Question
Why should I use Radar - it seems like you're adding work, not taking it away?
Answer
Radar is actually a nifty little tool that provides benefits for both buyers and suppliers. In a nutshell, the decision to use Radar really boils down to how much visibility do you want on your orders. If you don't have a million orders, and you are doing fine keeping track of your current orders using the normal tabs, amazing - stop reading, you've got this.
Radar comes into play when you are having trouble keeping up, and can basically act as a task list to keep both the Buyer and Supplier sides running smoothly. Radar is especially helpful with these areas:
- Overseas shipments
- Items with long lead times
- Keeping up with a large number of orders to manage
The Buyer Admin on the Buyer account sets the range for Radar in their account settings. The range can vary from 2-60 days (the default Radar setting is 7 days):
- 2-7 days - orders and shipments are consistent, usually not a lot of surprises
- 8-30 days - orders where fulfillment is challenging, shortages are common, shipping is unpredictable
- 31-60 days - overseas shipments, items with a lot of variability, items where an item coming in sooner than expected will not rattle your warehouse
The best part of Radar is that it gives the Buyers and Suppliers a To-Do list vs trying to look at all orders across the board. It allows both sides to focus on the things coming due quickly that they may need to follow up on. We see some Buyers will also look at this in the vein of "if you're not early, you're late", this allows Buyers and Suppliers to get in front of an issue before it happens.
Pro Tip: Choose a day of the week to review Radar items, whether it's checking that items are in inventory or providing a shipping forecast to your shipping or receiving departments. Radar can help you better plan what is coming in and going out in order to keep orders on time, and proactively let your partners know when the plan is not going as expected - before the shipment is late.
Radar Confirmation
When PO Lines move to Radar, SourceDay can trigger a Confirmation request to Suppliers. This will add the PO Lines to the Suppliers Updates Tab & the suppliers notification emails. Suppliers will be asked to confirm that they can still meet the quantity, costs, and date as listed on the PO or prompted to propose a change. This extra step will help keep everyone on the same page. To learn how to enable this click here.
Keep Learning
- Understanding The Radar Tab for Buyers - Overview
- Understanding The Radar Tab for Buyers - Adjusting the Radar Range
- Understanding The Radar Tab for Buyers - Adjusting the Radar Range for Specific Suppliers
- Supplier Workflow - Understanding the Radar Tab Under Tasks
- Supplier Workflow - Understanding the Tabs in the Purchase Orders Section
- Understanding Buyer Admin Account Settings Overview