Plans, data and the awkward bits
How a delivery is matched to an order
The three attempts made to line a delivered item up with the thing you ordered, in order.
Suppliers rarely print your part numbers the way you hold them. Rather than demanding they match exactly, three attempts are made in order, stopping at the first that works.
One: the part number, exactly
If the slip says BRK-114 and your order says BRK-114, done.
Two: the part number, ignoring the noise
Capitals, dashes, dots and spaces are stripped from both sides before comparing. All of these reach the same line:
BRK-114 brk114 BRK 114 b.r.k.114
Put another way
Reading a phone number aloud. Whether somebody writes it with spaces, dashes or neither, it rings the same house.
Three: the words in the description
With no part number match, the descriptions are compared word by word, ignoring words of two letters or fewer. If more than six in ten of the meaningful words are shared, it is treated as the same item.
So “Bracket 114mm galvanised” will find “Galvanised bracket 114mm”. “Bracket” alone will not find “Bolt”.
Otherwise: not on the PO
Anything that fails all three is shown as not on the order. That is not an error. It is the software declining to guess, and the receiver is better placed to decide.
Worth knowing
Every match is a proposal. Nothing is recorded until somebody at the bay confirms it, and every line can be corrected first.
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