Requisition Approval Processing by Cost, Commodity Code, and Item Type Version

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Overview

This section outlines how to set up a requisition approval process based on the types of items (e.g., commodity-coded items) requested and their costs. The information below will be of primary interest to system administrators. However, buyers and anyone who approves requisitions should find parts of the discussion useful.

A companion documentation topic covers the process of creating an approver group and identifying approvers. See Set up buyers, approvers, and approval groups.

Approval Categories and Processing

In Materials Management, several categories of approvals exist for processing requisitions: costing, commodity code, item type.

Costing approval allows buyers to review and enter missing information on non-file requisition lines before the lines go to a purchase order. Missing information may include item cost, manufacturer ID, manufacturer item number, vendor number, vendor buy-from location, vendor item number, and so on. A single buyer who performs costing review is specified in the user settings of each person who is allowed to create requisitions. After the costing buyer reviews a requisition line, the system evaluates whether further approval is needed. The evaluation is based on commodity code, item type, or the requisition originator's approval dollar limits, as outlined in the Processing Rules section. The requisition then goes to the next step in the approval process, if needed. If no further approval is necessary, the requisition is approved when it leaves the costing buyer.

Commodity code approval assigns a direct approver or approver group to one or more commodity categories. Direct approvers or approver groups approve or reject requisitions containing stock, non-stock, or non-file items that have the assigned commodity codes.

Item type approval (stock, non-stock, and non-file items) specifies the kinds of items that must be approved for any person creating requisitions. Approval of requests with requisition cost, item cost, or item line cost below a specified dollar limit can be waived. Dollar limits can be assigned to individual users. You can also create an approval profile, and assign it to all users in a department.

Approval Processing Rules

Requisitions flow through approval steps in this order:

costing (non-file items) > commodity type > item type (stock, non-stock, or non-file)

When a requisition is approved at any point in the process, the requisition advances to the next approver, or the next approval step. When no more approvers exist in the chain of approvals and all have approved, the entire requisition is approved. If a requisition is rejected for any step, the entire requisition is rejected.

For example, Figure 1 outlines the approval process for a requisitioned file item that subject to commodity code approval.

Figure 1 - Approval Flow for File Item with Commodity Code

Rejected requisitions must be reviewed and edited before they can re-enter the approval process. A rejected requisition re-enters the approval process at the beginning, and follows the same path as it did originally. New lines cannot be added to a requisition once it enters the approval process.

Approvals in Materials Management are configured so that requisitions are not routed to the same approver multiple times at different points in the process flow. For example, the costing buyer assigned to a particular requisitioner and the direct approver for non-file items may be the same person. If non-file items for the requisitioner need approval, then the assigned costing buyer both reviews and approves those requisitions.

Approver Groups

A requisition approver group contains multiple buyers who approve requisitions. The buyers have different approval responsibilities for requisition dollar amounts. Each member of an approver group can approve or reject requisitions up to his/her dollar limit. Requisitions are routed within an approver group based on the requisition cost and each group member's approval dollar limit until the requisition is signed off. A hospital may have one or multiple approver groups. Setup details are located in Set up buyers, approvers, and approval groups.

Approval routing when Approver Buddy is in approver group

When an approver's Out of Office status is set, requisitions for the approver go to his/her Approver Buddy. If an approver group is assigned to the requisition, both the original approver and the person's Approver Buddy can belong to the approver group.

In this situation:

Requesters Who Are Also Approvers

Approvals for check requests and requisitions can be automatically escalated up the approver group ladder if the requester is also an approver in the group.

When enabled, this feature prevents users who are members of an approver group from approving their own requests. Approval for requisitions and check requests for the users automatically route to the next level in the approval group hierarchy. The next highest approver's Max Dollar Amount limit is ignored so that requests for any amount are escalated. This feature applies only to members of approver groups, not to direct approvers.

See "Approver group members creating requisitions/check requests" for instructions on how to enable this feature.

Change a maximum dollar limit for an approver in all approver groups

An approver's maximum dollar limit can be changed simultaneously for any approver groups that the user belongs to.

You can make mass changes from the Materials Management Requisitioning or Invoicing menus, or from the Accounts Payable Invoicing menu. The mass change feature is similar to other utilities in the system for making mass changes: first, select the appropriate changes; then, instruct the system to execute the changes.

For detailed instructions on how to change approver limits, see the discussion of mass changes to approvers in the approver setup topic.

Security validations on requisitions for approval

The application checks these parameters on requisitions submitted for approval:

If the asset location for the department is not correct or the approver does not have the asset location in his/her data profile, the requisition approval process stops. The requisition cannot be approved, and the user receives an error message. The approver then has the option of updating the supplying asset location for the department or changing allowable asset locations in his/her data profile, as applicable.

These validations prevent the application from dropping requisition lines that cannot be approved and cannot be added to a purchase order.

Commodity-Coded Items

For hospitals that use commodity-coded items, an approver or approver group is assigned to each commodity code. The approver or group approves requisitions for items that carry the commodity code. Approver assignments are found in the Commodity Approvals table.

You can define a separate routing and approval pattern for each department/commodity code combination (e.g., code 123, department 500; code 567, department 500; code 123, department 600; code 567, department 600; etc.) This approach is helpful when different departments require unique approval qualifications or routing rules for the same commodity code. With this departmental approach, dollar limits specified for an approver group can be overridden.

An overall chart of the progress of a requisition — from the time it is opened to the complete issuing of items — may help you visualize the approvals process (Chart 1).

Chart 1 - Requisition Approval Process

To view the full Requisition Approval Process chart on a separate page, here is a link.

Approval Settings for Individuals and Departments

Approval settings can be created for individual users and/or for all the users in a department.

Approval Settings for Individual Requesters

Each requesters user settings specify item type approval limits. Item types are: stock, non-stock, and non-file. When a dollar limit is set for an item type, approval is waived for requisition costs below the dollar limit. For requisitions that need approval, approvers are also assigned in the user settings.

A requesters user settings contain:

Item type limits can be set to provide several options:

To specify item type approval limits for a requester:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, select Administration > Users.
    The list of users at your site appears.
  2. Locate the user of interest and click the edit icon ( ) next to the user ID.
    The Users edit panel appears.
  3. Click the Requester Limits tab.
    The Requester Limits panel appears (Figure 2). Edit the information as needed.

Figure 2 - Requisition Approval Limits for Requesters

The Requester Limits panel in Figure 2 shows the approval settings for a person at a site who has a Requester role. This person opens and submits requisitions for items.

The Requisition Direct Approval User field is the normal approver for this requester ("JuanT"). A Requisition Approver Group could have been entered instead of the requisition direct approval user. (You can enter a Requisition Direct Approval User or a Requisition Approver Group, but not both.) The requisition direct approver or the requisition approver group approves this person's requests for the item types identified in the check boxes (in the lower fields on this panel).

The next three Cost fields set dollar limits. These dollar limits apply to requisitions for any item type (stock, non-stock, non-file) that is flagged in the check boxes as "requiring approval."

The Requisition Non-File Approver/Buyer identifies the person ("NancyM") who reviews non-file requisitions to fill in cost data.

The following fields work with the three Cost fields on this panel to identify the types of items that need approval:

  1. When you are finished editing, click Save.
  2. Click Submit.
    The system returns you to the Users list.

Note: Requesters can enter different types of items on a single requisition, but if your site's approval process requires reviewers for each item type, the system splits your original requisition according to approver and item to create new requisitions. The new requisitions are tied to the original requisition. (See Requisition Splitting.)

Approval Settings for Departments

Approval profiles let you define how requisition lines qualify for approvals on a departmental basis, independently of individual users' settings. Approval profiles contain the item types (stock, non-stock, non-file) and dollar limits for requisitions. Once created, an approval profile can be assigned to an entire department for the department's requesters. Direct approvers or approver groups can also be assigned to departments. In this way, you can avoid maintaining approval data for multiple individual requesters who all have the same approval requirements because they belong to the same department.

An import feature lets you link an existing approver group or direct approver to an organization and department within your ERP application.  The link is implemented via a download of a department's current approval setup parameters (approval profiles), followed by upload of approver groups and direct approvers.  This capability supports acquisition of new units at a medical center, and quarterly audit compliance. The feature uses the standard import. See Importing Approvers and Approver Group Assignments for Departments.

Notes:
If a user belongs to a department that has an approval profile assigned, the approval profile takes precedence over the individual user's settings.
You must be a system administrator to access requester limits information.

If a department uses expense code allowances, you can require approval for any requisition whose total exceeds the allowance. The Approval Required field on the approval profile (Figure 4, bottom) triggers this action. See the discussion of departmental allowances for details.

To create an approval profile:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, click Requisitioning > Approval Profiles.
    The Approval Profiles list appears (Figure 3), if any have been created. Otherwise, No Data appears.

Figure 3 - Approval Profiles List

  1. Click New.
    The Approval Profile edit panel appears (Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Approval Profile Edit/Create Panel

  1. Complete fields on the Approval Profile edit panel as needed. The fields, except for Approver Group, are the same as the fields on the User Profile Requester Limits panel.
  2. If all members of the approver group must approve the requisition, regardless of the requisition's total cost,
    and the maximum dollar amount assigned to any individual approver, select Approver Group - All must approve.
  3. Click Submit.
    The system displays the Approval Profiles list.
  4. Click Refresh to view the newly created approval profile.

You can now assign the approval profile to a department.

To restrict an approval profile by organization

By (optionally) restricting approval profiles by organization, you can limit user access to them based on users' data profiles.
When an approval profile has been restricted by organization, it will only appear in lists where the user has data profile access to at least one of the restricted organizations.

The Approval Profile Edit panel (Figure 4) displays a tab that allows you to restrict the approval profile by organization.

When an approval profile is restricted by organization, Yes appears in the Restricted column on the Approval Profiles List (Figure 3).

Assign Approval Profiles to Departments

You can assign an approval profile to a department from the Approval Profiles list (Figure 3) or from the Department edit Approvals tab (as described subsequently). On the Approvals panel, you can also designate a direct approver or an approver group for all the requesters in a department.

To assign an approval profile from the Approval Profiles list:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, click Requisitioning > Approval Profiles.
    The list of approval profiles appears (Figure 3). You will have access to approval profiles that are unrestricted or those restricted by organizations to which you have access through your data profile.
  2. Next to the approval profile that you wish to assign, click Menu > Assign to Departments.
    A panel appears with a summary of the approval profile's limits, and a list of departments for selection.
  3. Click the Select box next to the department or departments for the approval profile.
  4. Click Submit when you finish selecting the department(s).
    The approval profile is assigned to the department(s).

To assign department approvals on the Department edit panel:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, click Requisitioning > Departments.
    The list of departments appears.
    Click the edit icon next to the department of interest. The Department edit panel appears.
  2. Click the Approvals tab (Figure 5).

Figure 5 - The Department Approvals Tabbed Panel

  1. Click the prompt to select values for fields on the Approvals tab. The fields are similar to the fields on the User Profile Requester Limits panel.
  2. Click Submit.
    Approvals settings for the department are complete.

How Materials Management Uses the Department Approval Profile

On the department's Approval Profile panel (Figure 4), for the heading Requisition Limits, the fields Approval Required and Auto Approve When Total Cost Less Than determine if a requisition needs approval when no other approvals (such as commodity code approvals) are required.

When a requisition is submitted, The system looks for a departmental approval profile. If the department has an approval profile, the system determines if the Approval Required field is selected. If so, the system looks at the field Auto Approve When Total Cost Less Than (Figure 4).

- If the total cost is greater than the amount in the field Auto Approve When Total Cost Less Than (Figure 4), the requisition is assigned to the approver group or direct approver specified on the department record.

- If the requisition total cost does not exceed the amount, The system checks the user profile.

User approval settings are on the User Profile - Requester Limits panel (Figure 2).

When the user profile field Automatically Approve Req Total Cost Under field (Figure 2) has a value, and the total cost for the requisition is greater than the value, the requisition is routed to the approver group or direct approver specified on the user profile.

Reviewing, Approving, and Rejecting Requisitions

Direct Approvers are solely responsible for the approval or rejection of a submitted requisition. When they approve an requisition, the requisition Status is Approved.

Approver Groups share responsibility for the approval or rejection of a submitted requisition. When a member of an Approver Group approves a requisition, the requisition Status remains at Pending Approval until all eligible approvers in the group have reviewed the requisition. When the last eligible approver approves the requisition, the requisition Status is set to Approved.

When an approver user sets his/her "Out of Office" status, approvals for the user are routed to the users Approver Buddy.

Approvers access requisitions waiting for approval through approval queues.

- My Requisition Approval Queue is unique for each approver and shows requisitions assigned to the approver.
If you are an requisition approver, this queue contains requisitions assigned to you.

- All Invoice Approval Queues shows requisitions assigned to all invoice approvers.

- Consolidated Approval Queue shows requisitions awaiting approval, and any other transactions documents (such as invoices) that you are also authorized to approve.

Based on a requisition approver's user profile settings, the approver may be notified by an email when a new requisition is placed in his/her approval queue. If you are set up to receive email notifications when a requisition is ready for review, you can link directly to the requisition from the email.

Reviewing Requisitions in Your Approval Queue

The Materials Management main Contents contains menu links to the approval queues.

To review requisitions assigned to you:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, select Requisitioning > My Requisition Approval Queue.
    A list of requisitions ready for approval appears.
    The Requisition Status is Pending Approval.
    The Review Status -- Not Reviewed -- is the status of the Approval Queue entry.

    The Review Status can have these values:
  1. From the menu next to the requisition, select the appropriate action.

Review Requisitions from the Consolidated Approval Queue

This Consolidated Approval Queue consolidates all your requisitions, invoices, journal vouchers, and check requests needing approval in one place.
You can see all the transaction documents that you are authorized to review and approve or reject.

This panel is helpful for approvers who approve multiple types of transaction documents...such as requisitions and invoices...so that they do not have to go multiple approval queues in the ERP application. Everything is in one queue.

To access the Consolidated Approval Queue,

From the Materials Management, Accounts Payable, or General Ledger main contents, select Consolidated Approval Queue (Figure 6).

Figure 6 - The Consolidated Approval Queue in Accounts Payable

The list of transaction documents awaiting your approval appears. On the list are requisitions awaiting approval, but also any other documents that you are authorized to approve.

The links and menu have the same capabilities as those on My Approval Queue or on All Approval Queues.

Requisition Approvals/Rejections by Email

You can approve or reject requisitions from a link on an email message.  ERP can send an email to requisition approvers that only requires clicking the approval or rejection link. Approvers can also add comments before sending the email back to the application. The requisition is then approved or rejected, as specified in the email.

Note: Email approval/rejection is also available for check requests and invoices.

Setup

Here are the setup steps:

  1. Create Reason Codes for approval/rejection, if you have not already done so.
    - From AP or Materials Management, select Reason Codes > Reason for Approval/Rejection.
    - Click New to create these new reason codes:
    Approved from Email Notification Link
    Rejected from Email Notification Link
  2. For each approver, and each person who creates requisitions, ensure that the person's User Profile has the following information:
    - A valid email address, located on the General panel.
    - A data profile, located on the User Roles panel, that includes organizations/departments whose data the approver or requester will work with.
    - A role, located on the User Roles panel, with the correct settings for requesting and approving role objects.

    Details on user administration are in the topic: Set Up and Maintain Users, Administration, Security. See the sections Work with User Roles and Work with Data Profiles.
  1. Select the following field value in each request approver's user profile
    - On the Approver Limits tab, set Requisition Submit Notify Type to Email on Submission.
  2. Select the following field value in each request creator's user profile
    - On the Requester Limits tab, set Requisition Approval Notify Action to Email Approve or Reject.
  3. If the request or's department uses a requisition approval profile, edit the department to enter the approval profile.
    - From Materials Management, select Requisitioning > Departments.
    - Locate the department of interest.
    - Click Menu > Edit, or the edit icon .
    - Click the Approvals tab.
    - Select a value for the field Requisition Approval Profile.
    Note: Depending on how your site is configured, you can also assign a Requisition Approver Group and a Requisition Direct Approver to each department from fields on this panel.

Using Email Requisition Approvals/Rejections

When a departmental requester creates a requisition that must be approved, Materials Management marks the requisition as Pending Approval (Figure 7) and sends an email message to the designated approver (Figure 8).

Figure 7 - A Requisition Awaiting Approval

Figure 8 - The Email Message for the Approver: Approve or Reject

Figure 9 - An Approval Message for Emailing Back to Materials Management

You will receive another email with the approval or rejection notification.
You can review the requisition on the Requisitions List, with the approval Status as you specified in the email. In this example, the Status is Approved (Figure 10).

Figure 10 - A Requisition Approved Using the Email Approval Process

On the email message (Figure 8), you can also click the link “Click here to view Requisition No XXX” to open ERP and look at the requisition in detail, to accept or reject it (Figure 8). If you are not logged in to the application, clicking the link opens the ERP Sign On panel and you can sign in. The system displays the transaction needing approval. The application remains open for other work.

When you open ERP from the "Click here..." link on an approval email, you can access the entire ERP features menu directly from the approval queue. Here is an example:

  1. You receive an email that a requisition is ready for approval (Figure 8).
  2. You click “Click here to view Requisition No XXX” to open ERP to the application Sign On page.
    - Sign in. ERP opens the application to the requisition.
  3. You can review and approve or reject the requisition as usual.
    At the top of the Approval Queue panel in the menu bar, the Main Menu button appears (Figure 11).

Figure 11 - The Main Menu Button on an Approval Queue

  1. Click Main Menu to open the application to the Welcome Page. All of the features that you are authorized to use are available. (If you go back to the approval queue, however, the Main Menu button does not appear again.)

Handling rejected requisitions because of incorrect non-file commodity codes

For sites who use commodity codes to drive approval routing, the need to change incorrect commodity codes on non-file requisition lines is addressed by this feature.

Important: Setup is needed to use this feature. The flag ("Allow Change to Req Line Commodity Code") controls access. This field is in your site's administration records, and can be set for you by the HelpDesk. Contact the HelpDesk if you wish to use this feature.

Corrections/changes to the commodity code on a requisition are audited.

Summary

When a requisition containing a non-file line is rejected by an approver because of an incorrect commodity code, you can either correct the commodity code directly on the rejected requisition, or copy the requisition, and make corrections. Which action you can take depends on whether the requisition contains both file and non-file items, and whether the incorrect commodity codes are the same for the file and non-file items. See below: "You can edit the rejected requisition if..." and "You must copy the rejected requisition and making corrections on the copy, if...".

You can edit the rejected requisition if...

The requisition has either no file lines, or file lines with commodity codes different from those in the non-file lines. The non-file lines contain incorrect commodity codes and the requisition is rejected by approvers. You can edit the rejected requisition to correct the commodity codes on the non-file lines, and resubmit it for approval. When you resubmit the requisition, a message (Figure 12) tells you that the first commodity code that you change will be changed for all non-file lines, and asks you to confirm.

Figure 12 - Changing the Commodity Code for All Non-File Lines on a Rejected Requisition

  1. Locate the rejected requisition on the Requisitions list.
  2. Edit the requisition.
  3. Edit the non-file line.
  4. Change the Commodity Code  to the correct value (Figure 13).

Figure 13 - Correcting the Commodity Code on a Rejected Requisition

When you change a commodity code for one non-file item on a requisition, ERP makes the change for all the non-file items on the requisition. The message is in Figure 12.

  1. Click Submit to resend the requisition for approval. The submitted requisition is routed to the appropriate approver or approver group based on the new commodity code.

You must copy the rejected requisition and making corrections on the copy if...

The rejected requisition contains file and non-file lines, with the same incorrect commodity codes. The rejected requisition cannot be edited, but must be copied, and corrections made on the copy. When you attempt to edit the incorrect requisition, an error message tells you that you must copy the rejected requisition and change commodity codes on the copy. Here is the message (Figure 14):

Figure 14 - Error Message on a Requisition with File Items when Commodity Code is Changed

  1. Locate the rejected requisition that you wish to copy. (Requisitioning > Requisitions - Current Dept. The Quick Click menu appears.)
  2. Once you find the requisition, click Menu > Copy. The Copy Requisition panel appears.

The Copy Requisition panel provides a check box that lets you automatically "complete" the original requisition so that no one can mistakenly use it again. The box is checked by default (Figure 15). This field only appears for rejected requisitions being copied; not for any copied requisition. You can unselect this field if you do not wish to complete the rejected requisition.

On the original rejected requisition being copied, the quantities on the lines are killed and a system note is written to the requisition header. The Status of the original requisition is set to Complete.

Figure 15 - Specifying that a Rejected Requisition is Completed after Copying

Note: Be sure to select the Copy All Notes field on the General tab if you wish to copy any notes associated with the requisition.

  1. Click Submit. The system copies your requisition and sends a message that tells you the number of lines copied and the new Requisition Number.

Review Project/Fund Budgets and Spend to Date

Requisition originators and approvers can display the budgeted and current amounts for each project/fund, and determine if each requisition can be approved based on the remaining project or fund balance.

Note: A Project Code entered on a requisition's General tab does not carry down to the requisition line or over to the PO Header. Only a em>Project Code entered on a requisition line will carry over to the PO line.

If you are a requisition approver in charge of certain projects, you can inquire on the project codes from requisition lines before or during the approval process. Similarly, users responsible for funds can inquire on fund codes.

For example, Figure 16 is a requisition in which the Project Code and Fund Code have been entered for lines.

Figure 16 - A Requisition with Project/Fund Codes Assigned to Lines

The approver can check the project and/or fund code amounts as follows:

To display project/fund spend information from a requisition

  1. From the Materials Management Requisitions list (Materials Management > Requisitioning > Requisitions)
  2. Click the edit icon to edit the requisition. The requisition opens (Figure 12).
    or , for approvers:
    - Open your approval queue (Materials Management > Requisitioning > My Approval Queue), and locate the requisition.
    - Click i to inquire on the requisition. The requisition opens to the Requisition Lines Quantity Status panel.

  3. Scroll right to display the Project Code and Fund Code columns. The inquiry i appears next to each code value.
  4. Click i to display current and budgeted dollars for the project/fund.
    Figure 17 is an example of project spend current and budgeted dollars.

Figure 17 - Project Spend Information for a Requisition Line

When a requisition line has a Project Code, the department's cost (item's extended cost + markup + tax) is added to the project's current amount when the inventory transaction is created. These are the relevant inventory transactions:

2 - Issue to Dept
4 - Dept Return to Inventory
15 - Cost Adjustment
16 - Return to Vendor
17 - Cancel - Issue to Dept
20, 21 - Dept to Dept Transfer
25 - Department Cost Adjustment

Note: A Project Code can require any requisition line or purchase order line that specifies the Project Code to contain only a Commodity-Coded item.
In creating a requisition, if you enter an item that does not contain a Commodity Code in this case, the application displays an error. You must go to the Item Catalog record and enter a Commodity Code for the item.
See Using Project Codes with GL Accounts.

Commodity Code Approvals

Staff at your site who review and approve requisitions may be assigned to handle particular commodity codes.

- Requisition approval responsibility is set on the User Profile panel User Roles tab (see "Specify the User Role").

- Notifications for reviewers are set on the Approver Limits tab (see "Setting Approver Limits").

- Approvers' commodity code assignments are made in the Commodity Approvals table in Materials Management.

When a commodity-coded item assigned to an approver appears on a requisition, the requisition is always subject to approval. Although a requester can enter items that have different commodity codes on a single requisition, if your site's approval process requires different reviewers for different commodity codes, the system splits your original requisition according to approver and commodity code, and creates new requisitions. The new requisitions are tied to the original requisition.

You can set up commodity approvals by department. This approach allows different departments to have different approval qualification and routing rules for the same commodity code. For example, suppose a surgical department and operating room department both use items that are defined with the commodity code IMPLANT. However, the items sharing this commodity code are vastly different in type and cost, and require a different approval approach. Commodity approvals by department provides the means to fulfill this need.

Notes:

You can set up and use approval reminders for regular requisitions. Details are in the topic Approval reminders and redirected approvals.

To identify a commodity code:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, click Tables > Commodity Codes. The Commodity Codes table appears (Figure 18). (No Data appears if no commodity codes are defined.)

Figure 18 - Commodity Code Table

  1. Click New. The Commodity Code Edit panel appears.
  2. Enter the new commodity code and description. When you are finished, click Save.
  3. Click Submit. The system returns to the Commodity Codes list.
  4. Click Refresh to view the code that you entered.

To view an item's commodity code:

  1. From the main Contents, select Inventory > Item Catalog. The Item Catalog list appears.

  2. Locate the item of interest and click i for Inquiry.
    Item information appears (Figure 19). If a commodity code was assigned to the item when the item was added to the catalog, the commodity code appears as shown in the blue circle. Notice that the item type is circled in red.

Figure 19 - Item Record from Item Catalog Showing Commodity Code

Approvers for items with different commodity codes are assigned on the Commodity Approvals table.

To assign approvers to commodity codes:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, select Tables > Commodity Approvals.
    The Commodity Approvals table appears, listing the different commodity codes used, and their associated approver group or direct approver.
    (No Data appears if no approvers have been assigned.)
  2. Click New. The Commodity Approvers Edit panel appears (Figure 20).

Figure 20 - Identify Commodity Code Approver(s)

  1. Verify that the organization code entered in the Organization field is correct. If not, select a new organization code from the prompt (...).
  2. Click the prompt next to Commodity Code to select the commodity code that you wish to assign to an approver or approver group. Figure 20 has the commodity code "610" selected. (Each commodity code is associated with a description of the commodity in the Commodity Table.)
  3. Next to Approver Group, click the prompt and select an approver group that will be responsible for approving items with the commodity code. Alternately, click the prompt next to Direct Approver to select a user who will approve items with the commodity code. Select either an Approver Group or a Direct Approver, but not both. If you are using an Approver Group, the group must be set up. (See Defining Approver Groups.)
  4. Click Save.
  5. Click Submit. The system returns you to the Commodity Approvals table.

Set Up Commodity Code Approvals by Department

To establish commodity approvals by department, assign an approval profile and either an approver group or direct approver to a "commodity/department" relationship. The approval profile determines what requisition lines should be approved when the defined commodity code is present for a department. The approver group or direct approver identifies the user(s) responsible for approving the commodity requisition.

The system provides a list of commodities and associated departments for selection.

With commodity code approvals for departments, you can optionally override dollar limits specified for an approver group. To override dollar limits, you create one or more independent sets of new dollar limits that replace the maximum approval limits for an approver group. Figure 21 is an example of an approver group and a set of override dollar limits.

Figure 21 - Approver Group (ABC) with Normal Dollar Limits and with Override Limits (LARGE) Applied

Override dollar limits can be assigned across organizations. In this way, you can reuse approver groups when the approvers in the group are correct, but their maximum approval limits must be different for a commodity in different departments.

A dollar limit code is associated with each set of override dollar limits. When you assign an approver group to a department/commodity combination, you specify the dollar limit code for the set of dollar limits that override the approver group's existing dollar limits. The overriding dollar limits then control which approver(s) review the requisition.

To define dollar limit overrides for commodity code approvers:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, click Requisitioning > Approval Dollar Limits.
    The sets of approval dollar limits appear, or No Data if none have been defined.
  2. Click New.
    The edit panel for the approval dollar limit code appears (Figure 22).

Figure 22 - The Approval Dollar Limit Edit Code Panel

  1. Enter a code and a description for the set of dollar limits that you are creating.
  2. Click Submit.
    An edit panel for entering dollar limits appears (Figure 23).

Figure 23 - Entering an Override Dollar Limit

  1. In the Dollar Limit field, enter the first dollar limit value that you wish to include.
  2. Click Save. The value appears in the bottom of the panel.
  3. Enter the next dollar limit value.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Continue entering dollar values (Figure 24) until you have included all the values that you wish.

Figure 24 - Entering More Override Dollar Limits

  1. Click Submit.
    The system returns you to the list.
  2. Click Refresh.
    The dollar limit values set that you created appears on the list, and is available for assignment to a department.

To set up commodity code approval in a department:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, click Requisitioning > Approval Profiles.
    The list of approval profiles appears (Figure 3).
  2. Next to the approval profile that you wish to assign, click Menu > Assign to Department/Commodity.
    A panel appears with a summary of the approval profile's limits, and a list of departments for selection (Figure 25).

Figure 25 - Assigning an Approval Profile to a Commodity Code/Department Combination

In Figure 25, the organization MHNC has seven commodity codes: FIRE, IMPLANT, IT, Off Supply, SPINE, SUTURE, and Tot Joint. The department (Figure 25, yellow shading) is 001000, and is combined with all seven. The next department (Figure 25, purple shading) is 110000 and is also combined with each code (finished on the next page). Subsequent pages show other departments combined with each commodity code. In this example, the user would likely be looking for a nursing department/commodity code combination, since the approval profile is For Nursing.

Notice that the list is prefiltered to the Organization in Current Settings, but does show every possible department/commodity code combination that exists. You will want to further filter the list by department, commodity code, or any of the other available filter fields found on the Search panel to make the list manageable.

  1. Select the department/commodity code combination by checking the box in the Select field.
  2. Select an Approver Group or a Direct Approver by clicking the prompt (...) for the department row.
    You must select one or the other.
    The User IDs for the single direct approver or the approver group members appear in the Approvers column, with their item types and dollar limits.
  3. Optionally, select a Dollar Limit Code for the department/commodity.
    For example, if the Approver Group were ABC from Figure 21, you could set the Dollar Limit Code to LARGE if you wished to override the ABC group's current dollar limits.

Two Additional Methods of Assigning Commodity Codes to Departments

Open the Commodity Code list and assign a commodity code to the department.

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, select Tables > Commodity Codes.
    The list of commodity codes appears.
  2. Next to the commodity code that you wish to assign to a department, click Menu > Assign Approval Profiles by Department (Figure 26).

Figure 26 - Selecting a Commodity Code to Assign to a Department: Commodity Codes List

A list of departments appears (Figure 27).
The list is initially filtered for the Organization in your Current Settings.

  1. Click Show All and use the search filters to find the organization and department that you need.

Figure 27 - Assigning a Department to a Commodity Code

  1. For the department or departments of interest, select an Approval Profile, and a Direct Approver or Approver Group.
    If you wish, you can also override the dollar approval limits for the approver group by selecting a new Dollar Limit Code.
  2. Click Submit.
    The commodity code and approval rules are set for the department.

Open the Departments list and assign an approval profile and commodity code to the department.

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, select Requisitioning > Departments.
    The list of departments appears.
  2. Next to the department of interest, click Menu > Assign Approval Profiles by Commodity Code (Figure 28).

Figure 28 - Selecting a Department to Assign a Commodity Code: Departments List

The list of commodity codes appears (Figure 29).

Figure 29 - Assigning a Commodity Code To a Department

  1. Next to the commodity code that you wish to assign to the department, select an Approval Profile, and a Direct Approver or Approver Group.
    If needed, you can also override the dollar approval limits for the approver group by selecting a new Dollar Limit Code.
  2. Click Submit.
    The commodity code and approval rules are set for the department.

Requisition Splitting

Item lines on a single requisition may require different approval paths depending on each item's type, cost, and whether the item has an associated commodity code with a designated approver. For this reason, when you submit a requisition, the system analyzes the requisition's lines to determine how to route them for approval. The system takes the lines that need approvals from the original requisition and puts them on new requisitions. This process splits the original requisition into multiple requisitions, based on review and approval requirements for item type, commodity codes, and non-file costing. If no approvals are required, the requisition is not split, and its status is Approved.

A requisition is split - if needed - when you submit it. The separate requisitions created from the split remain associated as a requisition group. Once a split has occurred, each requisition in the group proceeds on its appropriate approval path. Note that splitting can also occur with imported requisitions based on their lines' approval requirements. You can view the requisition group and the approval history for your requisition. (See To view requisitions that have been split out from the original.)

Requisition splitting scenario

Here is an example of how approvals and requisition splitting work.

A user makes a request for a stock item and two non-file items. Both of the non-file items have associated commodity codes, and approvers are assigned to the codes. The requester does not need approval for stock items or for non-file items. Here is the original requisition (Figure 30), with Requisition No. 9076:

Figure 30 - Original Requisition: Two Non-File Items with Commodity Codes and One Stock Item

When the user submits the requisition, the system splits it into three requisitions, as shown in Figure 31.

Figure 31 - Original Requisition Split Into Three Requisitions.

Requisition 9076 (the original requisition number) contains the stock item. Since this requester does not need approval for stock items, this requisition is automatically approved.

Requisition 9077 (one of two requisitions that were created) contains one of the non-file commodity-coded items. This requisition is first routed to the Requisition Non-File Approver/Buyer ("NancyM") assigned to the requester. The buyer completes cost and other information.

Requisition 9078 (the other of two requisitions that were created) contains the second non-file commodity-coded item. This requisition is also routed first to the Requisition Non-File Approver/Buyer assigned to the requester.

Figure 32 shows the requisition non-file approver/buyer's approval queue.

Figure 32 - Requisition Non-File Approver/Buyer's Approval Queue

The Requisition Non-File Approver/Buyer completes cost and other information and submits the requisitions again. Because both requisitions contain items with commodity codes that must be approved, approval processing continues, and the requisitions go to the next approver in order -- the approver for the respective commodity codes. Figure 33 shows the approval queue for the commodity code approver who reviews items with the codes "610" and "IMPLANT." Requisition Number 9078 appears on this queue.

Figure 33 - Commodity Code Approver's Approval Queue

Since this requester does not need approvals for non-file items, once the commodity-code reviewers approve the item requests, the entire original requisition and all the split requisitions are Approved. (If the user did need non-file item approvals, at this point the requisitions would go to the requesters requisition direct approval user or requisition approver group. See Figure 2.) Materials Management enters the non-file items on purchase orders, and the stock item request is filled from the appropriate asset location.

To view an original requisition that has been split:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, select Requisitioning > Requisitions - Current Department or Requisitions - All Depts.
    The Quick Click menu appears.
  2. On the Quick Click menu under "I would like to..." select "View as Original."
  3. Enter the Requisition Number of your original requisition. Click Go.
    The system shows you the original requisition that you submitted. Also, note that the Menu next to requisitions in the Requisitions list has an entry for "View as Original."

To view requisitions that have been split out from the original:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, select Requisitioning > Requisitions - Current Department or Requisitions - All Depts.
    The Quick Click menu appears.
  2. On the Quick Click menu under "I would like to..." select "View All Related."
  3. Enter the Requisition Number of your original requisition. Click Go.
    The system shows you the requisitions that were split out from the original requisition that you submitted. Also, note that the Menu next to requisitions in the Requisitions list has an entry for "View All Related."

Approval History

The Approval History panel displays information about the approval routing and approval status for your requisition. You can identify approvers, and if several, note which approver currently has your requisition in his/her queue. You can also see the length of time that each approver has/had the requisition and other information.
The topic Approval Information on Inquiry Panels: Examples contains some sample Approval History panels.

To view a requisition's approval history:

  1. From the Materials Management main Contents, select Requisitioning > Requisitions - Current Department or Requisitions - All Depts.
    The Quick Click menu appears.
  2. On the Quick Click menu under "I would like to..." select "Inquiry."
  3. Enter a Requisition Number and click Go.
    The Requisition Inquiry panel appears.
  4. Select the Approval History tab.

Using the Administrative Approver Queue

A situation may occur at a medical center where the normal approver for a department's requisitions is out of the office, and the person's approver buddy is also out of the office. In this case, requisitions could sit in an approver's queue for days...or longer. To handle this situation, your system administrator can set the role object "AdminApprover" equal to All for the person responsible for approving or rejecting any requisition. The role that contains the "AdminApprover" role object might be assigned to the Purchasing Manager, for example. In this way, requisitions that need approval will not linger without attention in a buyer's queue. See Set Up and Maintain Users for information on assigning role objects.

Once the AdminApprover designation has been set for a user, the user can approve any requisition in the Materials Management list: Requisitions > All Approval Queues. Note: The All Approval Queues list is subject to users' data profiles. A user can only approve requisitions for the departments whose data he/she can access.

Requisition Aging Reports

Two report objects for requisition aging are available: "Requisition Aging" and "Requisition Approval Aging." Use these report objects to create requisition aging reports.

Requisition Aging Report

This report object displays elapsed time between two status events in the requisition process, along with other requisition information. Sixteen different events are available; for example: Created to Backordered, Created to Pending, Created to Approved, Creation to Complete, Backordered to Complete, and more. The Sequence field can be used to show events in the order in which they occur. The content is controlled by the user's data profile department access.

Available fields are:

Requisition
Organization
Department
Sequence
Requesting User
Requested Date
Requisition Status Event and Event Description
Requisition Status and Status Description
Elapsed Text
Elapsed Hours
Elapsed Days

Completed Date

Requisition Approval Aging Report

This report object displays the amount of time that has passed between a requisition's being entered on an approval queue and the time when the requisition was either approved or rejected Other requisition and approval information is included. The content is controlled by the user's data profile department access.

Available fields are:

Action Date
Approval Type
Approval Type Desc
Approver
Approver Group
Approver Group Desc
Approver Name
Assigned Date
Dept
Elapsed Hours
Elapsed Text
Elapsed Days
Org
Req Status
Req Status Desc

Requested Date
Requesting User
Requisition No
Review Status
Review Status Desc

requisition reqsition reqistion requstion requestion spliting