Transactions
Two important transactions, draw changes and shortages, can be entered in Route Service, but will not be processed until Transaction Processing is run during the publishing run.
You can enter draw changes:
For an individual route
As part of a batch of draw changes
As part of a group of mass draw changes, which are typically short term (due to a late-breaking story, bad weather, etc.)
Individual draw changes and shortages are covered in this section. Batch and group draw changes are covered in the Draw Management section (see below).
About Draw Changes and Shortages
Carriers and dealers may not always have the exact draw they need to serve their customers. Circulation assigns draw to a route based on the active subscriptions on that route. However, some routes may need extra papers for samples or other purposes. Or, in the case of dealers, routes may have more or fewer customers than usual. Four draw-related transactions are available in Circulation:
A draw change adjusts draw before Transaction Processing takes place. This is used primarily with dealers and racks. For example, if there is a large convention in town, downtown dealers might ask for increased draw.
A shortage does not adjust the draw at all, but simply records a shortage (or overage) for dispatching and audit purposes. For example, if a carrier is given too few papers and needs more, the newspaper may elect to dispatch the missing papers.
A draw adjustment adjusts draw after Transaction Processing takes place. For example, after a late-breaking story, a dealer might run out of papers and order additional copies.
A return adjusts draw after Transaction Processing takes place, just like a draw adjustment. However, in the case of returns, the draw is reduced. This happens when dealers and racks do not sell all of their draw on a given day.
Keep in mind that draw transactions apply to routes, not the dealers or carriers who distribute them. For example, if two carriers deliver route 11, a draw change to route 11 will affect the draw of both carriers.
Draw Change
You may need to change a route’s future draw for many reasons. For example, a big news story may affect some routes more than others, or you might increase the draw for a route that delivers to college campuses when classes begin in the fall.
Draw changes are typically made only for dealers and racks. Starts and stops on home delivery routes are automatically included in the draw during the publishing run. Also, a route may not be set up to allow draw changes, although draw changes for “service” and “sample” copies are always allowed. Draw change transactions can be entered only for dates that have not yet been processed with Transaction Processing.
The Draw Change option is most useful if you need to enter draw changes for only a few routes. To enter draw changes for a large number of routes, use the Batch Draw Change option. To change the draw for all single copy outlets on a particular day, use Group Draw Change.
Note: Draw change tolerances can be defined for single copy route types to establish a range of “reasonable” draw change amounts. See Single Copy Type in the Setup Manual for more information about draw change tolerances.
To enter a draw change:
Find the route whose draw you wish to change.
Complete the following fields and click OK.
Field Type What to enter EFFECTIVE DATE
date
Enter the first date that this draw change will be in effect.
REVERSAL DATE
date
Enter the date on which this draw change should be reversed. Leave this field blank if the draw change is for an indefinite period of time. For example, if you want to change the draw for 6/4/10 through 6/6/10, the date you enter in Effective Date would be 6/4/10, and the date you enter in Reversal Date would be 6/7/10.
SOURCE
setup
Enter the source code, such as “carrier”, for this draw change. This field is optional.
REASON
setup
Enter the reason code, such as “scdraw”, for this draw change. This field is optional.
RATE CODE
setup
If this is a home delivery route and you store draw at the rate code level (a Business Rules consideration), enter the subscriber rate code for which draw is being changed. Account rates can be based on subscriber rate codes.
DELIV SCHED
setup
If this draw change is for a home delivery route, enter the delivery schedule for which this draw change should occur; for example, “daily” or “Friday”. This field is not active for single copy routes.
DRAW TYPE
predefined
Enter the route draw type, such as “carrier collect”, “office pay”, “paid complimentary”, or “third party”. For single copy outlets, enter a valid draw class in this field. See Draws for more information about draw types. See the Setup manual for more information about draw classes.
ADJUST/REPLACE
predefined
Indicate whether the draw should be adjusted (increased or decreased) or replaced. If you are replacing old draw figures with new draw figures, choose replace.
ADJUSTMENT, SUN-SAT
integer (6)
For each day of the week, indicate the number of newspapers that should be adjusted/replaced. To enter negative adjustments, add a minus sign (such as “-5”). The adjustments/replacements will be displayed for each publishing day. You can leave the first field blank so that different amounts can be entered for each day.
REMARKS
open (unlimited)
Enter any necessary remarks about this transaction.
Shortage
Carriers and dealers may call to say they received more or fewer newspapers than scheduled. For example, a carrier’s bundle top might indicate that she should receive 50 newspapers, but she only received 40. This information can be sent by the dispatcher to drivers for redelivery of the additional 10 papers.
To enter a shortage:
Use Find to locate the route that has been shorted.
Complete the following fields and click OK.
Field Type What to enter PRODUCT
setup
Indicate which product is short.
INCIDENT DATE
date
Enter the date this shortage occurred.
REQUEST RESUPPLY
yes/no
Check this field if this is a resupply request for the route, rather than an actual shortage. If so, distribution documents will be regenerated for the papers, and a draw adjustment will be made, using the resupply draw adjustment code specified in Deliverable setup. See Resupply Documents for more information about the resupply feature. You can still use the Resupply button in Dispatching to distribute regular shortages (which have this field unchecked). See Dispatching Items for more information.
QUANTITY SHORT
integer (4)
Enter the number of newspapers this route was shorted.
QUANTITY LONG
integer (4)
Enter the number of newspapers this route received over the scheduled draw (if too many newspapers were received).
SOURCE
setup
Enter the source code, such as “carrier”, for this transaction.
REASON
setup
Enter the reason code, such as “shortage”, for this transaction.
DISPATCH?
yes/no
Indicate whether this transaction should be dispatched. Some shortages may not need dispatching. For example, a carrier who is shorted 3 papers may buy the missing papers at a store. In this case, you would not dispatch papers. You would, however, give the carrier a miscellaneous credit for the cost of the store-bought papers. After the shortage is dispatched, the Dispatch Detail button will become available for viewing the dispatch date, time, remarks, compliance information, and other information.
REMARKS
unlimited
Enter any remarks about this transaction.
REDELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS
unlimited
Enter any instructions for redelivery of the newspapers. For example, enter instructions here if the shortage driver should deliver the additional papers to the carrier’s home or work address.
Note
Use this option to attach a note to a home delivery or single copy route.
Note: Before entering a route note, you must set up at least one “OutletNote” reason code in Setup | Subscription | Codes | Reason.
To add a route note:
Find the product/route combination for which you want to add a note.
Complete the following fields and click OK.
| Field | Type | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
NOTE DATE | date | Enter the date for this note. |
REMARKS | unlimited | Enter the content of the note. |
SOURCE | setup | Select the source code for this transaction. |
REASON | setup | Select the reason code for this transaction. |
Complaint
Use this option to enter complaints related to a single copy or home delivery route. Complaints may involve wet papers, non-delivery, or no papers in a rack. Non-subscribers may report a problem with the carrier, such as “yard” or “noise”. Entering a route complaint is very similar to entering a Customer Service complaint, except complaint codes for route complaints are added using Setup | Distribution | Route | Complaint Code.
To enter a complaint:
Find the route toward which the complaint is directed.
Complete the following fields and click OK.
| Field | Type | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
INCIDENT DATE | date | Enter the date for this route complaint. |
SOURCE | setup | Enter the source code for this transaction, such as “customer” or “carrier”. |
REASON | setup | Enter the reason for this route complaint. |
COMPLAINT | open | The description of the reason code will appear in this field, but you can modify it. |
REDELIVER | yes/no | Indicate whether products with this complaint code should be redelivered. |
INSTRUCTIONS | open | Enter re-delivery instructions, if applicable. |
DISPATCH | yes/no | Indicate whether this complaint should be dispatched. |
URGENT | yes/no | Indicate whether resolution to this complaint is urgent. |
Start (Outlet Start)
Use this option to add draw for a single copy outlet that has no draw. When you enter an outlet start, a draw change will be created to add the draw you specify. You can enter a flat draw amount to be added to each day of the week, or you can specify differing draw amounts for each day of the week.
Note: Before entering a start, you must set up at least one “OutletStart” reason code in Setup | Subscription | Codes | Reason.
To enter an outlet start:
Find the single copy outlet for which you want to add draw.
Complete the following fields and click OK.
Field Type What to enter SOURCE
setup
Enter the source code for this transaction, such as “DM”.
START REASON
setup
Enter the reason for this outlet start. At least one reason code must be set up in advance with a transaction type of “OutletStart”.
DRAW CHG REASON
setup
Enter the reason for the draw change that will be created as a result of this start.
DATE
date
Enter the effective date of the draw change.
DRAW [SAT-FRI]
integer
If the draw will be the same for all days of the week, enter the amount in the DRAW field. If the draw will differ by day of the week, enter the draw for individual days.
REMARKS
open
Enter any helpful remarks about this transaction.
Stop (Outlet Stop)
Use this option to remove all draw from a single copy outlet (e.g., because a store is closing). When you enter an outlet stop, a draw change will be created to zero out the draw for all days of the week.
Note: Before entering a stop, you must set up at least one “OutletStop” reason code in Setup | Subscription | Codes | Reason.
To enter an outlet stop:
Find the single copy outlet for which you want to remove draw.
Complete the following fields and click OK.
Field Type What to enter SOURCE
setup
Enter the source code for this transaction, such as “DM”.
STOP REASON
setup
Enter the reason for this outlet stop. At least one reason code must be set up in advance with a transaction type of “OutletStop”.
DRAW CHG REASON
setup
Enter the reason for the draw change that will be created as a result of this stop.
DATE
date
Enter the effective date of the draw change.
REMARKS
open
Enter any helpful remarks about this transaction.
Modifying Transactions
You can modify any transaction that has not yet been processed with Transaction Processing. To modify a transaction, double-click on it in the Transactions tab in the upper-right portion of the window. You can then click Modify and change the values in the fields. When you finish modifying the transaction, click OK. See Transactions for more information about the Transactions tab.
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