In SecureIO, users can use allocation reports to manually reserve units from incoming stock (either purchased or manufactured) for outgoing demands, such as sales orders (SOs) or components on manufacturing orders (MOs).
SecureIO normally reserves existing stock to outgoing demands automatically based on their scheduled date. However, users may sometimes need to manually prioritize specific outgoing orders over other competing demands, especially when existing stock for a product does not adequately fulfill those demands.
The following documentation covers the process of using an allocation report to manually assign incoming units of a product from a purchase order (PO) or a manufacturing order (MO) to fulfill either an SO containing the purchased product or an MO with the product as a component.
Configuration
By default, allocation reports are automatically enabled for incoming moves (e.g., receipts generated from POs). However, for some operations, users must manually enable the feature.
To do so, navigate to Inventory app ‣ Configuration ‣ Operations Types. On the
dashboard, click the desired Operation Type (e.g., Receipts or Manufacturing), then
verify that the Show Allocation checkbox is enabled. Enabling this option automatically
displays the option to view an allocation report for the specific operation.
Workflow
The following outline summarizes all necessary steps for allocating a product using allocation reports:
Verify that outgoing demand exists for the product in previously confirmed SOs or MOs. If not, create them.
If existing stock cannot fulfill the demand, create and confirm a PO or MO to replenish the demanded products.
Open the receipt or MO and use the allocation report to allocate products.
Validate the incoming units into stock.
Validate the outgoing units to fulfill the original demand.
The process begins by ensuring that an outstanding demand for the product already exists. Confirming a PO/MO replenishes the stock necessary to meet the demand in the originating SO/MO either by purchasing it or by manufacturing it.
On the receipt from the PO or on the confirmed MO, users can open the allocation report, which displays the incoming product. Next to the product is a list of all applicable outgoing transfers (i.e., originating SOs/MOs containing the product) to which incoming units can be assigned. Assigning these units does not move any inventory. Instead, it allows the user to flexibly choose which demands to prioritize before actually receiving incoming units. When those units are received, the user can fulfill the original demands.
Note
If multiple products are replenished through the PO/MO, the allocation report lists all products with originating SOs/MOs available for reservation.
Create and confirm demand
Using allocation reports for specific products requires either a previously confirmed SO with the product or an MO where the product is used as a component. If no such record exists, create it.
Important
To ensure SecureIO can properly create allocations for purchased products, confirm that the selected products have the Purchase option selected and the Product Type set to Goods.
For manufactured products, ensure that the product has a bill of materials configured.
Create SOs
If no confirmed SO exists for the product, create it by opening a new sales quotation form. In the order lines, ensure that the requested Product and its Quantity are specified. Then, confirm the quotation by clicking Confirm Order. This turns the quotation into a confirmed SO and generates a delivery order, accessible via the Delivery smart button.
Repeat this process if there are multiple customers demanding the product.
Create MOs
If there is no confirmed MO with the product as a component, create it by opening a new MO form. In the component lines, add the requested Product and the quantity To Consume, then confirm the MO by clicking Confirm.
Repeat this process if there are multiple MOs requiring the component.
Create and confirm PO or MO
After confirming existing demand for the product, replenish the necessary stock either by purchasing it through a PO or by manufacturing it through an MO.
Replenish through PO
To create a PO, navigate to the Purchase app and click New to create a new Request for Quotation (RfQ). On the form, add the products in demand on the customers’ SOs by clicking Add a product in the Products tab and specifying the required Quantity.
After adding the products, click Confirm Order to turn the RfQ into a PO.
Replenish through MO
To create an MO, navigate to Manufacturing app ‣ Operations ‣ Manufacturing Orders. Then, click New to open a new MO form. Select the Product and enter the Quantity to replenish.
Finally, Confirm the MO.
Allocating using the report
After confirming the replenishment for the product, open the allocation report to assign the pending incoming stock to any available originating SOs/MOs requiring the product.
For confirmed POs, click the Receipt smart button at the top of the PO to open the receipt for the incoming stock of the product.
Then, click the Allocation smart button at the top.
Tip
Alternatively, to open the receipt, navigate to the Inventory app and click (#) To Process in the Receipts card. Then, select the appropriate receipt.
For confirmed MOs, the Allocation smart button appears directly in the MO.
Important
If the Allocation smart button does not appear for an MO, follow the configuration process to enable it.
Allocation report dashboard
The allocation report displays a list of available products on the replenishing PO/MO. Next to each of these products is a list of originating SOs/MOs to which the products can be allocated.
Each row of this list displays the Quantity of reservable units out of the total demand for the product. The quantity is highlighted if it cannot be reserved for the complete demand.
The toggle button in the Reserved column allows the user to allocate the specified quantity.
A link to each SO/MO is included in the For column, along with its expected delivery Date.
Note
SOs/MOs in the allocation report are listed in chronological order of their associated delivery or scheduled date (i.e., the SO with the oldest delivery order or the MO with the oldest scheduled date appears first).
Allocate units
To allocate units for a product, click the toggle button in the For column in the SO/MO’s corresponding row. Click the toggle button again to undo the reservation.
Alternatively, to allocate all available units for all products across all SOs/MOs, click Assign All at the top.
The quantity of reservable units for each product is automatically calculated in order, starting from the oldest SO/MO. This allows users to allocate as many units as available to fulfill the quantity specified in the original demand.
Example
For example, SO A demands five Chairs and SO B demands five Chairs. A PO for eight units is created. On the allocation report, SO A is listed first with five reservable units. The remaining three available units from this PO can be assigned to SO B, which creates a backorder due to insufficient supply.
After allocation, originating SOs with allocated units are automatically linked to the replenishing PO/MO. Users can access this directly from the SO via the Purchase smart button or the Manufacturing smart button. Similarly, the linked SO can also be accessed from the PO/MO via the Sale smart button.
Validate incoming move
After allocating the desired units, validate the incoming stock either by receiving it into inventory (for purchased products) or by producing it (for manufactured products).
For purchased products
If the incoming stock was purchased, navigate to the replenishing PO and click Receive Products or the Receipt to open the receipt. Then, click Validate to receive the products into stock.
For manufactured products
If the stock was confirmed to be manufactured, navigate to the replenishing MO and click Produce to produce the finished product.
Finished products from completed MOs become directly available in stock in the case of one-step or two-step manufacturing. For three-step manufacturing, however, additional transfer moves must be made to transfer the product from the manufacturing location to inventory.
To validate the incoming transfer on the MO, click the Transfer smart button at the top. Then, open the relevant order and click Validate to receive the product into stock.
Validate outgoing move
After receiving the incoming stock, fulfill the outgoing demand for the originating SO/MO.
Fulfill SO order
To fulfill the demand on an SO, navigate to the SO, then click Delivery to open the delivery order. Note that the Operations tab is populated with a new line showing the allocated Product and its allocated Quantity.
Finally, click Validate to confirm that the products have been delivered to the customer.
Fulfill MO order
To fulfill a component demand on an MO, navigate to the MO. The replenished components in the previous step are now marked as Available for production on this MO. Click Produce to manufacture the final product.
Example
The following example demonstrates how an allocation report is used to assign stock for a customer SO of higher priority.
Two SOs are created for separate customers. Customer A orders 75 units of a Chair. Customer B also orders 75 units of the same product but needs them as soon as possible.
No stock exists for the Chair, so the user creates and confirms a PO to replenish the product from Vendor A. This vendor can only provide 100 units of the Chair this week. So, the user creates and confirms another PO to replenish the remaining 50 units from Vendor B next week.
After confirming the POs, the user opens the allocation reports for each vendor’s receipt. Vendor A’s report lists the SO for Customer A with 75 reservable units, then Customer B’s SO with 25 reservable units. Vendor B’s report lists the SO for Customer A with 50 reservable units.
Because the user wants to prioritize Customer B’s order, they want to ensure Customer B receives 75 units from Vendor A, which can guarantee faster delivery. To do so, they first open Vendor B’s allocation report and assign 50 units to Customer A’s SO. SecureIO then recalculates Vendor A’s allocation report, updating Customer A’s previous quantity of 75 units to 25 units and Customer B’s quantity to 75 units.
The user can now assign all 75 units from Vendor A to fulfill Customer B’s delivery.
Print labels
Users can print labels for allocated products to ensure that they are correctly designated to the appropriate customer.
After allocating the desired units, click Print at the top to download a PDF of the allocation report for the allocated units. The report includes a scannable barcode at the top for the receipt or MO.
Note
If a document layout has not been configured, clicking Print opens a pop-up window for the user to configure one.
If products are allocated to specific orders, users can also click Print Labels to print an individual label for each unit of the allocated products. Each label displays the name of the product, its associated SO/MO number, and its customer (for SOs).
