Acquisitions

4 major improvements will be introduced as part of this enhanced functionality:

• Purchase Request editing screen - Staff users will be able to decide which notifications will be sent to the users directly from the purchase request screen

• "Create Order" import profile (EOD) - New mapping will allow institutions (creating orders via files received from the vendor) to determine which notifications will be set for PO lines created from the import process (this includes the Patron-Driven Acquisitions import process) 

• A dedicated Job will enable users to create a set of PO lines and apply the "Interested Users" settings on the members of the set. 

• Upon the receiving of a new physical item, a new setting will allow institutions to determine whether the interested user notification be sent once the item is received or once the item is made available (user clicked 'Done').

The option to select the time frame when using the manual harvest option will allow users to:​

• Harvest usage data for greater than 12 months previous for newly configured accounts​

• When troubleshooting data errors, users will be able to harvest a single month at a time

The PO Line Search Screens and Task Lists  will be updated and redesigned for better usability, performance, productivity and overall user experience

• Adjustments to the purchase order line task list will enable users to review all PO lines for all statuses on one screen ​

• Easy way to browse and navigate back to PO lines which were created or edited by the user in order to review or refine the PO line.​

Help users to easily navigate from one task to the other in a more streamlined manner.

NOTE - This new functionality will be introduced during 2021 H2 to the UX focus group in order to evaluate the changes. A general release will be introduced once all testings are complete.

• The loading of ONIX PL files will be improved in order to easily input the vendor's information and license terms into Alma​

• Enhancement to the existing functionality of deleting a license in Alma which will allow for a partial/full removal of a license from the system

• In Alma - A new minimal form will allow users to  quickly and effectively create a PO line.

• External to Alma - New functionality for scenarios where the user orders a resource from a platform that has no automatic integration with Alma (e.g. Amazon): A browser add-on will allow for the harvesting of the metadata and will create the order automatically. The user will no longer need to access Alma in order to create the order.

• Improved Indexing and searching will provide:​

  • infrastructure improvements to support more complex queries and speed up response time​

  • New PO Line attributes in the advanced search​

  • "OR" attribute while building and performing advanced search queries 

The Receiving Workbench will be updated and redesigned for better usability, performance, productivity and overall user experience

• “Search before you work” option will save the users waiting time until the Receiving page loads​

• A new “side by side” presentation will save the users from having to access a designated page in order to review the items list​

• Brief item editing will let users edit specific  inventory item information without leaving the receiving workbench 

Ability to search Acquisition entities by their associated notes.

Additional Advanced search options for searching the content of the 'Notes' tab will be added to the following entities:

• PO lines

• Invoices

• Licenses  

Institutions will be able to send the vendor, via EDI, information regarding the access needs for the ordered electronic resource: Quantity for pricing and Access model