Manufacturers and distributors importing products from overseas face a variety of challenges. Perhaps shipments arrive late or are inaccurate or incomplete. Occasionally they don’t arrive at all. And freight can be expensive.
FOB (Free on Board) designates who is obligated for damaged or destroyed shipments. FOB origin places ownership, and thus financial liability, on the buyer as soon as the seller ships the product.
Businesses buying from overseas manufacturers must have a reliable inventory management system to track their shipments right from the start.
NetSuite’s Inbound Shipments Module
NetSuite has an Inbound Shipments module for tracking items in transit from the time they leave the supplier until they reach the customer. The Inbound Shipments module can record item quantities, the number of boxes and containers, bills of lading, etc. It can also provide tracking and save any advanced shipping data, as well as document which purchase orders the shipments correspond to.
In all, NetSuite helps customers accept ownership of their inventory at the time of shipment. And it facilitates the recording of all the necessary inventory transaction data prior to delivery.
Accurate knowledge of the value of your inventory while in transit is crucial. You need to be able to plan for receipt of your goods and accurately forecast inventory shipping costs. Having the data you need will allow you to make smarter fulfillment decisions and keep your inventory flowing efficiently. Organized processes will also get your stock moving out to your customers.
A Great Solution
With the NetSuite Inbound Shipment module, businesses can more efficiently take ownership of goods when terms set by the supplier are sent FOB origin. When shipment data is received from the supplier, the customer enters it into NetSuite, and ownership is transferred with a single click. Now, inventory transactions are triggered. The customer owns inventory that is in transit but has yet to be received. When the shipment arrives, another single click in the Inbound Shipment module initiates the receipt transaction.
So far, you can see how helpful NetSuite’s module is. But there is a challenge. Entering information into the module requires manual input, which can be tedious and error-prone. At the very least, it is time-consuming and, for that reason, can’t reflect real-time data. Even with all the NetSuite module’s functionality, some businesses have hesitated to adopt it. They cite the difficulty of getting information from suppliers into NetSuite. Shipment information sent on spreadsheets via email just doesn’t cut it anymore. There must be a better way. And there is.
A Better Solution
SourceDay has developed a Built for NetSuite integration to the Inbound Shipments module that allows you to take the Advanced Shipping Notice data captured via SourceDay and automatically create the inbound shipment records in real-time and error-free.
The solution is a single automated platform for use by both buyers and suppliers. The solution guides suppliers through the
NetSuite’s Inbound Shipment module is an incredibly powerful tool, but without an automated integration, it remains impractical for many businesses.
Would you like to know more about SourceDay’s solution?
By SourceDay,