Hi and welcome to the USDA DoD FFAVORS quick reference guide for ordering.
This document will walk you through your ordering process step-by-step.
Be sure to take notes as we go along as there will be some questions at the end
to test your understanding of this material.
During this webinar we will have several objectives. After viewing these slides
and listening to this webinar or training, you will be able to learn the
concept of DoD FFAVORS and what it means; understand how it all begins with FFAVORS;
learn how to place an order; learn how to adjust or edit an order after delivery;
and you should understand how to utilize the help desk for order related
questions and/or login related questions. So let's begin!
What is FFAVORS? FFAVORS stands for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Order Receipt System.
FFAVORS is the component of the USDA Department of Defense our DoD fresh
fruit and vegetable program, where you order fresh fruits and vegetables using
a web application. DoD is operated by DLA which stands for Defense Logistics Agency
at the Department of Defense. FFAVORS DoD allows schools to use their
entitlement dollars to order fresh produce, so this allows you to determine
what amount of your entitlement to designate to DoD. Participating in DoD
allows the school district an opportunity to order locally grown items
that can be used as part of a Farm to School emphasis as well as the
20/20 Vision initiative and it provides a variety of items such as individually
wrapped products. It also allows you to have deliveries weekly or bi-weekly
depending on your school system's needs, and it allows you to track your
DoD funds per order.
How does it all begin in FFAVORS? To participate in USDA DoD FFAVORS,
a system needs to complete a DoD participation request form indicating
the dollar amount of their entitlement that they won't designate for DoD
fresh fruits and vegetables. Please submit this request form to
Teresa Stevenson in the Georgia Department of Education Food Distribution Unit.
Once this form is received in the state office, it is processed based on the
available entitlement per system or the amount of entitlement allocated to the
State of Georgia. If approved, the request form is sent to USDA and they in turn
send the user or the RA representative or the system's
designated DoD contact person an email with detailed instructions on how to
gain access to FFAVORS. The RA or DoD contact person should follow all steps
in the email and create an account within seven days of receiving the email.
The user needs to request Level One access and create a user ID and a
password. Once all of this is done, the user will receive a final and second
email from USDA with the link to activate their account. So be sure that
once the user receives that final email that they click on the link to activate
their account. Be sure and remember your user ID and password for future orders.
If you forget, there is a forgot password or forgot user ID link you can click to
reset your password. If you have access to WBSCM which stands for Web Based
Supply Chain Management program. You can use the same user ID and
password for both WBSCM and FFAVORS.
What can I do in FFAVORS? FFAVORS allows the RA representative or the system's
DoD contact person to view the latest product news flashes; place an order;
view, change or delete a pending order; edit receipts and view current balances.
It is important to remember that when you place an order that you have to allow a
three day window for the delivery. So for example, if the user places an order on
Monday, delivery can be expected on Friday. FFAVORS needs three complete days
to process the order before delivery can be made. The state contracted DoD vendor
will set the delivery days and communicate that with the RA representative
once the account has been established by DoD.
Also, it is important to remember that once you receive the delivery that
you must return to the FFAVORS web application and receipt the order as
received, making any changes to the order within 5 days after delivery.
Ok we have our account setup in FFAVORS and we are ready to place an order.
The FFAVORS login steps are as follows: login to the web application with the link shown on the
slide. Once opened, choose login to FFAVORS. Click on I agree, and what you are
agreeing to at this point is you are agreeing to the fact that you are
opening a government site. Type in your user ID; type in the password that you created.
If this is your first time logging in, you will be prompt with the website
agreement and their registration screen. On the agreement screen select yes,
and on the registration screen, review the information for accuracy and then select
register. After logging into FFAVORS successfully you are ready to place an order.
Here's what you need to do: click on order and receipts; select place new order;
select a delivery date; select go shopping; click show catalog.
This will bring up the catalog for the week. The catalog is generated every Sunday night,
with the latest prices and availability of items for that week in the catalog.
Order the forecasted quantities that you need; place quantities in the box next to
the item; check the case count on the items you're ordering and make sure the
case count and item size is what you wish to order. There may be several
different sizes and case counts for certain items such as apples. Once your
quantities are entered, click on add items to cart. Always make sure that
Federal is selected as the funding source. Other than this Power Point,
another resource available for you is a current customer ordering manual. It is
located on the Georgia Department of Education School Nutrition Program
webpage under the Food Distribution tab. This manual gives you step-by-step
instructions on how to order also ,but it is a 130 page document!
In the FFAVORS catalog, the locally-grown items are italicized for easier
recognition for the Farm to School and the 2020 Vision Initiatives.
When ordering, please keep in mind that there is a 100 dollar minimum
order per drop-off location. As a rule of thumb, and on average, depending on your
school size, a system can spend approximately $500 a week per school per order.
After placing items in cart, review you order and if changes need to be made
click on update cart. If items need to be deleted zero that quantity out and click on
update cart again. Always click on update cart again if any changes are made to
the order. If for some reason you need to start all over again, click on empty cart
to begin again. After you see that the order is complete, or you realize there
are other items you wish to order, you can either proceed to checkout or
continue shopping. Once you proceed to checkout, verify that all items
quantities and fund source are correct. Click on the confirm order button.
The order is not placed if this button is not selected, so be sure you always
select confirm order. Print off your confirmation page with your order and
take note of your delivery date and confirmation number.
At this point, select the home button at the bottom of the page. On the home page
select logout return to main portal. DO NOT use the X in the upper right
hand corner to logout! If you do click on that, it will take 20
minutes before the system will allow you access again. User has the ability to log
out of the system from the main menu portal screen. Once you select logout,
a box will appear in the middle of the screen asking you are you sure you want
to log off? Click OK. Another box will appear informing you
for security reasons your browser window will close automatically. Click OK.
Now you have placed your order and you are waiting on your delivery. Once your order
is delivered and you have checked the order for accuracy, you will need to go
back into FFAVORS and select the adjust or edit receipts link. Remember that no
future orders can be placed until the past two receipts are processed, and you
only have five days from delivery to receipt in order. If for some reason your
school system was closed due to weather conditions or other reasons and no
orders or deliveries were received, you still need to go back into FFAVORS and
zero all items out and receipt it that way, or else your order will appear as a
past-due receipt and you will receive an error message. So once you have selected
adjust or edit receipts, select either the delivery date or the confirmation
number to receipt and click on View order. Then click receipt order.
To enter an update select edit.
Edit the receipt then making a change to the item in the case receipt quantity
box. Select a reason code for the difference if a change was made to the
quantity, for example: if you ordered five cases of grapes then only received four
cases, make that change here and give a reason.
Once all changes have been made, click process all pending receipt changes, then
click confirm receipts. One thing to remember is that even if there are no
changes to be made, if your entire order was completely correct, you still need to
go back in and receipt it at this point. A new confirmation number will appear.
Take note of this and print a copy of the final delivery information. This will
be needed to resolve any billing discrepancies, vendor payment issues or
to serve as documentation that the order has been receipted. So now select go back
to the list of receipts or receipt another order if you have more than one
order to receipt. If not select return to homepage and then log off. At this point
you have completed all steps of ordering, receiving and receiving your DoD order.
Congratulations! If at any time you have questions or issues with the FFAVORS web
application, the user may send a message to the FFAVORS support team from any
screen: select contact FFAVORS help desk link at the bottom of the page; use the
email account specialist link for order related questions. This will send a
message to the DLA FFAVORS support team and not to the state office. Enter any
questions or comments in the message block and select send email. If the RA is
unable to access the link or for login related questions, contact FFAVORS at
FNSUSDA.gov. This link is noted here on the slide. Thank you so much for
participating in this USDA DoD FFAVORS training. If you wish to participate in
DoD, a DoD participation request form is located on the Georgia Department of
Education web page under the Food Distribution tab. If you have any
additional questions please contact Teresa Stevenson or your food
distribution unit specialist at the Georgia Department of Education School
Nutrition Program. Thank you so much! Now we will test your knowledge on FFAVORS
with a few questions. This institution is an equal opportunity provider