# Purchase job workflow

## Understand the purchase job workflow

A purchase job tracks procurement work from a material requisition (MRQ) through an RFQ,
quotation, and purchase order. An MRQ records the material request, an RFQ asks a supplier for
an offer, a quotation records the supplier's response, and a purchase order commits the purchase.
The purchase-work lists are the starting point; detailed work on each record continues on the
focused MRQ, RFQ, quotation, or purchase-order page.
The route continues into receiving and warehouse fulfilment.

| If you need to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Find an MRQ or open the purchase-work entry list | [Find the MRQ and purchase work](#find-the-mrq-and-purchase-work) |
| Move an MRQ into RFQ and quotation work | [Move an MRQ through RFQ and quotation](#move-an-mrq-through-rfq-and-quotation) |
| Continue from a quotation to approval and activation | [Hand the quotation to purchase-order approval and activation](#hand-the-quotation-to-purchase-order-approval-and-activation) |
| Find active RFQ, quotation, or PO work | [Find active purchase job work](doc:purchase-job-work-lists) |
| Find archived or exception work | [Find archived and exception purchase job work](doc:purchase-job-exception-lists) |
| Complete the detailed record task | [Manage purchase job RFQs](doc:purchase-job-rfqs), [Manage purchase job quotations](doc:purchase-job-quotations), or [Manage purchase orders](doc:purchase-job-orders) |

After purchase-order approval and activation, continue with receiving and warehouse fulfilment.

Before you follow the hand-offs, prepare your session, list access, and starting record.

## Before you start

An authenticated session lets you open the MRQ and Purchase Jobs routes. The list content is
available when the purchasing feature is included, and the purchase-work list appears after a
list layout is available. Your access also controls whether the new-entry links appear.

Prerequisites

| Have this ready | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| An authenticated PAMS session | You are signed in and can open the purchase-work list. |
| The MRQ or package you need to continue | The list row identifies the package, supplier, offer, and order information used to choose the next stage. |
| The relevant work stage | Choose the list that matches the stage you need to continue. |
| The access needed for new work | The RFQ and **Direct P.O.** links appear only when new-entry access allows them. |
| A saved list layout | The purchase-work list appears when a selected layout is available. |

Do not treat the list as the record editor. Record fields, approval panels, activation panels,
quotation details, purchase-order details, and direct-order fields belong to their focused pages.

## Find the MRQ and purchase work

Use the MRQ entry when you are starting the procurement route. Purchase Jobs lists the RFQ,
quotation, purchase-order, and archived work that follows it.

Prerequisites

- You are signed in.
- You know whether you are starting from the MRQ list or continuing an existing purchase job.

Steps

1. Open the MRQ list when you are starting from the purchase-work entry.
2. Select the work list that matches your next task.

   | If you need to… | Select |
   |---|---|
   | Review every purchase job | **All** |
   | Work on RFQs | **RFQs** |
   | Work on supplier quotations | **Quotations** |
   | Work on purchase orders | **POs** |
   | Review archived work | **Archived** |

3. Select an MRQ row to open its MRQ record.
4. Select a purchasing row to open its purchasing record with the selected stage, account, and
   product context.

![Identify the purchase-work entry and the list tabs before opening a row.](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/869e8e2b6d797f16f2fe6587902221f4.png)

**Result:** The list for the selected work stage is on screen, or the related MRQ or purchasing
record opens for the next focused task.

Open the MRQ list. **All**, **Quotations**, **POs**, **Archived**, and **MRQs** can appear on the
purchase-work entry. Select the list that is actually available on your screen.

When the list remains open, read its row headers before moving to the next focused task.

## Read the purchase work list

A purchase-work row brings together the package identity, purchasing responsibility, supplier,
offer progress, and order progress so you can choose the next record task.

| Reader-facing label | What it helps you identify |
|---|---|
| **MRQ no.** | Find the requisition row to continue. |
| **MRQ type** | Distinguish the kind of material request. |
| **Title** | Identify the requested package. |
| **Required receiving date** | Check when the requested material is needed. |
| **Sales** | Relate the request to its sales work. |
| **Short vendor list** | Review the supplier information shown for the request. |

The columns on the MRQ list come from your selected list layout, so work from the headers you
actually see rather than expecting a fixed set of columns. The purchase-work list appears when a
selected layout is available.

**Result:** You can use the visible row headers to identify the package and decide which focused
record page to open next.

## Move an MRQ through RFQ and quotation

The RFQ and quotation hand-off moves the supplier request into response and purchase-order work.

Prerequisites

- You have opened the relevant MRQ or package row.
- You have the RFQ and supplier information needed by the focused record page.

Steps

1. Select **RFQ** to open the new RFQ form when you need to start RFQ work from the list.
2. Complete the RFQ on [Manage purchase job RFQs](doc:purchase-job-rfqs).
3. Continue to the quotation page after the RFQ is converted to offer work.
4. Complete quotation validation and conversion on [Manage purchase job quotations](doc:purchase-job-quotations).

When an RFQ has no required purchase item, the page can display `Please insert at least one RFQ`
or `Please insert at least one product`. Follow the focused RFQ or quotation page for the
correction.

**Result:** The work is handed from the MRQ entry to RFQ work and then to the quotation procedure.

## Hand the quotation to purchase-order approval and activation

Use the purchase-order page for approval and activation.

Prerequisites

- You have completed the quotation work.
- You are on the purchase-order page for the package.

Steps

1. Select **Convert To PO** from the quotation procedure when the quotation is ready for a
   purchase order.
2. Select **Request Approval** on the purchase-order page to send the order into approval work.
3. Select **Approved** when the purchase-order approval action is available.
4. Select **Activate PO** after approval to hand the order to activation.
5. Open [Manage purchase orders](doc:purchase-job-orders) when the order reaches
   `Awaiting activation` or the valid purchase-order stage.

The separate direct-order branch starts with **Direct P.O.** when new-entry access allows that
link. Its form belongs to [Create a direct purchase order](doc:create-direct-purchase-order).

**Result:** The quotation has been handed to purchase-order approval and activation, or you have
opened the separate direct-order task.

## Recover from a blocked list action

List feedback tells you whether to correct a filter, review the list state, or move to archived
and exception work. Record-stage messages belong to the focused record pages.

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| `Forbidden characters detected. Please remove them and try again.` | Remove the forbidden characters from the filter. |
| `You are about to archive this product. This action cannot be undone. Are you sure?` | Review the row before confirming an archive action. |
| `NO Data to Export` | Return to the list. |
| `Data Importing completed` | Continue working with the refreshed list. |
| If **RFQs** is unavailable | Use the visible work list, then open [Find active purchase job work](doc:purchase-job-work-lists) for the active list routes. |
| Archived or exception work needs recovery | Open [Find archived and exception purchase job work](doc:purchase-job-exception-lists). |
| If **Log in to Pams** appears | Sign in again before opening the list. |
| The page is empty and has no controls or buttons | Return to the route after authentication. |

Steps for the empty export result:

1. Return to the purchase-work list after `NO Data to Export`.
2. Select a list containing data.
3. Select **Export**.

The list displays the export options after **Export** is selected.

The focused record pages handle these additional messages:

| Message | Continue with |
|---|---|
| `Invalid input. The value must be greater than 0 and cannot exceed 999,999.00` | [Manage purchase job RFQs](doc:purchase-job-rfqs) |
| `Invalid input. Please enter a non-negative value` | [Manage purchase job RFQs](doc:purchase-job-rfqs) |
| `Invalid input. The tax rate must be between 0 and 100` | [Manage purchase job quotations](doc:purchase-job-quotations) |
| `Product package deleted from all inquiries` | [Purchase job information](doc:purchase-job-information) |
| `Product package deleted from all offers` | [Manage purchase job quotations](doc:purchase-job-quotations) |
| `Product package deleted from all orders` | [Manage purchase orders](doc:purchase-job-orders) |
| `Order updated successfully. Undelivered. A draft invoice was deleted` | [Manage purchase orders](doc:purchase-job-orders) |
| `Job reactivated successfully` | [Purchase job record](doc:purchase-job-record) |
| `Converted to inquiry successfully` | [Manage purchase job RFQs](doc:purchase-job-rfqs) |
| `Converted to offer successfully` | [Manage purchase job quotations](doc:purchase-job-quotations) |
| `Please insert at least one PO` | [Manage purchase orders](doc:purchase-job-orders) |
| `Please insert at least one RFQ` | [Manage purchase job RFQs](doc:purchase-job-rfqs) |
| `Please insert at least one product` | [Purchase job information](doc:purchase-job-information) |
| `Items labeled as ‘Ready for Shipment’ or ‘Delivered’ cannot be deleted` | [Manage purchase orders](doc:purchase-job-orders) |
| `An error occurred while processing your request` | [Purchase job record](doc:purchase-job-record) |
| `Package products cannot be empty` | [Purchase job information](doc:purchase-job-information) |
| `Required Offer Type` | [Manage purchase job RFQs](doc:purchase-job-rfqs) |
| `Required Bid Due Date` | [Manage purchase job RFQs](doc:purchase-job-rfqs) |
| `Your request was completed successfully` | [Purchase job record](doc:purchase-job-record) |
| `Inquiry must have at least one item` | [Manage purchase job RFQs](doc:purchase-job-rfqs) |
| `Offer must have at least one item` | [Manage purchase job quotations](doc:purchase-job-quotations) |
| `Order must have at least one item` | [Manage purchase orders](doc:purchase-job-orders) |
| `Please enter action for each milstone` | [Manage purchase orders](doc:purchase-job-orders) |
| `You already have a contact with this name` | [Contact record](doc:contact-record) |

**Result:** You know whether to correct the list action, sign in again, or continue in the
archived and exception work page.

## Continue after the purchase order hand-off

After purchase-order approval and activation, the procurement chain continues into receiving and
warehouse fulfilment. The purchase-work page remains the place to locate the package stage; the
focused purchase-order and warehouse pages carry the detailed actions.

| Next need | Go to |
|---|---|
| Review purchase-order approval or activation details | [Manage purchase orders](doc:purchase-job-orders) |
| Review the purchase-job workspace around the hand-off | [Purchase job record](doc:purchase-job-record) |
| Maintain shared purchase-job information | [Prepare purchase job information](doc:purchase-job-information) |
| Continue with receiving and warehouse work | [Warehouse fulfilment flow](doc:warehouse-fulfillment-flow) |
| Review archived or exception outcomes | [Find archived and exception purchase job work](doc:purchase-job-exception-lists) |

The purchasing row opens the purchasing record with stage, account, and product context. Use that
record route when the next task needs record-level information or a panel action.

**Result:** The purchase-order hand-off is complete in this process map, and you know which
focused page continues the work.