Reorder Planner agent
Recommends how much to reorder and when. It skips an item that already has a draft reorder open, and it never raises a PO by itself.
Validated with each clientWhat does Reorder Planner replace? The work of a procurement officer: work out how much to reorder and when. Recommends how much to reorder and when. It skips an item that already has a draft reorder open, and it never raises a PO by itself.
Shows why
It shows its reasons and how sure it is on every draft. When it is not very sure, it only brings the item to your notice.
Waits for you
Nothing is filed, paid or posted until a person says so.
Gets reviewed
Every approval and correction is recorded, so you can see how well it does on your own books.
A day with this agent
A distributor with 2,000 items across two warehouses. The buyer used to scan a stock report each morning for what had run low.
- Stock falls below its safety level. Inventory notes it for that item in that warehouse.
- Kinnow checks it is not repeating itself. If a draft reorder is already open for the item and warehouse, or Kinnow has drafted one for that item in the last 7 days, it stops.
- It looks up your terms and your demand. Active, in-date rate contracts for the item, and about a year of past demand. With no active rate contract or no demand history it stops and says why, rather than guess.
- It works out a quantity and picks a supplier. The quantity uses the economic order quantity, which balances the cost of ordering against the cost of holding stock. The supplier must be one with a live rate contract, the lowest rate winning.
- It drafts a purchase requisition. The Automatic reorders screen shows each run with its steps, the prepared order and its status, "Waiting for a person".
- The buyer decides. Open the requisition, edit or reject it. To go ahead the buyer raises the purchase order, which copies the lines across.
See which of your items would trigger a reorder today. Ask us to run it on your stock list.
What it reads and what it hands back
| What it reads | What it hands back | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| Stock against safety level, active rate contracts, a year of past demand, any draft already open | Supplier, quantity, rate and the reasoning | The Automatic reorders screen |
| The same run, once drafted | A draft purchase requisition | The Requisitions list in Buy |
What a person decides
Nothing is filed, paid or posted without a person. It drafts a requisition, never an order.
- Safety levels. You set them per item and warehouse. The agent reacts to them.
- Rate contracts. You keep them current. It can only choose a supplier who has a live one.
- The order itself. The buyer raises the purchase order. Where items come from different suppliers, one order per supplier.
- Switching it off. Automatic reorders can be turned off in Buy's settings, and every purchase is then raised by hand.
Ask Kinnow about this
Questions a buyer or owner would type. Each answer shows its source.
- "Which items are below safety stock right now?" Shows the items, warehouses and quantities.
- "Which reorders are waiting for me?" Shows the draft requisitions with supplier and quantity.
- "Which items have no active rate contract?" Shows the items Kinnow cannot draft for.
- "What did we reorder last month, and from whom?" Shows the requisitions and orders.
Bring your reorder sheet and compare it with what Kinnow would draft.
Works with
This agent belongs to the Buy application and is used in distribution and trading and retail. Related: Three-way Match, Vendor Suggest, Stock Forecaster, and the capability reorder lists that count stock already ordered.
Questions
What does the Reorder Planner agent do?
Recommends how much to reorder and when. It skips an item that already has a draft reorder open, and it never raises a PO by itself.
Does Reorder Planner act on its own?
No. It recommends quantities and timing, and never raises a purchase order itself. A person approves first.
What if an item has no rate contract?
It skips the item and says no active rate contract was found. It does not guess a supplier or a rate.
Will it draft the same reorder every day?
No. It stops if a draft is already open for that item and warehouse, and drafts at most once a week per item.
Does Reorder Planner get better with use?
Kinnow records each approval, correction and rejection against the confidence the agent stated, so you can see whether "sure" really means sure on your own stock. That is a measurement for you to read. The agent does not rewrite its own behaviour from it.
How is it paid for?
It is part of your agent pack, and there is no charge per user.
Works alongside
3-way match
Matches the purchase order (PO), the goods receipt and the supplier's bill line by line, and holds the bill until any difference is sorted out.
BuyVendor Suggest
Suggests vendors using what each can supply, their scorecard and your past dealings, and gives the reason for each. It only suggests and never invites anyone.
Tell Kinnow what slows you down.
Answer three questions. Get the applications, the agents and a two-week plan for your business.