Purchase Flow – 30,000 MT / Quarter

This workflow describes the end-to-end operational flow for a physical aluminum trading transaction involving a purchase of 30,000 MT per quarter from a Chinese supplier (CHIN1), shipped FOB Laizhou and delivered CFR Mejillones, Chile, to the end customer ITC Chile. The transaction is structured around three sale lots: SC-001 (10,000 MT at fixed USD 165/mt), SC-002 (8,000 MT at fixed USD 162/mt), and SC-003 (~11,890 MT at a floating price indexed on weekly FOB China publications) — all discharging at the Interacid terminal in Mejillones.

The purchase price is determined by the average of four weekly FOB Laizhou publications immediately prior to the Bill of Lading date (Thursday publications). Payment on the purchase side is governed by a Letter of Credit (LC Sight), while sales are settled at BL + 30 days. The shipping leg is managed through broker Clarksons, with vessel INTHIRA NAREE operated by MOL Chemtankers, with an estimated BL date of 20 July 2025 and an ETA at destination of 30 August 2025.

The workflow covers the full lifecycle from contract entry and lot allocation in the CTRM system, through freight booking, voyage start, invoicing (provisional and final), supplier and freight payments, physical receipt at the terminal, and final settlement of the floating-price lot.

Step	Actor	Process Framework
Enter the Purchase Contract Menu Purchases\Purchases → Enter contract information → add line → add estimated BL date → add MTM settings → add price formula → [Confirm]	Back-office / CTRM	7 · Trade & Commodity Trade capture · Contract terms management
Purchase contract entry details Add detailed explanations for this step here: required fields, validation rules, expected controls, and common checks before confirming the purchase contract. Contract header: Party(supplier), Number (filled in automatically), Reference(your own reference), Purchase Date, Payment Term, Currency, Weight basis, Operator, Trader, From Location, To Location, Incoterm. Contract lines: product, quantity, unit, tolerance, price formula, Mtm.
Enter budgeted costs on contracts (usually on purchase side) FRT 80.00 · BRK 0.50 · LC Fees 0.35 USD/mt · Template: FOB China – CFR Chile	Trading / Back-office	7 · Trade & Commodity5 · R2R Settlements & final P&L · Cost centre accounting
Enter the Sale Contracts (SC-001 / 002 / 003) Client: ITC Chile · CFR Mejillones · NCSW · BL+30d · auto-allocation [VALIDATE]	Trading / Back-office	7 · Trade & Commodity Trade capture · Pricing & tolerance · Contract terms management

Step	Actor	Process Framework
Lots Management — link to transport Select open qty to ship → link to transport (MEJILLONES – no fees)	Operations / Back-office	7 · Trade & Commodity Logistics & shipping instruction management · Execution & allocation
Create sub-lots matching 3 sale contracts L1: 10 kmt @ 165 (fixed) · L2: 8 kmt @ 162 (fixed) · L3: ~12 kmt floating {Price Formula} · ETA: 30 Aug	Operations / Back-office	7 · Trade & Commodity Execution & allocation · Position management
Complete Freight Booking Ref: PC-1 CHIN1 Q3 · Supplier: Clarksons · Shipping period: 10–22 Jul · Est. BL: 20 Jul · 30,000 mt	Operations	7 · Trade & Commodity2 · P2P Logistics & shipping instruction management · Purchase order creation
Confirm booking (CLARKSONS / INTHIRA NAREE) Ref: WXYZ123456 · Carrier: MOL Chemtankers · Enter ETA POL + ETD	Operations	7 · Trade & Commodity2 · P2P Logistics & shipping instruction management · Goods receipt & inspection

Step	Actor	Process Framework
Process Voyage Start (shipped) BL Date: 20/07 · ETA: 30/08 · Lots: L1=10kt · L2=8kt · L3=11.89kt · Ordered costs: FRT 82.50 · COM 0.50 · LC 0.375 USD/mt → [START]	Operations / Back-office	7 · Trade & Commodity4 · Inventory & WH Logistics · Provisional invoicing · Goods receipt · Batch management
Enter final purchase invoice (P-INV001) Final price: 87.50 USD/mt (avg. 4 weekly publications) · LC Sight · Move Effective: 20/07 → Service accruals generated	Back-office / Finance	2 · P2P7 · Trade & Commodity Invoice receipt & verification (3-way match) · Invoicing (final)
Generate sale invoices L1: direct (fixed price) · L2: direct (fixed price) · L3: provisional (avg. 2 prior publications before BL)	Back-office	1 · O2C7 · Trade & Commodity Customer invoicing & billing · Invoicing (provisional & final)
Enter freight invoice received (FRT Invoice) From shipment → create FRT Invoice · Due date: 01/09/2025 · Vessel: INTHIRA NAREE	Finance / Ops	2 · P2P Invoice receipt & verification · Accounts payable management

Step	Actor	Process Framework
Pay the purchase invoice (LC Sight) Check open items · check fund availability · check party position · pay in full · Value Date: 26/07/2025	Finance / Treasury	2 · P2P6 · Treasury Payment run & disbursement · Letters of credit & bank guarantees
Collect client payment (L1, L2 final + L3 provisional) Enter Payment from Client + bank charges	Finance	1 · O2C Cash application & payment matching · Collections management
Pay freight — Service Order (INTHIRA NAREE) Detect FRT Invoice to pay → [Pay Service Order]	Finance	2 · P2P6 · Treasury Payment run & disbursement · Cash positioning & daily liquidity management

Step	Actor	Process Framework
Receive goods — Interacid Terminal Mejillones Enter actual receipt date + receipt reference → [Receive] → creates move to terminal at Eff. Date = receipt date (HC001)	Operations	4 · Inventory & WH7 · Trade & Commodity Goods receipt processing · Sampling & quality management

Step	Actor	Process Framework
Finalise provisional invoice SC-003 Detect full fixation status · all July fixations known → Make Final Sale Invoice (Lot 3) · final price calculated	Back-office	7 · Trade & Commodity1 · O2C Invoicing (final) · Settlements & final P&L · Revenue recognition
Collect balance payment — Lot 3 finalisation Customer Invoices or Age Balance → Enter payment from Client · balance of Lot 3	Finance	1 · O2C Cash application & payment matching · Customer dispute & deduction management

Purchase contract entry details