Order entry
Reviewed by Dasha ShakovVP Marketing, Proton
Updated
What is order entry?
Order entry is putting a customer’s order into the ERP as a sales order, matching each item to the right SKU, quantity, unit of measure and price. Orders arrive by email, PDF, phone, EDI, website and counter, and those that don’t arrive electronically are typed in by a CSR.
How it works
Many order-entry errors start with the item number. The customer writes its own part number, a competitor’s number or a loose description, and someone has to find the matching item. A wrong item or unit of measure becomes a return, a credit and an unhappy customer.
Order entry example
A customer’s PDF has 25 lines, most written as the customer’s own part numbers. The CSR looks each one up in the cross-reference before entering the order.
Further reading
Related terms
- Sales orderA sales order is the distributor’s own record of a customer order in its ERP, listing the items, quantities, prices, ship-to address and delivery terms.
- Purchase order (PO)A purchase order (PO) is a buyer’s document ordering specific items, in specific quantities and at stated prices, from a supplier.
- Electronic data interchange (EDI)Electronic data interchange (EDI) is the exchange of business documents, such as POs and invoices, between two companies’ systems in a standard format.
- Cross-referenceA cross-reference is a lookup table that links a distributor’s SKUs to other numbers for the same or an equivalent item.
- Unit of measure (UOM)A unit of measure (UOM) is the unit an item is bought, stocked or sold in, such as each, box, case, pallet, foot or pound.
