1. The Sales department receives a customer inquiry, which essentially is a request for infor- mation concerning the availability and price of a specific good. (We restrict our discussion

here to fulfilling a customer order for physical goods rather than services.)

2. After Sales receives the inquiry, it issues a quotation that indicates availability and price. 3. If the customer agrees to the price and terms, then Sales creates a customer purchase order (PO) and a sales order. Alternatively, the customer could provide a purchase order either electronically or in the mail as a paper document. 4. Sales forwards the sales order to the Warehouse. The sales order is an interdepartmental document that helps the company keep track of the internal processes that are involved in fulfilling a specific customer order. It also provides details of the quantity, price, and other characteristics of the product. 5. The Warehouse prepares the shipment and produces two other internal documents: the picking document, which it uses to remove goods from the Warehouse, and the packing list, which accompanies the shipment and provides details about the delivery. 6. At the same time, Accounting issues an invoice for the customer. 7. The process concludes when Accounting receives a payment that is consistent with the invoice.

Departments and documents flow in the fulfillment process. Departments and documents flow in the fulfillment process