Availability Check Against Product Allocation

Product Allocation

The Product allocation allows your company to keep production to a minimum at the same time it helps you to meet the immediate requirements of the customers through the precise planning and control of the entire production process

In SAP R/3 system, product allocations represent an ordered allocation of production for certain periods.

Product allocation functionality allows you to manage the supply of scarce products to customers so that each customer receives an allocated amount.

Availability Check against Product Allocation

1)      In “Availability Check against Product Allocation” first the system will check the availability against the ATP quantities. If the system determines the confirmed delivery quantities for the customer on the requested delivery date, system will re-determine the availability of the material against product allocation. The confirmed delivery quantity is the basis for the availability check against product allocation.

2)      System will compare the confirmed quantity from the ATP check with the relevant product allocation.

3)      The system will not confirm any quantity more than the planned product allocation quantity. This ensures that the product allocation is not exceeded for a customer in that particular period.

4)      The check date for the availability check against product allocations is the planned delivery date for the customer and not the material availability date.

Requirements for “Availability Check against Product Allocation”

Ø  You must assign a product allocation procedure for the material in the basic data tab page of the material master in customizing.

Ø  You must maintain the settings for the statistics update in the info-structure.

Configuration of “Availability Check against Product Allocation”

Ø  First you must define a product allocation procedure for the Availability Check against Product Allocation which determines how the products are allocated.

Ø  You must enter this product allocation procedure in the material master on the basic data screen of the general data tab page.

Ø  For each product allocation procedure you have to define objects. The product allocations are stored in the form of object in the planning hierarchy.

Ø  Like objects, you have to define an info structure for each product allocation procedure. You can also specify a formatting character for each info structure and this is used to form the key for general entries.

Ø  You have to assign the info structure and objects to the product allocation procedure. The system will determine the planning hierarchy based on the Info-Structure and object that has been assigned to the product allocation procedure.

Ø  Planning hierarchy is the place where you can maintain the product allocation.

Ø  You can define consumption periods (time duration) for product allocation quantities. Consumption periods consist of the number of past (backward consumption period) and future (forward consumption period) periods.

Ø  The number of periods before the product allocations check date from the sales order that can be used to calculate the current product allocation quantity. Unused product allocation quantities in these periods are cumulated before checking product allocations for the current period.

Ø  The number of periods after the product allocations check date from the sales order that can be used for the current consumption period. The schedule lines, together with the confirmed quantities, are postponed by product allocations at the latest until the specified period.

Ø  You can define and assign one or more objects with different validity periods to the product allocation determination procedures.

Ø  While assigning the objects ensure that the validity periods are not overlapping.

Ø  The system will determine the relevant object with respect to the delivery date of the order.

Ø  System will not carry out any product allocation check for any object that is not active.

Ø  To perform the product allocation check, at requirement class level you have to define whether the system should run an availability check for product allocations or not

Ø  At schedule line category level also you have to define whether an availability check against product allocation has to be carried out or not.

Ø  The availability check against product allocation can only be deactivated at schedule line category level. It cannot be activated if the availability check is not already activated at requirements class level.

Ø  In the next level you have to enter the info structure of the planning hierarchy in which you want to enter collective product allocation.

Ø  In the final step you have to check whether the settings made are consistent for every combination of product allocation determination procedure and product allocation object (determined in 'control product allocation').

Ø  You can also determine how the check results are to be issued.