Setting up the sales order allocation functionality

Setup for sales order allocation proposals

The following needs to be set up in order to process sales order allocations:

File/Table	To do
Sales order priority code table DIS control file Business partner file (Customer file panel)	Up to nine priority codes can be created in the Sales order priority code table. These are the codes that will be used to rank customers in order of importance – from highest to lowest. The priority codes should be assigned to your customers in the Business partner file (Customer file panel) in the Order priority and Back order priority fields. (To be able to process back order allocations for sales order lines, see Setup for back order allocations below). Default priority codes can also be defined in the DIS control file or in the Sales order type table. Although it is not mandatory to define these fields – since they can be manually entered via this routine – it is recommended that you assign these to your best customers. Note: If priority codes are assigned in all of the corresponding parameters of the Business partner file and the sales order type, the system retrieves the best priority of the two of them. If no priority codes are defined in either of them, the code from the DIS control file will be retrieved as default. Note: If no priority codes are found in either the Business partner file, DIS control file or sales order type, your customers will be defaulted the lowest priority (9).
Work with sales order types	The sales order type must update stock on hand. The Update stock on hand field must be set to YES.
Item file (Warehouses panel)	Since sales order allocation proposals are created at warehouse level, the Order allocation field must be YES.

File/Table

To do

Sales order priority code table

DIS control file

Business partner file (Customer file panel)

Up to nine priority codes can be created in the Sales order priority code table. These are the codes that will be used to rank customers in order of importance – from highest to lowest.

The priority codes should be assigned to your customers in the Business partner file (Customer file panel) in the Order priority and Back order priority fields. (To be able to process back order allocations for sales order lines, see Setup for back order allocations below). Default priority codes can also be defined in the DIS control file or in the Sales order type table. Although it is not mandatory to define these fields – since they can be manually entered via this routine – it is recommended that you assign these to your best customers.

Note: If priority codes are assigned in all of the corresponding parameters of the Business partner file and the sales order type, the system retrieves the best priority of the two of them. If no priority codes are defined in either of them, the code from the DIS control file will be retrieved as default.

Note: If no priority codes are found in either the Business partner file, DIS control file or sales order type, your customers will be defaulted the lowest priority (9).

Work with sales order types

The sales order type must update stock on hand. The Update stock on hand field must be set to YES.

Item file (Warehouses panel)

Since sales order allocation proposals are created at warehouse level, the Order allocation field must be YES.

Setup for automatic allocation of stock (Firm allocation)

The following needs to be set up in order to automatically create sales order allocations, thereby automatically allocating stock for customers.

File/Table	To do
Function control file	Activate the FIRMALLO (Firm allocation) function control.
DIS control file (Firm allocation panel)	Define the applicable settings as described below: Planning window Controls which time horizon should be used when a firm allocation is created during sales order entry. Order lines with a dispatch date within the time horizon will automatically create a firm allocation if the available stock is enough. Indicate if firm allocations should be created according to each item’s individual planning time. If NO, all firm allocations will be created according to value in the Number of days field. Number of days Mandatory entry if Planning window is set to NO. Denotes the number of days into the future that should be considered when the system tries to create an automatic allocation for a sales order line. Incl PO in avail Optional entry. Indicate if quantity on purchase order should be considered when available stock is checked during sales order entry using an order type flagged for Firm allocation. Default day range Optional entry. Enter the number of days which is used as a default value on the Firm allocation exception report printout selection panel. Sales order lines with a dispatch date less number of days into the future will be included in the exception report. Default incl PO Optional entry. This value is used as a default on the Firm allocation exception report printout selection panel. Indicate if purchase orders should be considered when available stock is checked during the automatic allocation creation process.
Work with sales order types	For each applicable sales order type, set the Firm allocation flag to YES. The sales order lines on all sales orders using this sales order type will automatically be flagged for firm allocation if the customer is also enabled for firm allocation. See combination of settings below. Note: The user can always manually set an order to be firm allocated (change the Firm allocation flag on the order header before any lines are registered) regardless of the settings on the sales order type and customer. The settings on sales order type and customer level allow for a pre-defined set-up.
Business partner file (Customer file panel)	For each applicable customer, set the Firm allocation flag to YES. The sales order lines on all sales orders for this customer will automatically be flagged for firm allocation if the sales order type is also enabled for firm allocation. See combination of settings below. Note: The user can also manually set an order to be firm allocated, (i.e. change the Firm allocation flag on the order header before any lines are registered), regardless of the settings for the customer and sales order type. The settings on customer and sales order type level allow for a pre-defined set-up.

Based of the above flag settings for firm allocation on sales order type/business partner, the sales order header is updated as outlined below:

Customer	Order type	Order header
Y	Y	Y
Y	N	N
N	Y	N
N	N	N

The user can manually change/set the Firm allocation flag on the order header when there are no active lines on the sales order.

Setup for back order allocations

In addition to the priority code, the manner in which items are allocated also depends upon the dispatch options defined for the customer and the sales order dispatch codes.

For example:
If the Complete delivery field has been set to NO in the Business partner file, Customer file panel then the customer will be able to receive a partial delivery of the sales order. A backorder will then be created for the remaining quantity (assuming the system is set up to handle backorders). If the Complete delivery field has been set to YES, then only the complete delivery of all of the sales order lines in the order is allowed.

The dispatch codes are pre-loaded values defined in the Dispatch code table. These codes determine how the delivery of the goods on the sales order line is processed.

The dispatch codes are the following:

Code	Description
1	Complete order delivery (i.e. deliver everything on all order lines or nothing). This means that the total quantity of the sales order line must be allocated if the sales order is to be processed.
2	Partial order delivery, but complete line (i.e. deliver everything on line level or nothing). This means that if the total quantity of the sales order line is not allocated the sales order can still be processed. The sales order line will then be automatically back ordered according to its back order priority.
3	Partial line delivery (“anything”, but not zero on line level). This means that if customers order goods that are in great demand but in low supply, stock can still be dispatched even though it is less than the quantity entered on the sales order line. The remaining quantity will then be back ordered according to its back order priority.
4	No delivery requirements. Print any pick list line regardless of available quantity in stock.

Back orders are allocated in the same manner as sales orders. If an allocated sales order line has been confirmed with only a partial (incomplete) delivery of the ordered quantity of goods, a new sales order for the remaining quantity will be automatically generated when the a pick list is confirmed. This means that the quantity entered into a sales order line can be split into two deliveries; the second delivery being the back order quantity. The priority code used by the new sales order (the back order line) will be the back order priority assigned to the customer.

The following needs to be set up in order to process back order allocations per sales order line(s):

File/Table	To do
Item file (Warehouses panel)	Order allocation This field must be set to YES.
Sales order priority table	Priority codes must be defined.
Business partner file (Customer file panel)	The following fields are relevant: Back order priority Back order priority codes should be assigned. Although this option is not mandatory, since they can also be manually entered in the Sales order allocation routine, it is recommended. Complete delivery Must be set to NO. Backlog Must be set to YES.
Work with sales order types	The following fields are relevant: Update stock on hand Must be set to YES. Dispatch code Must be set to 2 (Partial sales order delivery) or 3 (partial delivery of the sales order line). Note: This value can either be set in the sales order type or manually entered in the sales order header.

Setup for sales order allocation proposals

Setup for automatic allocation of stock (Firm allocation)

Setup for back order allocations

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