A territory is a name given to a group of branches. Maintain territories that include one or multiple branches, and name territories by physical locations, such as state or city, by types of products sold at the branches, or by any other category that makes sense for your business.
If you have one branch or multiple branches include your branches in the ALL territory, because if you ever add a branch, the new branch can inherit branch-specific settings from the other branches. This strategy makes setting up a new branch easier than manually entering system-wide branch parameters.
If you have two or more branches that have similar settings, create a territory for those branches. For example, you have two branches in the Denver city tax district, and the rest of your branches are located outside of the Denver tax district. Create a territory named DENVER that includes the two Denver branches. Compare these branches by running reports on the DENVER territory.
A branch can reside in more than one territory. For example, you have 10 branches in Colorado: 2 branches in Denver, 5 branches along major highways on the eastern plains, and three branches in small mountain communities that require a higher rate of freight. In this case, your territories might be named COLORADO, DENVER, PLAINS, and MOUNTAIN. All 10 branches are in the COLORADO territory, and each of those branches also belongs to the territory named for its geographic location.
In any branch-specific screen, such as Product Price Maintenance, you can set territory and branch parameters. Branch settings always override territory settings. You can identify a screen with branch-specific parameters by its Hierarchy hot key.
You can edit and view only branches and territories to which you have access. To view or edit the Territory Maintenance screen, you must be assigned the TERRITORY.MAINTauthorization key. Branch and territory access is defined in User Maintenance.
To create a territory:
From the Maintenance > Branch menu, select Territory to display the Territory Maintenance window.
In the Territory Name field, enter the territory's name. If this is an existing territory, any branches belonging to the territory display in the table.
Note: The ALL territory was created as part of your Eclipse DMS, so you do not need to create it.
In the TerritoryDescription field, enter up to 32 alphanumeric characters to clearly describe the territory. For example, if you have three branches in Iowa for the territory you are creating, you might include each branch's geographic location in each description, as follows:
Iowa - Des Moines
Iowa - Ames
Iowa - Sioux City
In the Entity Priority and Product Priority fields, enter the level of importance for the territory, from 1-99. 99 is the highest priority:
In the Entity Priority field, rank the territory based on customer and vendor parameters, as you would find on the Branch-Specific Overrides dialog box.
In the Product Priority field, rank the territory based on product parameters, as you would find on the Forecast Parameters Maintenance window.
Is the territory assigned a priority?
No - The territory is used only for reporting purposes.
Yes - Users with authorizations have access to the Branch-Specific Overrides dialog box from customer and vendor records. You can include the territory in the Authorized Territories screen in User Maintenance only if the territory is assigned an entity or product priority.
If you do not assign a priority, you can use the territory for reporting purposes only. Include this territory in the Authorized Territories screen in User Maintenance only if you assigned it an entity or product priority.
When you view any screen with branch-specific fields, such as the Product Price Maintenance screen, select File >Hierarchy, and enter a branch. The selected branch displays at the top of the Branch/Territory column, followed by the territories that contain the selected branch and that you have authority to view. The territories are listed in order of their priority, with the highest priority at the top.
Note: If you add or remove branches, or if you change territory priorities, the system requires you to delete branch cache files and to rebuild the authorized territories list. Run these utilities only after business hours to avoid interfering with daily business transactions.
In the Branch column, list the branches in this territory. The system sorts the branches alphanumerically the next time you display the screen.
The Branch Name column displays the full branch name.
Select the following options as needed:
To... | Select this menu item... |
delete a territory. | File >Delete The system prompts for confirmation. If you enter delete at the prompt, the system prompts to rebuild authorized territories. If you have the Override Automatic Build field set to Yes in your user record, the territory is not deleted from the list. If the territory has an entity or product priority, the system prompts to delete cache records. Delete cache records when changes are made to territories, and only after business hours. |
return the entries to what they were before you started making changes. | File > Recall |
find a branch in the list. | File > Find |
See Also:
Setup Requirements for Company Branches
Defining Customer Branch Override Capabilities