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CHAPTER 4 The Procurement Process 127
5
CHAPTER
CHAPTER

The Fulfi llment Process

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter you will be able to:
1. Describe the organizational levels associated with the fulfi llment
process.
2. List and explain the master data associated with the fulfi llment
process.
3. Identify the key steps in the fulfi llment process and the data,
documents, and information associated with each step.

4. Discuss the role of the credit management process in fulfi llment.
®
5. Effectively use SAP ERP to execute the key steps in the fulfi ll-
ment process.
6. Explain how and why fulfi llment is integrated with other
processes.
7. Utilize SAP ERP to extract meaningful information about the
fulfi llment process.

BI currently uses a very simple process to fi ll customer orders. This
process, introduced in Chapter 1, is reproduced in Figure 5-1. The pro-
Gcess begins when GBI receives a customer’s purchase order, which it
validates and authorizes via a sales order. The warehouse then prepares and
sends the shipment, after which accounting forwards an invoice. The process
ends when GBI receives payment from the customer.
This simple process has worked well for GBI up to this point. Because
GBI has grown rapidly, however, the company wants to utilize the new ERP
system it acquired to enhance its process for fi lling customer orders. Specifi cally,
it wants to make the process more effi cient and customer friendly as well as
more transparent by keeping track of the status of every order throughout
each step in the process. In addition, it wants to incorporate other sales-related
activities, such as developing leads and responding to inquiries, into the new
process.

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