TARGET Sales Management System - Application Notes

Machine types

The concept of machine type is central to the management of machine data in the TARGET system. The following table gives the definition of each of the machine types.

CODE     MEANING     EXPLANATION
B Bought This machine was purchased by a prospect from your company
I Inventory Machine is owned by your company (possibly in combination with joint venture partners)
K Consignment Machine belongs to a prospect but your company has exclusive or special right to sell it on their behalf.
S Forsale Machine belongs to prospect and is available for sale. Your company has no special right or interest in the machine
W Wanted This is not an actual machine but a representation of the type of machine needed by a prospect. It may be very specific with sizes, manufacturer, model, etc. given or very general.
X Machine Exists This describes either a specific machine or a generic type of machine that we know a prospect has or uses. It is not for sale as far as we know. The idea is to track machines in use by prospects.
Z Scrapped Machine has been scrapped from system. The original type might have been almost anything except a B. We suggest that the scrap function be used only for removing incorrect entries and S/W machines that are no longer meaningful.

Life cycle of a machine

All machines in the system start with an entry using the Machine Entry (F9) function. Each machine is tied to a prospect at this time. The only types allowed for direct entry in F9 are S, W, and X. W and X machines keep their machine type for their lifetimes in the system unless they are scrapped (and thus become a Z type). An S machine, however, may change type as things happen to it. The Machine Acquisition function (Back Office 44) is used to bring the machine to K (consignment) or I (inventory) status; it may also be used to move a machine from K to I status as necessary. When a machine is sold, the Finalize Sale function (Back Office 43) changes the type to B (bought).

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