In a perfect world, your company would continually have enough inventory on hand to fill all of your customer orders and ship them on time. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case in the real world. 

It could be that one of your suppliers of raw materials is having problems shipping you what you need. Maybe a machine on your shop floor is down for repairs affecting your capacity to produce. Or, maybe your ERP software doesn’t give you the ability to properly forecast what you need to keep in stock, both saleable items and the components needed to produce those items. 

A blanket sales order is a type of master order that contains specific quantities for certain inventory items at pre-determined prices that the customer can draw against over a set period of time. There are several ways using blanket sales orders can create a symbiotic relationship between Businesses and their customers.

The concept of ‘mass customization’ is a fact of life in distribution and manufacturing businesses. To satisfy customer expectations, companies must be able to produce small quantities (i.e., ONE unit) of specifically configured or designed product to a large volume of customers - and they must do this in a competitively short lead time. 

Have you tried to buy a pair of running shoes lately? The first thing you may discover is that you are not even at the right store. That’s how specialized our economy has become. Go to a store that caters to a different type of customer and you’ll wind up with a poor fit and limited choices. ERP software works the same way - your company size, feature fit and corporate culture all matter, so you need to find an ERP Software package and vendor that share the same long term goals. 

A blanket purchase order is a long-term agreement between a company and its suppliers. While a regular purchase order is used for a one-time purchase, a blanket purchase order contains multiple delivery dates over a period of time.

There are several reasons why blanket purchase orders make sense if your vendor is willing to accept and honor this type of purchase agreement.

A well managed cash flow is conducive to the success of any business. You can sell product all day long, but if you can’t collect payment for that product in a timely manner, you may have to rely on other sources of cash to fund your business – which can be expensive and inevitably cut into your profits. 

When you’re looking to buy something for yourself or a loved one, there are three things to be considered: quality, price, and accessibility. This should be no different when it comes to purchasing materials for your company.