This series uses Dingli, a Patisco demo account. Every system screen and all the data shown here came from real operations in the system, including the exchanges between buyers and suppliers; they are not mock-ups. The people and dialogue are dramatized, and the illustrations are for illustration only. Screens are shown in the system's Chinese interface; Patisco is also available in English and other languages.
In the story: The first Wednesday after the fair, 9:10 a.m.
"Same price as last year"
This time Jonas wants three things: 11-speed cassettes, 11-speed chains, and rear hubs. Slightly bigger quantities than last year, and the price "same as last year."
A-Zhe made himself a three-in-one instant coffee and opened Excel. Last year's prices were on the September PI. The packing method was written in an email. The rear hubs weren't on last year's order, so they'd need this year's distributor price. Then there was shipping: Jonas wanted two sample sets sent by courier first for his QC people.
"Same as last year" meant three different places to dig through.
How it used to go
PIs used to be made from a Word template.
A-Zhe would open last year's file, save it under a new name, change the date, the number, and the quantities, and paste in unit prices from another Excel file. Halfway through, he'd notice last year's template still had an old bank account in it.
For the courier cost on the samples, he'd call the courier company and wait for a callback. After the PI went out, Jonas would write back: "The rear hub price doesn't match your catalog." A-Zhe would look into it and find the catalog was the version from before the price change.
And which version had actually gone out? A-Zhe's Sent folder held three attachments whose file names differed by one character.
How it goes in Patisco
Pull the items from last year's PI
Under [Proforma Invoice (PI)], he clicks [New order (PI)] to create a blank draft and selects Velostrada as the counterparty.
Next comes [Add items]. He sets the source to [Order / PI] and picks last September's PI-2509-0187. The cassettes and chains come in with their unit prices and specs, and A-Zhe only changes the quantities. The rear hubs weren't on last year's order, so he brings them in from [Product Management], at the price Velostrada is able to see.
This new order is PI-0411.
Sample shipping, checked on the spot
Two sample sets need to go by courier. From the [⋯] menu on the PI, A-Zhe opens [Ship with UPS], clicks [Get rates], picks a service, and sees roughly what the two sets will cost to ship. (The items need weights and dimensions first, or rates can't be looked up.)
He enters the cost under [Additional Charge] on the PI and makes it clear to Jonas: sample shipping is charged separately, and the main shipment stays FOB Kaohsiung.
This step only looks up rates; it doesn't create a label. The real shipment is weeks away.
Sending straight from the PI
With the PI done, A-Zhe clicks [Reply by email], ticks [Attach this PI as PDF], and sends it to Jonas.
Once it's sent, the PI header says "Sent to Jonas by email." If the order changes later, the header turns into an orange "This version hasn't been sent to the customer." A-Zhe no longer has to compare file names in his Sent folder. The system remembers which version went out.
Each time he clicks [Send], [Change history] gains a version: v1, v2, and so on. Each one can be opened with [Preview PDF], exactly as it looked at that moment.
Hsiu-Chin walked by and glanced over. "The bank account's right this time, isn't it?"
"The account lives in the company settings, not in a template," A-Zhe said. "That old one is never showing up again."
Meanwhile, over at Dana's
The same day, Dana in the US also needed a price. Dana's company likes to get a quotation first, run it through internal approval, and then order, so what A-Zhe issues for Dana is a quotation, not a PI. Once Dana's approval comes back, A-Zhe opens a PI, sets the [Add items] source to [Quotation], and the items and prices come over from that quotation.
Before vs With Patisco
| Before | With Patisco | |
|---|---|---|
| "Same price as last year" | Dig through Word, Excel, and email | Pull items straight from last year's PI |
| Sample shipping | Call the courier, wait for a callback | [Get rates] on the PI |
| Which version went out | Compare file names in the Sent folder | The header says whether it was sent and which version hasn't been |
| Old data creeping into new orders | An old bank account in the template | Company details come from settings, not copied from old files |
A word for the boss: "Same as last year" shouldn't be a memory test for your sales staff. Last year's order exists, so this year's order starts from there.