Create purchase agreements
A purchase agreement is a contract that commits an organization to buying a specified quantity or amount by using multiple purchase orders over time. In exchange for this commitment, the buyer receives special prices and discounts.
Purchase agreements can apply to a specific quantity of a product, a currency amount of a product, or a currency amount of the products in a procurement category. The prices and discounts of the purchase agreement override the prices and discounts that are specified in any trade agreements that exist.
On the Purchase agreements page, you can create, apply, and follow up on purchase agreements that exist between your organization and your vendors.
For example, after you create a purchase agreement, you can order directly from it. Each purchase agreement has a validity period that is defined by the person who creates the purchase agreement. The delivery date of a purchase must be within the effective dates of this validity period.
After you create a purchase agreement, you must activate it before it becomes effective. To activate a purchase agreement, set the Mark agreement as effective option to Yes.
Watch the following video to see a demonstration of how to create a purchase agreement.
Commitment types
Procurement and sourcing > Purchase agreements > Purchase agreements > New
Each line in a purchase agreement is a commitment to buy something. You can use lines from multiple purchase orders (POs) to fulfill the commitment. The four types of commitments are:
- Product quantity commitment - You purchase a specific quantity of a product.
- Product value commitment - You purchase a specific currency amount of a product.
- Product category value commitment - You purchase a specific currency amount in a procurement category. The amount can be for a catalog item or a non-catalog item.
- Value commitment - You purchase a specific currency amount of any product or products in any procurement category.
Pricing terms for purchase agreements
Pricing terms can vary, depending on the type of commitment. The pricing terms from purchase agreements override any other pricing terms that are set up for trade agreements.
The following table describes the price-related fields that are affected by each commitment type. Fields that contain Yes can be updated on an order line.
| Commitment type | Unit price | Price unit | Discount percent | Cash discount amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product quantity commitment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Product value commitment | Yes | |||
| Product category value commitment | Yes | |||
| Value commitment | Yes |
Policies for purchase agreements
The following policies affect the way that the link between a purchase agreement commitment and the corresponding purchase order lines work:
- Max is enforced - The total quantity or amount for all order lines can't exceed the quantity or amount that is specified on the related commitment.
- Price and discount is fixed - The price on an order line and the price on the related commitment must be the same. If the price is changed on the order line, the link to the commitment is broken. If the link is broken, the order line doesn't contribute to the fulfillment of the commitment.
- Minimum release amount and Maximum release amount - If an amount is specified, you receive a message if you make any change to an order line that causes the order line to differ from the related commitment.
Fulfillment calculations for purchase agreements
Fulfillment quantities and amounts are shown on the Fulfillment tab on the Line details FastTab of the Purchase agreements page.
The Fulfillment area shows the remaining amount or quantity that is required to fulfill the commitment.
The Agreement area shows the total quantity or the total amount that the purchase agreement line is valid for.
You can access the purchase order lines and the invoice lines that contribute to the fulfillment calculation by selecting the Related information action on the lines or on the header of a purchase agreement.
Confirmations and version history for purchase agreements
When you confirm a purchase agreement, the current version of the purchase agreement is stored in a history table. If you change the purchase agreement, you can confirm it again to store another version of the purchase agreement in the history. If you don't confirm a purchase agreement, you can still use it to create purchase orders. However, the history information for the purchase agreement isn't stored. You can preview or print all versions of the agreement. You can then share the revisions with your vendor to obtain approval.
Applying purchase agreements in the ordering process
When you create a purchase order, you can apply a purchase agreement to it. Information from the terms for the agreement, such as the payment terms, delivery terms, and delivery address, is then copied to the header of the purchase order.
If the purchase order contains one or more lines for products or categories that are covered by the agreement, the prices and discounts from the purchase agreement are used for those lines. The amount or quantity on the order line contributes to the fulfillment of the commitment in the purchase agreement. The same purchase order can include lines that aren't related to a purchase agreement and lines that have a commitment for a purchase agreement.
You can select a purchase agreement only when you're creating a purchase order. You can't select a purchase agreement after the purchase order has been created. In some situations where purchase orders are created indirectly, you can control whether Supply Chain Management automatically searches for applicable purchase agreements. For example, you might do this when you're automatically firming planned purchase orders or creating purchase orders that are based on sales orders.
Purchase agreements and intercompany trade
Intercompany trading can be created between vendor accounts and customer accounts that are in different legal entities. When a sales order or purchase order is created for one of the parties, an intercompany order chain is created. In the order chain, the sales order and purchase order are created in the appropriate legal entities.
You can create a purchase agreement or sales agreement for one of the intercompany trading parties. You can then generate the corresponding sales agreement or purchase agreement for the other intercompany trading party in the other legal entity.
If you create an intercompany purchase order that uses the intercompany purchase agreement in one legal entity, the corresponding intercompany sales order uses the corresponding intercompany sales agreement in the other legal entity. The fulfillment of the sales agreement commitments and the fulfillment of the purchase agreements are synchronized, just as the intercompany sales order and the intercompany purchase order are synchronized.
Financial dimensions on purchase agreements
You can copy financial dimensions to document headers or to individual lines of a purchase agreement. If you change the dimensions in the agreement header or on the agreement line, the change doesn't affect any released orders, but it will be reflected on any new orders.