Supply chain and invoicing are two closely related concepts, both of which involve the operation process of enterprises in commodity trade. While they share some similarities, they also have some notable differences. This article will explore the difference between supply chain and invoicing from several aspects.
1. Concept definition
Definition of supply chain: A supply chain is a series of activities, including obtaining raw materials, production, distribution and sales, and the flow of information and funds related to these activities. It is the collection of all activities from suppliers to end consumers through which raw materials are transformed into final products which are then delivered to consumers.
Definition of Invoicing: Invoicing is a method of enterprise logistics management, which includes purchasing management, sales management and inventory management. Its purpose is to ensure the normal operation of the enterprise through reasonable procurement, sales and inventory management. The main task of Invoicing is to manage the purchase, sales and inventory of the enterprise, so as to make the sales and inventory of the enterprise reach the optimal level.
By definition, the main difference between supply chain and inventory is that supply chain includes a wider range of logistics activities, not just managing purchases, sales, and inventories, but also activities such as obtaining raw materials, producing, distributing, and selling. Invoicing is more focused on the logistics management of enterprises, including procurement, sales and inventory management.
2. Goals
Objectives of the supply chain: The main objectives of the supply chain are to minimize costs and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire supply chain. Maximize profits by reducing inventory, shortening lead times and reducing costs.
Goal of Invoicing: The main goal of Invoicing is to reasonably manage the purchase, sales and inventory of the enterprise to ensure the normal operation of the enterprise. By reducing inventory backlog, improving sales efficiency and reducing costs, the company's profits are maximized.
From the point of view of objectives, the main difference between supply chain and invoicing is that supply chain pays more attention to the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire supply chain, collaboration and common interests among enterprises. Invoicing pays more attention to the operation of the enterprise itself and the maximization of profits.
3. Process
Supply chain process: The supply chain process includes raw material procurement, production, distribution and sales. These links require reasonable planning and coordination to ensure the smoothness of the entire process.
Invoicing process: Invoicing process includes purchasing, sales and inventory management. The purchasing department is responsible for negotiating purchases with suppliers, the sales department is responsible for sales and after-sales service, and the inventory management department is responsible for managing inventory levels and ensuring the safety of goods.
From the process point of view, the main difference between supply chain and invoicing is that the process of supply chain is more complicated and requires the coordination and collaboration of multiple links. Invoicing pays more attention to the company's own internal processes, including procurement, sales and inventory processes.
4. Technical support
Supply chain technical support: With the development of information technology, the supply chain management system has also been developed rapidly. The supply chain management system can realize the functions of real-time monitoring, planning and collaboration of the supply chain, thereby improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain.
Invoicing technical support: With the development of information technology, the invoicing management system has also developed rapidly. The purchase, sale and inventory management system can realize the automatic management of functions such as purchase, sales and inventory, thereby improving the efficiency and benefit of the enterprise.
From the perspective of technical support, the main difference between supply chain and invoicing is that the supply chain management system needs more advanced technical support to realize the functions of real-time monitoring, planning and collaboration of the supply chain. The purchase, sales and inventory management system pays more attention to the automatic management of functions such as purchase, sales and inventory.
5. Invoicing management system
1. Purchasing goods
A purchase order is a list for planning the purchase of goods. After confirming the purchase requirements, you can manually enter the purchase order, or initiate the purchase order process through the purchase order. The purchase order is just a plan, and the goods are not put into storage, which does not affect the actual inventory. The historical purchase order report can perform the return operation on the purchase order, and can also view the details of the corresponding purchase order. For the return operation, you can also manually enter the purchase return order, or initiate the return order process through the purchase order, or initiate the return process for the return operation of the purchase order operation. This way, even if something goes wrong, there is a complete record of the operation available for review.
However, the procurement work of an enterprise is not simply to make a procurement request to the supplier. In order to make the procurement work more intelligent, there is another very important function in the digital invoicing system: ordering Kanban by sales.
View the inventory of each commodity through the situation of the sales order, automatically calculate the quantity to be purchased, and generate a purchase order. In this way, buyers can more conveniently control the quantity of goods and effectively curb the excessive increase of procurement costs.
In addition, the digital invoicing system also supports the function of intelligent replenishment. By calculating the purchase and sales quantity and inventory quantity of each commodity, it helps enterprises to accurately calculate the recommended purchase quantity, automatically generate purchase orders, and manage inventory more efficiently.
Purchase orders also have a very important function: purchase invoicing. Since the purchase order is only a plan, the billing operation needs to be performed after the actual purchase. Purchasing billing can perform billing operations for each purchase and purchase return order, and at the same time, you can view the details of each billing in the billing record. The purchase entry slip and purchase return exit slip are orders made when purchasing and entering the warehouse, which are included in the inventory calculation and are very suitable for inventory management.
2. Sale of Goods
A sales order is a list of planned sales of goods, and it is also an indispensable part of the digital invoicing system. The sales order can be entered manually, or the sales order process can be initiated through the sales order. The historical sales order report can return the sales order and view the details of the corresponding sales order. The sales return order can also be entered manually, or the sales order process can be initiated through the sales order, and the return process can also be initiated for the return operation of the sales order.
The core of the sales work is to sell the goods as much as possible, so as to obtain more income. In order to make the sales work more intelligent, there is also a very important function in the digital invoicing system: original documents. The original document is the function of storing the attachment of the original sales document, which can not only easily store useful materials, but also effectively simplify the sales process.
Similar to purchase billing, sales billing is also an indispensable function in sales work. Sales billing can perform billing operations on each sale and sales return order, and you can view the details of each billing in the billing record. The sales delivery slip and the sales return receipt are the slips made when the sales are shipped out, and they are included in the inventory calculation, which is very suitable for inventory management.
3. Warehouse management
In the digital invoicing system, the warehouse is also an indispensable part. The transfer document refers to the document that can transfer inventory between warehouses, and it is included in the inventory calculation. Inventory is to take inventory of the goods in each warehouse, so as to generate inventory loss/inventory list, which is included in the inventory calculation, which is a very important function.
In addition, inventory warnings are also very important to pay attention to. The inventory warning module can calculate the overstock and shortage of commodities in each warehouse, so that it is convenient to check the inventory of each commodity at any time and make effective inventory management decisions. The other warehouse-in documents and other warehouse-out documents are inventory surplus and inventory deficit, and other warehouse-in and other warehouse-out categories respectively. Using this method for warehouse-in and warehouse-out can also be conveniently included in inventory calculation.
4. Money management
In addition to inventory, procurement and sales, capital is also a very important link in the digital purchase, sales and inventory system of enterprises. Both the collection note and the payment note are the core functions of recording arrears, which are used to record the collection/payment of the arrears of customers and suppliers respectively, and include them in the corresponding arrears calculation.
In addition, other income bills and other expense bills should also get enough attention. Other income slips are used to record receipts of income categories such as other business income, investment income, and main business income. Other expense slips are used to pay sales and purchase expenses, and can also be used to record other expenses such as other business expenses/operating expenses. The expense list can list all the purchase and sales expenses, and the unpaid expenses can be paid continuously in the payment slip.
Summarize
Supply chain and invoicing are two very important concepts in enterprise management, and they both involve the operation process of enterprises in commodity trade. While they share some similarities, they also have some notable differences. From the perspective of definition, goals, processes and technical support, the difference between supply chain and invoicing mainly lies in that supply chain pays more attention to the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire supply chain, collaboration and common interests among enterprises; while invoicing It pays more attention to the operation of the enterprise itself and the maximization of profits.