Common Scenarios Affecting Numbered Inventory

Scenario 1: No Quantity Mismatch

This table explains the result when you assign committed item quantities when creating a sales order. That is, on the Sales Order, the item quantities in the Committed and Serial/Lot Number columns are equal.

Given the following details:

• Location A has a total available quantity of 20.

• All sales order lines are committed.

• Lot numbers are assigned in the sales order's inventory details.

In this first scenario, Location A has sufficient available quantity for commitment on both sales orders. When you create SO 1 and SO 2, you commit 10 quantities to each order.

For SO 1, you assign quantity 10 in Lot 1. For SO2, you assign quantities 7 for Lot 2 and 3 for Lot 3.

There is no item fulfillment in this scenario.

On the Item record, the sum of the Available column for Lots 1, 2, and 3 is 0. The Quantity Available column for Location A is also 0.

Therefore, there is no quantity mismatch.

Scenario 2: Quantity Mismatch Before Full Fulfillment

This table explains the result when you don't assign lot numbers with quantities to a new sales order. That is, on the Sales Order, the item quantity in the Committed column has a value, but the Serial/Lot Number column is blank.

You assign item quantities during a complete item fulfillment with either the Picked or Packed status.

Given the following details:

• Location A has a total available quantity of 20.

• All sales order lines are committed.

• Lot numbers are not assigned in the sales order's inventory details.

• The order is fully fulfilled. Therefore, item assignments happen during item fulfillment.

Similar to the first scenario, Location A has sufficient available quantity for commitment on both sales orders. When you create SO 1 and SO 2, you commit 10 quantities to each order.

However, you do not assign any lot numbers with quantities in the inventory details.

Before an item fulfillment is done, a mismatch in available quantity will occur. Before fulfillment, on the Item record, the sum of the Available column is 20. The Quantity Available column for Location A is 0.

After a full item fulfillment is done, the quantities become equal. After fulfillment, on the Item record, the sum of the Available column for Lots 1, 2, and 3 is 0. The Quantity Available column for Location A is also 0.

Therefore, the mismatch happens only before the item fulfillment. After the full item fulfillment, the quantity mismatch gets resolved.

Scenario 3: Quantity Mismatch Before and After Partial Fulfillment

This table explains the result when you don't assign lot numbers with quantities to a new sales order. That is, on the Sales Order, the item quantity in the Committed column has a value, but the Serial/Lot Number column is blank.

You assign item quantities during a partial item fulfillment with either the Picked or Packed status.

Given the following details:

• Location A has a total available quantity of 20.

• All sales order lines are committed.

• Lot numbers are not assigned in the sales order's inventory details.

• The order is only partially fulfilled. Therefore, item assignments happen during item fulfillment.

Similar to the first and second scenarios, Location A has sufficient available quantity for commitment on both sales orders. When you create SO 1 and SO 2, you commit 10 quantities to each order.

However, you do not assign any lot numbers with quantities in the inventory details.

Before an item fulfillment is done, a mismatch in available quantity will occur. Before fulfillment, on the Item record, the sum of the Available column is 20. The Quantity Available column for Location A is 0.

After a partial item fulfillment is done, the quantities will not be equal either. Here's how the items are partially fulfilled:

• Lot 1: Only 5 out of 10 are fulfilled

• Lot 2: Only 4 out of 7 are fulfilled

• Lot 3: 3 out of 3 are fulfilled

After fulfillment, on the Item record, the sum of the Available column for Lots 1, 2, and 3 is 8 (5 from Lot 1, 3 from Lot 2, and 0 from Lot 3). The Quantity Available for Location A is also 0.

Therefore, the mismatch begins to manifest when quantities are not assigned in the sales order. This scenario happens because the assigned or fulfilled quantity is less than the committed quantity.

Additionally, when multiple partial item fulfillment is done, the discrepancy becomes even more difficult to trace.

Recommendations

The following options can help ensure that item quantities are fully committed:

If the Supply Allocation feature is disabled:

• For more precision, enable the real-time item commitment. On the Accounting Preferences page, go to Order Management. Then, check the Perform Item Commitment After Transaction Entry box.

• Manually commit the sales orders on the Reallocate Items page.

If the Supply Allocation feature is enabled:

• For more precision, set the real-time item allocation preference. On the Demand Preferences page, check the Perform Supply Allocation After Transaction Entry, Update or Delete box.

• Manually commit the sales order on the Reallocate Items page.

To avoid further discrepancies from re-committing item quantities, verify that the Commitment Confirmed box on the sales order line is checked.

Note that when the Supply Allocation feature is disabled and the Commitment Confirmed box is set, no further item commitment can be added to the order line.

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