Subcontractor Processing with Placing Units

Purchase Quotes and Purchase Orders can be created for subcontractors using placing units. While both can be generated from the standard procurement process in the Job Planning and Processing page, Purchase Quotes can be generated also using the COSMO Purchase Quotes Manager.

Subcontractor Quotes

Subcontractor quotes can be brought into the BoQ Calculation through the use of the COSMO Purchase Quotes Manager (PQM) with the placing units. With PQM, different vendors can be selected for quoting the external services/items, and then the selected vendor and costs are transferred automatically to the Execution Units and BoQ Budget Calculation. Once the PQM process is complete, further processing of the BoQ job can continue, such as creating the PaC job and beginning the procurement processes.

This section describes how to use placing units and the PQM to choose a vendor.

Example – Subcontractor Quoting with PQM

In this example, a job has been set up with various BoQ Budget Calculation entries for a construction site. The cables and lines need to be subcontracted to a vendor with the materials and skills for installation. CRONUS International Ltd. has two vendors for this purpose: 10000 and 20000. To get the best price and selection, the PQM will be used to send a quote to both vendors.

To create execution unit

The first step of the subcontractor quoting process is to create the Execution Unit for the BoQ positions that will be subcontracted to a vendor. This example starts in the BoQ Position List but note that the Execution Units can also be accessed from the Construction Project, Job Card, or Jobs (Construction) list.

  1. In the BoQ Position List, choose the Execution Units action on the Home menu to open the Execution Units page.

  2. Choose the New action to create an Execution Unit.

  3. In the Code field, enter a unique code for this execution unit. Leave the Type field set to Placing Unit, and then enter a Description of the execution unit.

  4. In the General Component Code field, enter a general component to be used in price requests. The G/L purchase account assigned to this code will be used in the PQM lines.

  5. To add the BoQ Positions to the Execution Unit, use the lookup in the BoQ Pos. No. field in the Lines FastTab.

  6. Select one or multiple BoQ Positions to add to the Execution Unit. Multiple positions can be added independent from the BoQ levels.

    • To add a position with sub-positions, select the main position. This position can be expanded in the next step to include substructure or all can be selected.
    • Alternatively, select the main position and substructures to be added without a separate expansion.

    In this example, the Cables & Lines position is selected, which will include the two sub-positions.

  7. A message opens asking if the found substructure should be expanded.

  8. Choose the Yes button. The Execution Unit lines are populated with the BoQ Positions.

To create quotes with PQM

Now that the lines have been updated with the BoQ positions, the quoting process can begin.

Note

This example shows basic processing using PQM. It does not provide an overview of or any setup/detailed processing information. Therefore, business practices will typically be more intensive than what is demonstrated in this exercise. For detailed information about using the PQM, see Integration of COSMO Purchase Quotes Manager in the Project Manufacturing Help.

To create the PQM
  1. On the New menu, choose the Create PQM action. The PQM page opens with relevant information from the Execution Unit.
  2. Vendors must be assigned before quotes can be created. Choose the Assigned Vendors action to open the PQM Vendors page.
  3. Add each vendor to be included in the quoting process. In this example, enter vendors 10000 and 20000 with different lead time calculations.
  4. Close the PQM Vendors page to complete the vendor assignment. The value in the Assigned Vendors field on the General FastTab is updated accordingly.
To create purchase quotes
  1. Choose the Create Purch. Quotes action. The quotes are created and the PQM Placing Matrix page opens. This page can be opened also by choosing the Purchase Quotes Matrix action.
  2. The PQM Placing Matrix page lists the BoQ Positions as well as the two vendors for quoting. The information shown for each vendor is based on the selections in the Options FastTab on the PQM page.
  3. At this point, in a typical process, the quotes have been sent to the vendors and now each will be updated with the quoted costs from the vendor. On either Normal position line, choose the value in the field for vendor 10000. The related purchase quote opens.
  4. Note that the project number and execution unit code is shown in the General FastTab.
  5. In the Direct Unit Cost field on the substructure lines, enter the quoted costs from the vendor.
  6. Choose the Close button to close the Purchase Quote. In the PQM Placing Matrix page, the lines for vendor 10000 are updated with the individual costs. If lead time calculations were used, the dates will indicate material delivery.
  7. Repeat the same process for vendor 20000. Choose the value in either field and then enter the quoted costs in the Purchase Quote.
  8. Choose the Close button to close the Purchase Quote. In the PQM Placing Matrix page, the lines for vendor 20000 are updated with the individual costs.
To place the winning quote

Now that the quotes have been updated, the placing (vendor selection) process can begin. The bold green text indicates the vendor with the best price. In this example, it is vendor 10000.

  1. Choose the Placing action. A message opens asking to use all lines or selected lines only.
  2. With the default set to All lines, choose the OK button. The PQM Placing page opens.
  3. In the Placing of Purchase Quotes FastTab, the preferred vendor can be selected manually in the Vendor No. field, or the best price can be selected automatically. To choose the vendor manually, turn off the Select Best Price toggle.
  4. In this example, vendor 10000 is the preferred vendor and had the best price, so the Select Best Price toggle remains turned on.
  5. In the Options FastTab, turn on the Update Source Data toggle to transfer the costs to the execution unit and BoQ positions.
  6. Choose the OK button to complete the placing process. The PQM Placing Matrix is updated to indicate the winning vendor (information cleared for vendor 20000) and that the lines were placed.
To update the execution unit and BoQ position list/budget calculation
  1. Go back to the Execution Unit page. The costs and purchase amounts from the quoting process have been added.
  2. On the Home menu, choose the Update Controlling Values action to update the values in the Controlling FastTab. Note that there are no differences between the original and budgeted values because no changes were made.
  3. Close the Execution Unit and return to the BoQ Position List. Note that the prices have been updated, based on the new unit costs and settings in the BoQ Budget Calculation. Additionally, the Qty. on Placing Unit values have been updated based on the execution unit assignment.
  4. On the Views menu, choose the Budget Calculation action. The placing process created new BoQ Budget Calculation lines with the external service component, which have the transferred Direct Unit Costs.
Alternative/Optional Positions in Purchase Quotes

Lines with BoQ Position Type = Alternative are not calculated in the total amount of a purchase quote. In lines with BoQ Position Type = Alternative or Optional, the BoQ Price Type field controls if the amount is included in the total or not. For example, if the BoQ Price Type is Without Totals, then the Line Amount Excl./Incl. VAT field will be empty.

Purchase Quote Detail Lines

When responding to price requests, subcontractors or suppliers can provide details that include items, services, or general components with separate prices. Instead of only adding the cost to the purchase quote line, you can use the Purch. Quote Detail Lines page to separate and store these types of submissions. Once the details are entered, the Purchase Quote line will be updated with the cost from all detail lines.

If the purchase quote is selected through the PQM placing process, the detail entries will be transferred to the position in the BoQ Budget Calculation as separate lines.

To enter details for a purchase quote line

  1. Open the Purchase Quote created from the PQM.
  2. Select the line to add details and then choose Line > Quote Detail Lines on the Lines FastTab.
  3. In the Type field, choose if the detail is an Item, Service, or General component.
  4. In the No. field, enter the number of the item, service, or general component. The Description field is populated from the selected number.
  5. In the Quantity per field, enter the quantity needed based on the quantity from the purchase quote line.
    The Quantity field is calculated by the Quantity per x Quantity from the purchase quote line.
  6. In the Direct Unit Cost field, enter the unit cost of the item, resource, or general component.
    The Unit Cost Share field is calculated by the Quantity per x Direct Unit Cost and the Total Unit Cost Share field is calculated by the Quantity x Unit Cost Share.
  7. The fields at the bottom of the page are updated as follows:
    • Direct Cost = total of the values in the Unit Cost Share fields
    • Total Amount = total of the values in the Total Unit Cost Share fields
  8. Choose the Close button.

The purchase quote line is updated as follows:

  • the value from the Direct Cost field is transferred to the Direct Unit Cost field
  • the value from the Total Amount field is transferred to the Line Amount field
  • the Purch. Quote Detail Lines field is set to Yes

If you need to make changes to the detail lines that will affect the cost on the purchase quote line, delete the value in the Direct Unit Cost field and then reopen the Purch. Quote Detail Lines page and make changes. Otherwise, a message will open upon closing the Purch. Quote Detail Lines page that there is a difference and the purchase quote line will not be updated. A difference between the detail lines and purchase quote line is also visible in the color of the Direct Cost field at the bottom of the detail lines page: if green, the values match; if standard black, the values do not match.

Note

Execution Units and PQM processing are required for using the Purchase Quote Detail Lines as described above.

Subcontractor Orders

Purchase Orders can be created for subcontractors using the procurement planning process. In the Job Planning and Processing page, the Procurement BoQ Pos. No., Procurement BoQ Position Type, and Procurement Position fields are filled by expanding execution units in the PaC Structure of the PaC Jobs. The values in these fields are transferred from Procurement Planning Lines to Purchase Lines in a Purchase Document. The functionality supports both Purchase Quotes and Purchase Orders.

BoQ Job Texts of BoQ Positions and BoQ Titles are copied to the BoQ Purchase Texts and are available in Purchase Documents through the Long Text field.

For more information about creating PaC Structural Plans, see Example – Create PaC Structural Plan for Placing Units and creating subcontractor purchase orders, see Procurement Processing with Placing Units.

Transfer unit cost from placing unit job to BoQ job

The Transfer Placing Unit Prices function in the BoQ Position List transfers the Placing Unit Direct Unit Costs (LCY) to the original BoQ job on lines with a BoQ Position No.

Note

The BoQ Position No. is used as the mapping between Placing Jobs and BoQ Jobs to find the right BoQ positions when transferring prices. If BoQ Position Nos. are changed manually in the BoQ job, only the Measurement Lines and Execution Unit Lines are updated with the new number. Therefore, any changes made to the BoQ Position No. in the BoQ job must be done in the Placing Job as well.

Execution units are required for using this function. The selection in the Cost Type field determines how the components are created in the BoQ Budget Calculation lines during the transfer process:

  • If other than <Blank> or Subcontracting are assigned, the transfer will create a new calculation component related to this Cost Type.
  • If <Blank> or Subcontracting is assigned, the transfer will create a subcontractor cost component line.

Once the quoting process is complete and you have updated your placing unit job with the prices from your subcontractor, you can transfer the costs to the originating BoQ job.

  1. Choose the icon, enter Jobs (Construction), and then choose the related link.

  2. Select the placing unit job and then choose the BoQ Position List action on the Calculation menu.

  3. On the Actions menu, choose Functions > Transfer Placing Unit Prices.

  4. A dialog opens for choosing which lines to transfer. Select the option and then choose the OK button.

  5. Another dialog opens asking if you want to transfer the lines and gives an option for deleting existing calculation lines.

    • Turn on the Delete existing calculation lines toggle to replace the existing BoQ Budget Calculation lines with the lines from the placing job.
    • Turn off the Delete existing calculation lines toggle to add the positions from the placing unit to the BoQ Budget Calculation lines. This option is useful when you have two placing unit jobs, for example, one requesting prices for materials and the other for assembly services. Not turning on this toggle will include the entries for both materials and services.

  6. Choose the Yes button to transfer the direct unit costs.
    The notification bar shows a confirmation message with the number of lines transferred.

The related positions in the BoQ Budget Calculation are updated with the components as determined by the Cost Type in the execution unit. This uses the same setup from the Project Construction Setup used when lines are added during the Fast Calculation process.

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