014 — The Sales Order Lifecycle¶

Every piece of business moves through the same set of stages. Knowing which stage a record is in tells you two things immediately: who has to act next, and what can still be changed.

The Full Journey¶

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Draft: customer creates a draft request

    Draft --> RFQ_Submitted: customer submits it

    RFQ_Submitted --> RFQ_Updated: customer revises it
    RFQ_Updated --> RFQ_Submitted: customer resubmits

    RFQ_Submitted --> Quotation_Submitted: Account Manager sends the quotation
    RFQ_Updated --> Quotation_Submitted

    RFQ_Submitted --> Rejected: request refused
    RFQ_Updated --> Rejected

    Quotation_Submitted --> PO_Submitted: customer uploads their Purchase Order
    Quotation_Submitted --> RFQ_Updated: customer changes and resubmits
    Quotation_Submitted --> Cancelled

    PO_Submitted --> In_Progress: Account Manager confirms
    PO_Submitted --> Cancelled

    In_Progress --> Delivered
    In_Progress --> Cancelled

    Rejected --> [*]
    Cancelled --> [*]
    Delivered --> [*]

Stage Reference¶

Stage	What it means in business terms	Who acts next	Where the customer finds it	Where the Account Manager finds it
Draft Request	Still being built. Nothing has been asked of SAMTIA	Customer	Draft Requests	Shared Request (only if flagged)
RFQ Submitted	A formal request for a price	Account Manager	RFQs	RFQ Quotations
RFQ Revised	The customer has changed their request	Account Manager	RFQs	RFQ Quotations
Quotation Issued	A price has been offered	Customer	RFQs	Quotations
PO Submitted	The customer has accepted and sent their Purchase Order	Account Manager	RFQs	Quotations
Processing	Confirmed business being fulfilled	Account Manager	Orders	Orders
Delivered	Complete	Nobody	Orders	Orders
Rejected	The request was refused	Nobody	Archived	Archived Orders
Cancelled	The business was stopped	Nobody	Archived	Archived Orders

Who Moves It Forward¶

flowchart LR
    subgraph C["Customer actions"]
        C1["Submit RFQ"]
        C2["Update RFQ"]
        C3["Submit PO"]
    end
    subgraph A["Account Manager actions"]
        A1["Send Quotation"]
        A2["Confirm"]
        A3["Return"]
    end
    C1 --> A1
    C2 --> A1
    A1 --> C3
    C3 --> A2
    C3 --> A3
    A3 --> C3

Each side has exactly three moves. Nothing advances on its own — the platform waits for a person to act.

What Can Be Changed at Each Stage¶

Stage	Customer can edit the lines?	Account Manager can edit the lines?
Draft Request	Yes	Not applicable
RFQ Submitted	No — reopen with Update RFQ first	Yes — this is where pricing happens
RFQ Revised	No — same	Yes
Quotation Issued	Yes, then resubmit	Yes
PO Submitted	No	No
Processing	No	No
Delivered	No	No

The rule of thumb: an order is editable while the commercial conversation is still open, and locked once it has been agreed.

What Happens Automatically¶

Some transitions do more than change a label.

Transition	Also happens
→ Quotation Issued	The quotation document is produced and e-mailed to the customer, and the customer is notified in the portal
→ Processing	The order is confirmed as real business in SAMTIA's system
→ RFQ Submitted / RFQ Revised / PO Submitted	The Account Manager receives a portal notification and an e-mail
Draft request shared	The Account Manager is notified and the order is flagged for attention

The Two Signals That Track Customer Engagement¶

Once a quotation has been sent, two dates record what the customer did with it. Account Managers can show them as columns in any order queue.

Signal	Meaning
Quotation Viewed Date	When the customer opened the quotation
Quotation Downloaded Date	When the customer printed or downloaded it

What you see	What it usually means
No Quotation Viewed Date after several days	It has not been seen. Chase by chat or phone
Reviewed but not printed	Seen, under consideration
Printed	Being circulated internally — often for approval. A good moment to follow up

Schedule Status¶

Alongside the stage, every order carries a timing signal calculated from the customer's Requested Delivery Date.

Schedule Status	Meaning
Late	The requested delivery date has passed and the order is not complete
On Time	Progressing within the expected window
Upcoming	The requested delivery date is still ahead

Sort or filter on this to prioritise. Late items are where customer relationships are won or lost.

Pending Resubmission — an easy one to miss¶

If a customer edits an order after receiving a quotation but does not resubmit it, the order is marked as changed but not resubmitted.

For customers: your changes are saved but your Account Manager has not been asked to look at them. Submit the updated request to restart pricing.

For Account Managers: this is why an order may look different from the quotation you sent. Check with the customer before requoting.

Reading the Lifecycle From Either Side¶

Customer's view¶

flowchart LR
    W["Draft Requests<br/>I'm still building"] --> R["RFQs<br/>asked, or waiting on my decision"]
    R --> O["Orders<br/>agreed and coming"]
    R --> A["Archived<br/>didn't proceed"]

Account Manager's view¶

flowchart LR
    SW["Shared Request<br/>they want advice"] --> RQ["RFQ Quotations<br/>MY ACTION — price it"]
    RQ --> Q["Quotations<br/>their decision, then MY ACTION to confirm"]
    Q --> O["Orders<br/>fulfil it"]
    Q --> A["Archived<br/>didn't proceed"]

The same journey, described from each side of the conversation.