Stock Allocation Visibility and Control
Problem Statement
Currently, there is no way to determine if stock has been allocated to a Sales Order or not without performing manual checks. Additionally, there is no straightforward process to allocate stock that has not yet been allocated, which creates inefficiencies and potential delays in order fulfillment.
This issue primarily impacts businesses with workflows that require delaying stock allocation, such as:
- Orders to be fulfilled at a later date.
- Orders requiring prepayment before stock allocation.
The lack of visibility and control over unallocated stock creates confusion and operational bottlenecks.
Current Workflow Challenges
- Businesses using the "Make stock allocation optional" feature often do not allocate stock when authorizing a Sales Order.
- When the order is ready for fulfillment, businesses want to allocate stock before proceeding to the picking step, but there is no dedicated mechanism to do so.
- The process of determining allocation status and manually allocating stock is time-consuming and error-prone.
Proposed Solution
-
Stock Allocation Visibility:
- Add a "Stock Allocation Status" indicator to the Sales Order view to show whether stock has been allocated or remains unallocated.
- The indicator should display statuses such as:
- "Stock Allocated"
- "Stock Not Allocated"
- "Partially Allocated" (if applicable for multi-line orders).
-
Allocate Stock Button:
- Introduce an "Allocate Stock" button on the Sales Order page (Order tab).
- The button would:
- Only appear for orders with unallocated stock.
- Allow the user to allocate available stock to the order without moving to the picking step.
- Display a confirmation or summary of stock successfully allocated after the action is performed.
-
Allocation Log:
- Add an "Allocation History" section to Sales Orders to track:
- When stock was allocated.
- Who allocated the stock.
- Any issues or warnings (e.g., insufficient stock).
- Add an "Allocation History" section to Sales Orders to track:
Benefits of the Feature
- Improved Operational Efficiency: Streamlines the workflow for managing stock allocation, reducing manual interventions.
- Enhanced Transparency: Provides clear visibility into the stock allocation status for all Sales Orders.
- Better Decision-Making: Enables businesses to make informed decisions about stock allocation based on real-time information.
- Increased Flexibility: Supports workflows requiring delayed stock allocation without disrupting order fulfillment processes.
Supporting Use Case
A business processes large prepayment orders but delays stock allocation until the payment is received. Using this feature, they could:
- Authorize the Sales Order with the "Don’t allocate stock" option.
- Confirm payment later.
- Use the "Allocate Stock" button to allocate the required stock before proceeding to picking.
By implementing this feature, the system would bridge a critical gap in the stock allocation workflow, providing businesses with greater control and efficiency in managing their inventory and sales orders.
Related to
Comments
7 comments
This would help our business too.
Having the option to allocate stock to a large client that we know will pay/want the stock, but hasn't quite decided what they want/paid yet would be extremely helpful. It stops that stock being sold before the client decides, but is still changeable without having to go to a “pick” stage.
This is a huge point in our business—the inability to reserve stock against an order is crucial. We have time-consuming work arounds - but the WMS does not allow us to filter by stock allocation. It'll simply print all orders where product X is available to send for those orders, irrespective of whether there is enough stock to fulfil them all.
Cin7 - Is there any movement on this feature request?
This is a feature that is definitely needed. Being able to hold stock for a particular order without other orders “taking” that stock is absolutely necessary.
We really need this!!!!
Anyone also facing inventory issues regarding Bill of Materials?
A sales order allocating a top level item code actually consumes an auto-assembly for all subsequent components that falls under the BOM. This makes inventory counts an absolute nightmare when there are orders pending payment and has yet to dispatch.
Can we please ensure as a part of the above update that despite the auto-assembly being completed that if a top level item code hasn't shipped, it remains under ‘Allocated’ and not consumed from inventory?
We are really struggling due to the lack of the stock allocation functionality and visibility thereof. So much in fact, that we have started to look for another system, as our business is heavily depending on allocation and visibility, which is lacking in Cin7. So if there is still no solution in Cin7, we unfortunately will be forced to move away from Cin7 and to start using another system.
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