{{unref, date=December 2018 The sales order, sometimes abbreviated as SO, is an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

issued by a business or sole trader to a customer. A sales order may be for products and/or services. Given the wide variety of businesses, this means that the orders can be fulfilled in several ways. Broadly, the fulfillment modes, based on the relationship between the order receipt and production, are as follows: *

Digital copy A digital copy is a commercially distributed computer file containing a media product such as a film or music album. The term contrasts this computer file with the physical copy (typically a DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, or Ultra HD Blu-ray disc) w ...

– Where products are digital and inventory is maintained with a single digital master. Copies are made on demand in real time and instantly delivered to customers. *

Build to stock Build to stock, or ''make to stock'', often abbreviated as ''BTS'' or ''MTS'', is a build-ahead production approach in which production plans may be based upon sales forecasts and/or historical demand. BTS is a usually associated with the industrial ...

– Where products are built and stocked in anticipation of demand. Most products for the consumer would fall into this category *

Build to order Build to Order (BTO: sometimes referred to as Make to Order or Made to Order (MTO)) is a production approach where products are not built until a confirmed order for products is received. Thus, the end consumer determines the time and number of ...

– Where products are built based on orders received. This is most prevalent for custom parts where the designs are known beforehand. *

Configure-to-order Configurators, also known as choice boards, design systems, toolkits, or co-design platforms, are responsible for guiding the user through the configuration process. Different variations are represented, visualized, assessed and priced which star ...

– Where products are configured or assembled to meet unique customer requirements, e.g. computers *

Engineer to order Engineer to order is a production approach characterized by: #Engineering activities need to be added to product lead time. #Upon receipt of a customer order, the order engineering requirements and specifications are not known in detail. There is ...

– Where some amount of product design work is done after receiving the order A sales order is an internal document of the company, meaning it is generated by the company itself. A sales order should record the customer's originating

purchase order A purchase order is a commercial document and first official offer issued by a buyer to a seller, indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services. It is used to control the purchasing of products and services from extern ...

which is an external document. Rather than using the customer's purchase order document, an internal sales order form allows the internal audit control of completeness to be monitored. A sequential sales order number may be used by the company for its sales order documents. The customer's PO is the originating document which triggers the creation of the sales order. A sales order, being an internal document, can therefore contain many customer purchase orders under it. In a manufacturing environment, a sales order can be converted into a work order to show that work is about to begin to manufacture, build or engineer the products the customer wants.

Electronic sales order

Many sales orders are no longer paper-based, but rather transmitted electronically over a corporate Intranet. These sales orders may be communicated across different

enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

business applications. The automated sales and purchase order process enables customers to place orders 24/7, even when offices are closed.

Common types

Sales quote A sales quote allows a prospective buyer to see the costs that will be involved for desired work. Many businesses provide services that cannot have an upfront price because the costs involved can vary. This can be due to the materials used, which ...

Invoice An invoice, bill or tab is a commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer relating to a sale transaction and indicating the products, quantities, and agreed-upon prices for products or services the seller had provided the buyer. Pay ...

Estimate Estimation (or estimating) is the process of finding an estimate or approximation, which is a value that is usable for some purpose even if input data may be incomplete, uncertain, or unstable. The value is nonetheless usable because it is de ...

*Return order *Product Number *Rush Order

Customer order fulfillment

The steps involved in fulfilling the demands made in a sales order make up the order fulfillment process.

Electronic sales order

Common types

Customer order fulfillment

See also