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Version: 8.2

Allotment & reservation

Operating principle​

In AOS, there are 2 ways for allocating stock to a sales order, depending on stock availability:

  • Allocation is used in case of available stock. It is used to allocate part of the available stock to a move, which reduces the available quantity by the same amount as the allocation made. Allocation therefore applies to physical stock and is specifically carried out on moves that have a defined location, quantity and an origin (a sale order or a manufacturing order). This also means that no allocation is possible if no move has been generated.

  • Reservation is used in the event of insufficient stock. It is used to trigger a future allocation request once stock becomes available. The reservation can therefore be made even if there is not enough stock available, but it also requires a move to be taken into account in the ERP system. In concrete terms, when a move is generated, a reservation request can lead to an allocation if there is stock of the product. The allocation in question can be complete or partial if there is not enough stock available.

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Stock allocation is carried out on a move and blocks the quantity of allocated stock on the source location of the move. This allocation for an order prevents any other move that is not linked to this order on this stock, which would lead to not having enough quantity on the location in question to carry out an order.

Supplychain app Configurations​

Access : Application config → Apps management → Supplychain, configure → activate the "Manage stock reservation" option in the Stock section. Activating this option brings up other functionalities in the Supplychain configurations by company ("Automatically allocate stock on receipt" and "Automatically allocate stock on other stock moves").

Click on the company record to access the configurations by company.

Supplychain configurations by company​

Access : Application config → Apps management → Supplychain, configure → click on the Company file to access supplychain configurations by company

Several functionalities are available for activation:

  1. Auto allocate stock on receipt: with this feature active, complete the allocation quantity for a move in order to reach the reservation quantity for the product reception. If there are several reservations for a product, then ERP will allocate the reservation with the oldest sales order date first. Define the date of the sales order used for the stock reservation in the dedicated field.

  2. Auto allocate stock on other stock moves: this works in the same way as automatic allocation on receipt, but this option concerns internal moves. This option is particularly useful if receipts are made at one place, and the product is sent from another location. Once an internal move has been made from the reception location to the shipping location, this option enables the parts to be allocated automatically on the delivery note, taking into account the priority of the reservation dates.

  3. Auto allocate during an availability request: if you have activated the "Separate the shipment operations" stock configuration (Application config → Apps management → Stock, configure → activate "Separate the shipment operations"), it is then possible to request automatic allocation when an availability request is made. If this is the case, a warning message will be displayed asking if you wish to allocate the goods. If you refuse, a reservation request will be made. This reservation will then be processed as an allocation. This configuration is incompatible with the option "Auto request reserved qty". It is advised to avoid activating them at the same time.

  4. Sales order date used for stock reservation. In this field, select between :

  • Confirmation date ;

  • Estimated shipping date.

  1. Auto request reserved qty: the reservation request is made automatically on sales orders if this option is activated. This avoids manual omissions, if the company reserves and allocates all orders.

  2. Auto request qty for manuf orders: when this option is activated, the reservation will be automatically made for components when planning manufacturing orders.

  3. Save the changes and refresh the browser.

Create an order reservation​

Access : Sales → Sale quotation → +

  1. In the Content tab, add a new line to the "Detail lines" table.

  2. The "Sales order line" window will open.

tip

From version 8 onwards, you can fill in the lines directly in the boxes without opening the configuration window. Activate the feature in the Sales app : Application config → Apps management → Sales, configure → enable the option "Enable editable list on sale quotation / sales order lines".

  1. Select the product and quantity. For example, select a rack case (quantity: 10).

  2. Request Reservation : click on the "Request Reservation" button. The Request Reservation button is used to make a reservation request which will be taken into account when a delivery note is generated. If the delivery move already exists, this will create the reservation. If stock is available, this action will also create an allocation. If automatic reservation is enabled, this action is performed automatically and the fields are filled in automatically.

  3. After clicking on the "Request Reservation" button the reservation will be made without being taken into account, because the move has not yet been generated.

  4. Finalize : on the sale quotation file, click on the "Finalize" button.

  5. Confirm order : then click on the "Confirm order" button.

  6. Generate customer deliveries : then click on the "Generate customer deliveries" button. This will then open the "Stock move" file.

  7. You will see that the "Requested quantity" and "Allocated quantity" fields are now filled in. This fact will also be reflected in the "Stock details by product" menu (access: Stock management → Stock details by product → enter the information for an item and view the requested / allocated quantities on the file).

  8. Change allocated quantity : reopen the detail line on the sale quotation sheet. In the "Sales Order Line" window, you will see that it is possible to "Change allocated quantity". This button is displayed when an allocation has been made so that you can change its quantity.

  9. Cancel reservation : it's possible to cancel the reservation by clicking on the "Cancel reservation" button. This button is displayed if a booking request has been made and allows you to cancel this request.

  10. Allocate quantities : on the Details lines table, next to the "Allocated quantity" field, you can click on the + button to allocate a quantity directly to an existing move. This can be done when the sales order is in the confirmed state and there is an associated delivery move. The + button is greyed out if the order is not confirmed or if the total quantity has been allocated. Click on the - button to deallocate the quantity. It is greyed out if no allocation has been made.

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When you make a move, it is always possible to check the source (written as "from stock location"). For example, the allocation was made to the "Main warehouse" source. On the "Stock move" sheet, click on "From stock location". A stock location page will open. There, find the quantities that have been allocated or reserved.

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Where to find your current moves?

Access : Stock management → Delivery → Customer delivery → click on the delivery file

On the Customer delivery sheet, you can modify the delivery note lines by allocating or deallocating quantities. It is also possible to cancel the reservation (click on the product line in the table "Outgoing move lines" and then click on the "Cancel reservation" button).

Current limitations of the functionality​

These are limitations known to exist on the version 8.0.

  1. Requires a move: allocation or reservation is based on a move and is only possible if a move is planned.

  2. Unavailable on tracking numbers: allocation or reservation is based on a global quantity in stock and not on specific batches or serial numbers. It is not possible to allocate or reserve on a Tracking No.

  3. Blocking move of allocated stock: allocation makes the quantity unavailable and blocks any other move from this location if the resulting available quantity is insufficient. It is therefore not possible to make another internal move, such as storage, to move the allocated quantity without deallocating the requested quantity. Physically, you are allocating a quantity in stock that can be moved for allocation purposes, not a quantity on a move.

  4. Limited to one stock location per move: the allocation or reservation is made on the source stock location of the moves. However, the quantity may not be completely available in this storage, but may be available in one of its sub-storages. In addition, you may want to use a tree structure or a set of locations in order to define which locations you will use for reservation, especially when there are several possibilities.