Automatic Location Assignment

The Automatic Location Assignment feature lets you configure NetSuite to assign fulfillment locations automatically to sales order lines. To enable the feature, go to Setup > Company > Enable Features. On the Transactions subtab, under the Shipping & Receiving section, check the Automatic Location Assignment box. After enabling the feature, you'll need to complete several setup tasks. Some setup tasks are required, whereas others are optional depending on how you want to use the feature. Mandatory setup tasks include the following:

• Configure locations

• Create an automatic location assignment configuration

• Create automatic location assignment rules

• Choose automatic location assignment settings

• Run automation

See Setting Up Automatic Location Assignment for details about the steps involved.

Automatic Location Assignment and Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment

When the Intercompany Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment feature is enabled in your account, you can assign locations from other subsidiaries to sales order lines automatically. Additional configuration steps are required to set up the Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment feature. See Intercompany Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment for more information.

You assign locations from other subsidiaries automatically by creating rules that include those locations. You can select individual subsidiaries or all subsidiaries, as well individual locations or all locations in the subsidiaries. See Specifying Location Criteria in a Rule.

When you enable Intercompany Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment, the Inventory Location column shows on all sales order forms, but you can hide it by customizing the form. The automatic location assignment engine sets the fulfillment location in the Inventory Location column. If you want to set a fulfillment location manually, you must also specify it in the Inventory Location column.

Automatic Location Assignment and Supply Allocation

When allocating inventory to sales order lines, the Supply Allocation feature considers the current on-hand inventory. It can also consider future inventory if configured to do so. The Automatic Location Assignment (ALA) feature works with the Supply Allocation feature to accelerate and enhance the order fulfillment process:

1. ALA queries Supply Allocation to determine which locations have available inventory and when it will be available.

   1. If there is inventory available before the requested ship date, Supply Allocation returns a list of locations and dates when this inventory will be available. These calculations are based on the allocation strategies defined on sales order lines or the Available to Promise (ATP) Lead Time set for the item record location. The allocation strategy looks at different options such as the type of inventory (current and future) and the allocation period restrictions. For more information, see Creating Allocation Strategies.

      Note:

      If a sales order line has an allocation strategy that considers future inventory, ALA can assign a location that currently has no inventory but will have inventory before the requested ship date.

   2. If there is no inventory available before the requested ship date, Supply Allocation considers locations that have inventory arriving after this date or that have an ATP Lead Time.

      Note:

      The date an item needs to ship is called requested ship date in Automatic Location Assignment and supply required by date in Supply Allocation.

2. After Supply Allocation provides a list of locations and dates, Automatic Location Assignment then assigns the best location based on the ALA configuration and rules.

   If Supply Allocation can't provide a list of locations, ALA sets locations on sales order lines provided there are backorder rules defined in the configuration.

3. After Automatic Location Assignment assigns locations, Supply Allocation allocates the inventory and sets the expected ship dates.

General Notices