Using the "Responsible Party" Field

What is the Responsible Party?

When entering an order, one of the fields on the Order Details page (the first page of the order entry process) is labeled "Responsible Party."

The Responsible Party is the entity who will be ultimately responsible for the charges or costs associated with this order.

Please note that this does not affect the billing process. The Responsible Party field is for data collection purposes only.

For example, let's say you as the customer need to request an order from Ascent because one of your suppliers is behind on parts. When the freight is delivered, Ascent will bill you for the order as normal. However, if you intend to charge the cost of the order back to that supplier (since their shortage necessitated it), you would select "Pickup" in the Responsible Party field. (This assumes the order is picking up directly from that supplier, which we will discuss shortly.)

Again, this has no impact on how the order is billed. It is more for the customer to help keep track of costs and which orders are being recouped.

Options in the Responsible Party field

When clicking on the Responsible Party field, a dropdown menu will open, allowing you to select the appropriate option.

Note that the blank line at the top of the list is selectable; picking it will leave the field blank. Responsible Party is not a required field to submit the order, so it does not need to be filled in.

The rest of the options are as follows:

Original Pickup

Original Pickup means the location where the freight was original manufactured and shipped out from. Since this may not be the same location where this particular order is picking up from, it is a separate option.

For example, if the supplier manufactured parts and sent them to a warehouse or distribution center, that warehouse might be the pickup location for this order. However, the supplier is still the "Original Pickup" because they are the location where the freight originated, so this option should be selected if they will be responsible for the cost of the order.

Pickup

Very straightforward; select this option if the pickup location (or shipper) for this order will be responsible for the cost.

Final Delivery

Similar to the Original Pickup, the Final Delivery is the freight's ultimate destination. That may not always be the same as the delivery point for this particular order, so it is its own separate option.

For example, if the freight is bound for Mexico, the delivery location for this order might be a warehouse or crossdock at the border. Once delivered there, the freight will still need to cross the border to make it to the actual consignee, which would be considered the "Final Delivery" location. If that consignee will be responsible for the cost of the order, select this option.

Delivery

Similar to the Pickup option, select this option if the delivery location (or consignee) for this order will be responsible for the cost.

Other

Select this option if the Responsible Party is none of the above locations.

When selecting "Original Pickup," "Final Delivery," or "Other," a new field will appear below the initial dropdown. Search for the appropriate location in this new field.

Note that this second field is required; if "Original Pickup," "Final Delivery," or "Other" is selected as the Responsible Party, then the location that is responsible must be specified.