Van Sales

Van Sales

Ceres offers every facility for van sales operations. Salesmen can place total orders for all customers on their rounds, and the system will also incorporate direct order customers without invalidating the reconciliation.

The system will provide all packing documents with master sheets and picking notes where needed. Sales are recorded on an individual customer basis to provide excellent sales statistics an enquiry features.

Each van is reconciled on a daily basis with week to date and historical weekly information also being available. Van sales are invoiced and automatically posted to the Sales Ledger. Rebate Ledger and Commission modules are also available and maybe fully integrated with Van Sales and/or Sales Order Processing.

Features Overview

Ceres Bakery Van sales module provides all the necessary facilities for the operation of traditional bakery van sales operations, where the van salesman places a total bulk order for the van sales customers on his round.

Control

Gives full control of the sales staff, providing the desired flexibility to maximise sales effort by the elimination or reduction in the time taken by the Van Salesman in valuation of customers orders. This is possible as each route is controlled and reconciled on a Unit basis.

Individual Customer Records

Full recording of sales on an individual customer basis, so providing comprehensive sales statistics and enquiry features.

Customer types

Routes can include true vansales customers as well as direct ordering (Drop & Drive) customers without invalidating the round reconciliation.

Packing and Loading

Printing of all the documents necessary for packing and delivery, including master sheets picking notes, and loading boards where required.

Route Reconciliation

Each van is unit reconciled on a daily basis, enabling tight controls to be maintained. Week to date and historical weekly information is available.

Sales ledger

All customers are handled by the CERES sales ledger to which all sales are automatically posted.

Integration

Integrated with Ceres Bakery Sales Order Processing, Ceres Sales Ledger, Rebate ledger and Commission.

Routes (Rounds/Vans/Journeys)

The term Route is used within the system to describe a Round/Van/Journey. Every customer, be they a Vansales Customer or an Ordering Customer is allocated to a Route. There is provision for customers to have different Routing on Sundays, Monday-Fridays, and Saturdays.

Ordering (Customer Typing)

Orders for the Van sales Customers are the responsibility of the Van Salesman, he accumulates the requirements of his Vansales customers into his Bulk Order. Non-van sales orders are entered directly into the system on a customer by customer basis.

Totalling & Packing

Depending on how customers are defined in their master file their orders are accumulated to provide Total Requirements for the production department and Packing documentation for the despatch department. Individual customers orders may be shown separately, the Van salesman’s Bulk order for his van sales customers is shown and packed as one order.

Sales Ledger

The integrated sales ledger handles all transactions for all types of customer and produces debtor control documentation on a Route basis in addition to the normal account number basis.

Pricing & Discounts

Variable by customer, promotions and special offer facilities.

Products

There is no system restriction, on the type of product which may be sold via the vansales operation.

Restrictions

Products may be restricted to selected customers only. Full details of all products are held in the Product master file.

Availability

Product availability and restriction features are operative for van sales customers, as for direct customers.

Ordering Cycles

Products may have different ordering cycles:

1 Day order lines – e.g. Bread etc

2 Day order lines – e.g. Confectionery / Morning Goods

3 Day order lines – e.g. Specials etc.

Long life cake etc. Special procedures may apply or can be included with other products.

Packing & Despatch

Reports Different packing procedures will demand different types of reports. This module may be tailored to accommodate these different packing and despatch methods.

Van Bulk Order The Bulk Order for the route is packed as a single order, it may be printed in a variety of formats to suit packing and loading conditions, it may also be split by product type to facilitate early packing of two and three day order products in different parts of the bakery.

Separate packing (Packed in Bakery) The Vansalesman’s bulk order will include all his vansales customers, he may also have one or more customers who are not included in his bulk order, because they have to be packed, and or loaded separately from his main load.

Long life cake Long life cake, may be treated in the same way as normal products, alternatively they may be despatched separately. For example you may be using either a secure store, or self service with checkout to control these items.

Chronological Operation

The following outline is in roughly chronological order, through the various stages in the ordering, despatch, and delivery cycles.

Order Office

Van ordering sheets

For each delivery day the system will produce order sheets each van salesman.

1 Day Sheet – ordering Bread etc. for tomorrows order

2 Day Sheet – ordering Confectionery for the day after tomorrow

3 Day Sheet – ordering products for the day after the day after tomorrow

Van Bulk Order Although it is unusual the system will provide for more than the normal one bulk order for each route if required.

As a new week is generated the van bulk orders will be copied from the base week into to new week in the same way as other orders.

It is the Van salesman’s responsibility and prerogative to amend this order as he sees fit as he is in turn responsible for the van waste.

Van stocks The van salesman will wish to amend his bulk order, not only to reflect how he estimates his requirements, but also to take into account any stock he may be carrying on the van.

Bulk Order Amendments

The van salesman amend his bulk order by writing adjustments + or – in the adjustments column. Do not write the total required.

Correct Thin Sliced + 100 Brown Tin – 10

Wrong Thin Sliced 850 Brown Tin 765

Sales Order Office

Keying

Van salesman Bulk Adjustments

Key the Van salesman’s adjustments into the system. Van related totals and subtotals will be immediately available.

Individual Customers Orders Direct orders are received by the sales order office from a variety of sources, telephone, FAX, EDI etc at different times. Keying can take place at any time, there is no system restriction on when orders can be keyed.

Totals

As with other order processing modules within the system, Grand Totals, Route totals, and various production sub totals are maintained as orders and amendments are entered.

The following prints and displays are available, they will reflect the contents of the totals file at the time they are printed.

If orders or amendments are keyed after reports have been called, the respective report can be re-printed straight away, as the amendment will be processed and the totals updated immediately

Reports & Displays

Production totals and subtotals displayed and printed.

Van Sheets for loading purposes are printed in the same format as the Van salesman’s order sheets or in the format most suited to your despatch method.

Delivery Notes printed for all customers. The delivery Notes for Van Sales Customers show the products normally taken by the customer together with the quantity of each product taken by the customer on this day last week. Delivery notes for the Drop and Drive customers are printed showing the quantity of each product ordered.

Printing of delivery notes is done in Drop Sequence Order.

At the end of each route a summary is printed showing the number of customers on the route, their name and account number. On this summary it is also possible to print a cash analysis section. This summary is used by the Van salesman to record from whom he has received any monies.

Loading & Despatch

Reports

The following are some of the reports which are available. Printing is normally done on two part NCR paper.

Route loading sheet Route total

Route bulk sheet Route bulk

Sub-total sheet Sub-total

Individual order Single order

Van loading sheet Combination of above

Master Sheet Multiple totals sub-totals

Picking Sheet Single product or multiple order

In choosing which sheet best suits your despatching method, you should bear in mind that, in addition to being used as packing documents, sheets are also used to convey information:

To the vansalesman for checking

To the order office for route reconciliation and charging purposes.

Packing

Packing and loading is carried out using one of the sheets detailed above.

Shorts/Overs

Where there is any short or over loading the adjustments must be noted in the adjustments column.

Top Copies

The top copy of all loading sheets and van sheets, whether amended or not are returned to the Order Office.

Bottom copies

Bottom copies of the sheets are given to the van salesman with his load, so that he can check his load.

If the van salesman discovers any short or overloading, these should be notified to the despatch supervisor BEFORE leaving the bakery.

Separate loading arrangement may apply to long life cake.

Sales Order Office

Order Office will enter any load amendments from the adjustments on the loading or Van Sheets into the system, for charging and reconciliation purposes.

Selling, Deliveries & Controls

Selling

One of the points that must be considered in any selling method, is the speedy efficient, and accurate procedure for recording sales that in no way inhibits sales.

Customers demand, delivery documentation which makes checking possible.

Time – Due to the nature of bakery products, and demands of customers, the amount of selling time available per customer is small.

Delivery Notes

For the reasons above the delivery note produced by the system, personalised for each customer, requires the van salesman only to enter the quantity of each product sold to the customer to be entered.

Products

The vansales customers delivery note may be printed with a selectable range of products. This range of products can be different for different customers and may be based on the customers historical sales or base expected range.

Last Weeks Sales Quantity

This day last week sales quantities for this customer may be printed on the delivery note as a sales aid.

NCR Paper

The delivery note produced by the system is a two or three part document using NCR paper.

The Delivery Note is the prime input document having a full record of all transactions between the customer and the van salesman for any one day.

Legibility

Care must be taken to ensure that delivery notes are not lost and that any notes or amendments written are legible.

Van salesman

Collects his folder together with his delivery notes from the sales office.

Packed in Bakery Orders

These orders are packed in the bakery by bakery staff, the Salesman delivers these PIB orders for his route.

Where these orders have to be short packed or amended, the bakery will note the actual quantity packed in the appropriate column on the delivery note.

Vansalesman’s Bulk Order The Van salesman checks his load against his bulk order, PIB Orders are not included in this Bulk Order. Any shortages must be notified to the Despatch Supervisor before leaving the bakery.

Van sales

An unquantified delivery note is printed for each Van sales Customer on the Route. The Salesman will sell into van sales customers, using the customers delivery note to record the number of units of each product sold, in the appropriate column.

If a sale is made of products not preprinted on the delivery note the quantity sold of each product,their names and where possible their product code numbers, to be written on the delivery note by the Van salesman.

Credits – All customer Types

If credit is to be given for any product returned the number of units to be credited is recorded by the van salesman in the returns column of the delivery note.

Monies

Any money, either cash or cheque collected from the customer, the amount should be entered on the delivery note and also written on the summary/cash control sheet which is printed for each route showing the names of the customers, in the column provided for money received.

Proof of Delivery

If required a Proof of Delivery Document (POD – GRN) is obtained from the customer, this can in turn will be keyed into the system and will appear on the customers Invoice.

The bottom copy of the delivery note is left with the customer the top copy is retained by the van salesman.

On return to the bakery the Vansalesman must complete the cash control section of his route summary, ensuring that he hands in all the delivery notes detailed on his route summary.

Returns

Any Returns taken off the van are checked into the bakery and a van returns note is raised by the bakery, one copy of this note is given to the van salesman, one copy being forwarded to the sales order office, the remaining copy being retained for audit purposes.

Van Stocks

The van salesman will record on his copy of the van sheet any stock. Recording the number of units of each product he is retaining on his van.

At regular intervals vans should be stripped to confirm stocks for reconciliation purposes.

Salesman’s copy of the Van sheet, with his waste and stock recorded is handed to the Sales Order Office.

Van Reconciliation

Keying

The Order office will have already started to enter the amendments from the delivery notes handed in earlier by the van salesman immediately on his return to the bakery.

Van stocks and Van waste entered into the system by the order office.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation of the van is based on quantity of each product loaded, taking into account load amends and van transfers, against quantity of each product charged to customers.

Daily Route Reconciliation printed, giving details of any differences between despatch and charged quantities, product by product, together with values at control prices.

Unsupported van credits, Seven reasons or authorisation codes are available to analyse the causes of unsupported van credits. This enables efficient management controls to be exercised over this area.

Timing

The system is designed to minimise the amount of keying effort involved. This enables a full reconciliation for each van to be carried out in a reasonable time, before the van salesman is allowed to finish work.

In this way queries are settled while they are fresh in the salesman’s mind.

Reports & Displays

Various reports and displays of van reconciliations both for the current day and current week. In addition previous weeks data is available to enable line and senior management to correctly control the vansales operation.

Invoicing

All customers whether, vansales customers, or preordered van packed, or packed in bakery customers, are full sales ledger customers.

Weekly or daily invoicing is selectable by customer. All invoice and credit transactions are posted to the integrated sales and nominal ledgers.

Non- group customers weekly invoices can optionally contain, a “statement”, which details opening balance, this weeks invoice, this weeks credit, any cash received and the carried forward balance.

It is recommended that invoices are posted to customers if not every week, then on an irregular rostra system, so that the customers can monitor their transactions with the company.

Statements

Statements are available on a selective or all customer basis and detail each transaction held in the Sales Ledger.

Bakery control

The vansales module is fully integrated with the other order processing modules. This allows a reconciliation between production and gross despatches to monitor and therefore provide the information needed to control any losses.

Debtor control

As all customers details are held within the sales ledger the full range of control reports are available on a route by route basis.

Debtor control as with other reports operates on a week rather than on a month or period basis, thus affording improved debt control possibilities.

Sales reporting

Sales reporting may be by route and or customer type. Sales may be analysed over multi product groups to enable the best marketing advantage to be taken from the fully detailed sales database.

Route profitability

Full details of all deliveries for every customer are recorded, where the recipe costing module is also implemented the gross margin for each customer and therefore for each van is available.

Vansalesman’s Commission

The system can provide base information for your own commission scheme or it can be integrated with a Commission ledger.

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