Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Introduction
A customer may return an item to a company for various reasons. For example, it
may be defect or not fulfill the customer's expectations.
The return process begins when you receive a request from a customer to return
an item and create a Return order in Microsoft Dynamics® AX 2009.
Lisa finds the reference number of the order and creates new Return orders for
the customer. By using the reference number, Lisa finds the Sales order and
views the ordered items. The customer explains the following:
Lisa validates and selects the various items one by one from the Sales order she
found. In support of the later inspection or troubleshooting process, Lisa enters
the expected return quantity, Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) for the items, a
reason code, and any additional information that the customer provided.
NOTE: The Reason code is a Return order header property. This means that, in this
example, that Lisa is creating four different Return orders.
Lisa informs the customer of the deadline for returning the items and the address
of the warehouse. Finally, she sends the Return order document in paper or
electronic form to the customer. The Return order document contains the Return
Materials Authorization (RMA) number which authorizes the customer to return
goods to the company.
Sammy will open the Arrival overview form, find the arrival among the other
returns, and create a new Item arrival journal. Because of the imposed
requirement for inspection, Sammy will specify that the item must be inspected
for each journal line. He then posts the arrival journal.
NOTE: Inspection means that the items will pass through Quarantine orders and to the
Quarantine warehouse.
Had the company policy permitted Sammy to make decisions of how to dispose
of the returned items, he may have applied a disposition code to the journal line
instead of sending the item(s) to inspection.
When the inspection is complete, Ricardo updates the Quarantine orders with the
following information:
Ricardo cannot end the Quarantine order for the item C, until it is repaired.
The remaining three Quarantine orders can be ended by Ricardo. Ending the
orders will transfer the information about disposition codes back to the Return
order lines, making them available for additional processing by Susan, the order
processor.
Ricardo, the quality controller, can end the Quarantine order. This enables Susan,
the order processor, to send the repaired item back to the customer and close the
Return order.
The invoice for a Return order can only be performed from the Sales order form
and not the Return order form.
The figure, Reason codes form, is an example of how to set up the return reason
codes in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009.
Disposition Codes
Disposition codes are also a part of the customer returns setup; they determine
what will happen to the returned items from both a physical and a financial
perspective. The available options are defined by the disposition actions.
As part of the item arrival and inspection, a disposition code will be assigned to
the returned goods.
Disposition Actions
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 has six predefined disposition actions that define
the combination of the following:
Miscellaneous Charges
Many companies want customers to pay either a return fee or special return
handling charges.
You can set up miscellaneous charges as a standard fee based on a return reason
code or disposition code, or you can add them manually to the order header or
lines.
Example of Fees
Here are examples of the setup of a reason code and disposition code for
miscellaneous charges.
Set up miscellaneous charges for reason codes by clicking the Misc. charges
button in the Reason codes form.
For the disposition codes, set up miscellaneous charges by clicking the Misc.
charges button in the Disposition code form.
In an intercompany setup, a user can have one company engaging directly with
the end customer, and the sister company or subsidiary in the intercompany chain
receiving the actual Return order.
The created intercompany order chain resembles a standard direct delivery order,
where the actual processing of the chain takes advantage of the Returns feature.
CAUTION: When you create intercompany Return orders, the default behavior is for
the system to assign the same (RMA) number to the intercompany Return order as was
assigned to the original Return order. This implies a risk for a conflict if the RMA
number is already being used in the intercompany company (// “Company B”).
To avoid this situation, the number sequence for Return order numbers must be set up
according to the following rule:
In Company A: “RMA_A_#####”
In Company B: “RMA_B_#####”
Then, automatic assignment and synchronization of Return order numbers will work.
Status Description
Created Upon creation, the header status will be Created. This indicates
that this is a planned Return order. The status on a Return order
line is Awaiting.
The order can be deleted or canceled, and a user can create new
lines on a Return order with a status of Created.
Open When the first item starts to arrive in inventory, the status of the
Return order is changed to Open. The status on a Return order
line can be either Awaiting, Registered, Received, Quarantine,
or Invoiced.
A user can create new lines on a Return order with status Open.
Invoiced When a Return order has been fully credited (all lines are
invoice updated) the status will change to Invoiced, and the
order cannot be opened again for additional processing
The status on a Return order line is Invoiced.
A user cannot create new lines on a Return order with a status of
Invoiced.
Canceled If the customer forgets to return an item, or if items never appear
within a given time frame, a Return order can be canceled.
The status on a Return order line is Canceled.
A user cannot create new lines on a Return order with the status
of Canceled.
• From the Setup button, miscellaneous charges can be set up for the
Return order header
• From the Functions button, a user can perform the tasks shown in
the following table
Function Description
Find Sales order Create a Return order by retrieving the
information from the original Sales order, and
the Sales order lines. A Return order is not
required to be matched against a Sales order.
Cancel Return order Cancel the Return order.
Function Description
Send acknowledgement Send an acknowledgement document to the
customer to confirm that the returned items have
arrived at the warehouse.
Send Return order Send the Return order document to the customer.
Create replacement order Create an up-front replacement order for the
items to be returned. This function lets you send
replacement items to the customer before the
defective items are returned.
This helps when a customer, for example, must
have the spare parts available before he or she
can dismantle the defective item.
The up-front replacement order is an alternative
to the replacement order created as from
applying a disposition code when the returned
item has been inspected.
Packing slip Packing slip update the Return order.
1. Open the Return orders form from Accounts receivable > Return
Order Details.
2. Click the New icon, or press CTRL+N, and then select a customer
account in the Customer account field.
3. Specify a customer contact person and a reason code for returning
the items, and then click OK.
4. Click Functions, Find sales order to open the Find sales order
form, and then select the Mark check box on the line to be returned
and update the Quantity to return field, if necessary.
Or, if you do not want to associate the Return order with a sale order, you can
select an item number in the Lines tab of the Return order form.
NOTE: The system prevents you from registering a customer return that is greater than
the quantity that was sold to the customer, if the Return order is matched against the
Sales order.
The status of the Return order is Created, and because the items have not arrived
at inventory, there will be no inventory transactions for the Return order yet.
However, there is a parameter named Allow reservation on the General tab of
the Return order form that enables you to trigger the immediate generation of
inventory transactions, in cases where returned goods are known to be in perfect
condition.
BEST PRACTICE: Although only one warehouse and one delivery address can be
selected on the Return order header, you can assign each return item line to a different
warehouse (and address). If the customer sends the returned goods to the warehouse
address quoted on the header, the receiving warehouse will not see all lines in the
Arrival overview form if that location is filtering to view returns assigned to its
warehouse only.
To avoid this, assign all return lines to the same warehouse that is specified in the
header. If you cannot do that because some items are set up with a mandatory sales
warehouse, then create a separate Return order for each item and assign it to the
appropriate warehouse in the Return order header.
Scenario
You are a sales person at Contoso Entertainment Systems, and the customer Owl
Wholesales calls to inform you that the three pieces of item number 1201 that
they purchased from you on Sales order SO_100093 are defect.
One of Owl Wholesales’ sales persons will be visiting your warehouse today, so
you create a Return order and give the customer an RMA number that they must
use when they deliver the defective items.
Challenge Yourself!
1. Create the Return order for customer with the details in the following
table.
Field Content
Customer account 1202
Contact Jacky Chen
Return reason code group Defect
Return reason code 21
Deadline Today
2. Use the Find sales order feature to find the sales order line that is
being returned by the customer; SO_100093
3. Print the Return order and note the RMA number.
Step by Step
1. Open the Return orders form from Accounts receivable > Return
Order Details.
2. Click the New icon, or press CTRL+N, and then select a customer
account 1202 in the Customer account field.
When the status of the Return order in the Arrival overview form is Completed,
it means that journals have been created and are ready to be registered.
Item registration is performed from the Item arrival journal, which is accessed
from Inventory management > Journals > Item arrival > Item arrival.
The disposition code applies to all the items on a journal line. If you want to
dispose of some items differently, then you must split the line. Splitting the
journal line will also split the corresponding Return order line.
The journal can be posted when all lines either have a disposition code applied or
are sent to quarantine. When the journal has been posted, the returned items not
sent to quarantine will be registered in inventory.
As part of the packing slip posting, the packing slip reference number from the
customer's shipping documents will be associated with the order lines.
If not all expected return items have arrived, only the quantity that has actually
arrived will be included in the packing slip updating and a new return line will be
created for the remaining quantity. The rest will wait for the next return shipment
order to arrive.
When you packing slip update the Return order, the system creates replacement
orders according to the disposition code settings on the lines.
Post Invoice
Because a Return order is basically a Sales order of type Returned order, the
usual Sales order invoicing process is applied and used.
You can only invoice-update the Return order and create the credit note from the
Sales order form or from Accounts Receivable > Periodic > Sales update >
Invoice. It is not possible to invoice update a Return order from the Return
order form.
The customer may never decide to return the item(s). In these cases Lisa, in
customer service, cancels the authorized Return order.
If returned items arrive at the warehouse, Sammy will start to search for them by
trying to match the RMA number on the attached shipping documents to the
RMA number in his item arrival overview.
When the RMA number is located, Sammy will start the arrival process.
When the arrival process is started from the Arrival overview form, the system
will automatically create a journal that contains the necessary data to start the
registering process. The item arrival journal will be prefilled with the required
reference information, such as customer ID, lot number, return quantity expected,
and more.
When the arrival process starts, the system creates inventory transactions for the
returned items.
Sammy can then select between two methods to register the arrival of returned
items:
If the items are sent for inspection in the quarantine warehouse, a Quarantine
order will be created by the system. This will be processed by Ricardo, the
quality controller, who inspects the items and applies a disposition code.
NOTE: If the returned item belongs to an Inventory model group that has the
Quarantine management parameter enabled, the returned item must go through
quarantine.
If the returned items are determined undamaged, Sammy may select to add them
to inventory. Sammy specifies a disposition code and a warehouse where they
can be returned to, and posts the arrival journal.
3. When the correct Return order has been located, select the Select for
arrival check box for header and lines as appropriate, and then click
the Start arrival button. When you click the Start arrival button,
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 automatically creates a new journal
header and journal lines that correspond to the lines selected in the
Arrival overview form.
4. Click Journals > Show arrivals from receipts, and then click
Lines.
5. Select a Disposition code on the General tab, and then click Post to
post the journal.
6. Close all forms.
You can also select multiple Return orders when an arrival is started. Each
Return order line is copied to an item arrival journal line.
You can also post the packing slip from the Arrival overview form, by clicking
Journals > Packing slip ready journals.
Receipt in Progress
The Receipt in progress field indicates the progress of the Return order. A
Return order can have the following three statuses as shown in the table.
Status Description
None None of the lines in the receipt are registered in an arrival
journal.
Partly At least one of the lines in the receipt is registered in an arrival
journal.
Complete All the lines in the receipt are registered in an arrival journal.
Scenario
You are the warehouse worker at Contoso Entertainment Systems, and you have
received the returned items from the customer Owl Wholesales, with the RMA
number that you created in the Lab - Create a Return Order.
You determine that the items are defective and start the arrival of the Return
order. You post the Arrival journal with a disposition code to reflect that the
items will be repaired and that customer will be credited.
Challenge Yourself!
Step by Step
Scenario
You are a sales person at Contoso Entertainment Systems, and you have been
informed by the warehouse worker that the Return order that you created in Lab -
Create a Return order has been delivered by the customer.
Challenge Yourself!
Post the packing slip and invoice the customer, to create a credit note for the
returned items.
Step by Step
Quarantine Orders
By enabling Sammy, who is responsible for shipping and receiving, to indicate
on a returned item that it must visit inspection, Sammy will not have to make any
decisions on the disposition of the item, but leave it up to Ricardo, the quality
controller, to decide.
When Sammy has specified that the item must go in quarantine and posted the
item arrival, Ricardo will automatically have a Quarantine order for the returned
item. Ricardo must then update the Quarantine order with his decision on the
disposition of the item, and the system will update the Return order accordingly.
The following scenarios describe how to cover the overall Quarantine order
process for Return orders.
If the returned items are in a poor condition and require more investigation,
Sammy will indicate in the system that the returned items must be sent to
inspection for additional processing. He selects the Quarantine management
check box and posts the arrival journal.
The company may also have a policy that all returned items should go to
quarantine.
A Quarantine order can only be associated with a single item number. Therefore,
if Sammy selects to send ten different returned items to quarantine, ten individual
Quarantine orders will be created for Ricardo, the quality controller, to process.
Replacement Orders
If your customer returns an item that is defective or incorrect, you can create a
Replacement order to use to send the new items to the customer.
Replacement orders are usually created after a product is returned and inspected.
However, when an item must be replaced before it has been returned, or when the
original item will not be returned, you can create a Replacement order
immediately after you create a Return order.
The reports and statistics within returns can be used for several purposes, for
example:
The following reports are available from Accounts receivable > Reports >
Return orders:
• Return volume
• Return statistics ranking
• Return cycle time
Return Volume
Use the Return volume report to prepare a report about the volume of returns for
each item or customer and the time that you spend on handling customer returns.
You can print in general or batch mode.
You can find the Return volume report in Accounts receivable > Reports >
Return orders > Return volume.
Vince, the operations manager, wants to obtain a quick overview of what the
level of returns is for the last fiscal quarter. He runs the Return volume report
grouped by month and return reason codes.
Ricardo, the quality controller, is preparing his input to the monthly operations
managers meeting. He prints a report that displays the returns for the last twelve
months, grouped by return reason code.
You can find the Return cycle time report in Accounts receivable > Reports >
Return orders > Return cycle time.
Kevin, the sales manager, has had customer complaints that the company takes
too long to handle returns. He examines the Return cycle time report that
displays the average, maximum, and minimum return cycle times for the various
return reason codes over the last year.
You can find the Return statistics ranking report in Accounts receivable >
Reports > Return orders > Return statistics ranking.
Kevin, the sales manager, wants to determine those customers who have an
unusually high percentage of returns. He examines the Return statistics ranking
report that displays the top ten customers who have the most returns.
Tony, the production manager, wants to see whether he can discover any patterns
in the return items that might indicate that the production is unstable. He
examines the Return statistics ranking report that displays the top ten returned
products for the last six months.
Summary
Customer Returns discussed how to set up and use the returns functionality in
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. Return management helps a company to
systemize customer returns and improve the efficiency of customer service and
customer satisfaction.
2. When a Return order line is created, or open and nothing has happened to it
yet, what is the status of that line?
( ) Canceled
( ) Awaiting
( ) Open
( ) Created
3. What is the name of the form where you perform the invoice of the Return
order?
( ) Return order form
( ) Arrival overview form
( ) Sales order form
( ) Location journal form
1.
2.
3.
Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. As part of the item arrival and inspection, a Disposition action will be
assigned to returned goods to specify how to dispose of the return goodsm,
how to handle the return financially, and if a replacement item must be sent
to the customer. What happens with the predefined Disposition action
"Credit"?
( ) Scrap item, create replacement order, credit customer
(•) Put item back into inventory, credit customer
( ) Do not return item, only credit customer, or customer scraps item, credit
customer
( ) Put item back item into inventory, create replacement order, credit
customer
2. When a Return order line is created, or open and nothing has happened to it
yet, what is the status of that line?
( ) Canceled
(•) Awaiting
( ) Open
( ) Created
3. What is the name of the form where you perform the invoice of the Return
order?
( ) Return order form
( ) Arrival overview form
(•) Sales order form
( ) Location journal form