Ordering SOP

This procedure defines how Blitzpanel accepts a customer purchase order (PO), reconciles it against the issued quote, creates the job/work order, and releases the job to production.

It exists to ensure Blitzpanel only builds against a PO that matches the agreed scope, price, and terms, and that payment terms and deposits are secured before shop resources are committed.

A disciplined order-acceptance process prevents building the wrong revision, protects cash flow, and gives production a single, released package to work from.

Applies to every customer PO received against a previously issued Blitzpanel quote, including standard orders, blanket/release orders, and change orders against an existing job.

Covers PO receipt and logging, order review against the quote, deposit and payment-terms verification, job/work-order creation, and release of the job to production.

Does not cover quote preparation and pricing (see Quoting SOP) or the execution of component buyout after job release (see Procurement SOP).

PO — Purchase Order: the customer's formal, binding authorization to build and bill against a specific quote.

Order Acknowledgment (OA) — Blitzpanel's written confirmation back to the customer that a PO has been received and accepted, including price, quantity, and lead time.

Job / Work Order — the internal record and traveler that authorizes production to build a specific PO line item; carries its own job number distinct from the quote and PO numbers.

Released revision — the specific drawing, schematic, and BOM revision that engineering has approved for build and that matches the reconciled order.

Terms — the agreed payment structure (e.g., deposit, progress billing, net terms on final invoice) under which the order is built and shipped.

Role	Responsibility
Sales / Account Manager	Owns the customer relationship, receives the PO, and is the primary contact for resolving any discrepancy with the customer.
Order Entry / Customer Service	Logs the PO, issues the order acknowledgment, and creates the job/work order in the system of record.
Finance / Credit	Runs credit checks on new or at-risk accounts, verifies payment terms, and confirms deposit receipt before release.
Engineering	Confirms the released drawing/BOM revision matches the reconciled order scope before it is attached to the job.
Production / Operations Lead	Accepts the released job packet and schedules it onto the shop floor.
Order Approver	Signs off on order release for orders above threshold or carrying any noted exception. TODO: define approval thresholds and exception criteria.

Order-entry / ERP system used to log POs and create job/work orders. TODO: name the system of record.

Quote log from the Quoting SOP, used to pull the awarded quote number, revision, pricing, and stated assumptions/exclusions.

Credit-check process or service for new and non-established accounts. TODO: name the credit-check tool/provider and approval workflow.

Job traveler / router template used to carry the order through production. TODO: link the current Blitzpanel traveler template.

PO log for tracking PO number, linked quote/job numbers, and order status.

6.1 PO receipt & acceptance

Receive the PO by email, customer portal, or fax and log the PO number, date received, customer name, and referenced Blitzpanel quote number/revision.

Acknowledge receipt of the PO to the customer within the stated response window. TODO: define order-acknowledgment SLA (business days).

Assign the PO to the specific awarded quote and quoted revision in the quote log; a PO with no matching open quote is routed back to Sales before further action.

6.2 Order review vs. quote

Compare every PO line item against the quoted BOM and pricing: unit price, quantity, extended total, and the quoted revision number.

Confirm the PO's requested delivery date is consistent with the lead time stated in the quote and with current shop capacity.

Confirm the PO's stated payment terms and any special billing conditions (e.g., progress billing, retainage) match what was quoted; do not accept different terms without Finance sign-off.

If any discrepancy is found in price, quantity, scope, revision, lead time, or terms, stop and reconcile it directly with the customer in writing before proceeding — do not accept the order on assumption.

Document the reconciled terms and obtain either a corrected PO or written customer confirmation of the resolved discrepancy before continuing to §6.3.

6.3 Deposit / terms verification

For new or non-established accounts, run a credit check and obtain an approved credit limit before accepting the order. TODO: define credit-check trigger and approval threshold.

Confirm the customer's payment terms for this order (e.g., deposit plus net terms on balance). TODO: define Blitzpanel's standard payment terms (Net __ days) and any customer-specific exceptions.

Invoice and collect the required deposit before the job is released to production. TODO: define standard deposit percentage and any thresholds where it is waived or increased.

Log deposit receipt and terms confirmation in the order record; any requested exception (reduced deposit, extended terms) is routed to the Order Approver before release.

6.4 Job / work-order creation

Assign a unique job/work-order number linked to both the PO number and the quote number for full traceability.

Create the job traveler/router, noting drawing revision, BOM, enclosure type/rating, required testing, and target ship date.

Attach the released engineering revision (drawings, schematics, BOM) — this must be the same revision reconciled in §6.2; if engineering has since issued a newer revision, resolve the difference with the customer and engineering before proceeding.

Load the job into the production schedule/queue. TODO: name the scheduling system and standard queue/backlog rules.

6.5 Release to production

Before releasing the job to the floor, confirm all of the following are complete: order review reconciled (§6.2), deposit collected and terms confirmed (§6.3), and job/work order created with the released revision attached (§6.4).

Obtain Order Approver sign-off for any order above the defined threshold or carrying a noted exception; do not release without this sign-off when required.

Release the job packet to Production/Operations and update the order status to "Released" in the system of record.

Notify the Sales/Account Manager and the customer of the confirmed ship date once the job is released.

PO record: PO number, customer, date received, and linked quote number/revision.

Order acknowledgment issued to the customer, including confirmed price, quantity, and lead time.

Reconciliation record for any discrepancy identified during order review, including customer's written confirmation of resolution.

Credit-check result and deposit/terms confirmation for the order.

Job/work-order record: job number, released revision reference, traveler, and release approval.

Retention period for order and job records. TODO: set retention policy.

Quoting SOP, Procurement SOP.

Released job configuration must remain consistent with the UL508A listing basis established at quoting (ratings, SCCR, listed/labeled components). TODO: verify exact clause references before citing.

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