow can be added directly to a Purchase Order via the Work Flow tab.
    2. Unless a user has the security setting "Purchase Orders -- change work flow type" set to Yes, they will be unable to modify/remove the Work Flow from the order.
  3. Enter QC results for the Purchase Order. Refer to Entering Purchasing and Stability QC Test Results for process steps.
  4. Mark the Work Flow Sequence as complete. Refer to Configuring Work Flows for process steps.

After the above steps have been completed, the Purchase Order may be received as normal. For information on how to receive materials, refer to Receiving Purchase Orders.

FAQ and Diagnostic Tips

Tip: Users can not mark pre-receipt inventory as At-Risk.

Tip: If a Quality Control Group "Approval Type" is set to "None," and passing pre-receipt QC values are entered, lots will be sent directly to the "Inventory" inventory segment.

Can I perform pre-receipt QC testing on multiple lots for the same part from the same Purchase Order?

Yes, as long as a different user lot value is entered, the system will allow pre-receipt QC testing for the same part from the same Purchase Order. The QC results for each lot will be available when clicking on the "QC Values" button on the Inventory Lots report. This option is useful in situations where the vendor sends one lot which failed, then send another lot of the same part that passes QC testing.

Can I re-test lots that have already moved thru the QC testing process in DEACOM?

Yes. Addition information is available via the Re-testing Material page.