Topic overview
Availability is the forecast inventory of an item on the current or a future date. Availability is calculated using an availability rule and is made up of the current inventory plus planned receipts and issues as well as any back orders.
This article describes how the Availability query application is structured.
Definitions of terms
Identifiers
An identifier enables the identification of specific items or item variants. Comarch ERP Enterprise supports batch, lot, and serial number identifiers, for example.
Inventory
The inventory is the quantity of an item, in the displayed storage unit, that is currently available at a warehouse.
Warehouses
A warehouse is a logically or physically defined pane in which item inventory is maintained. A warehouse is always assigned to a site. A warehouse can be subdivided into warehouses if warehouse control is enabled in Customizing. The exact structure of the warehouse is defined by the warehouse organization.
Quality status (QA status)
A quality status or quality assurance status (QA status) can be defined for the warehouse and warehouse zone levels, and in parallel also for the identifier level. Inventory can be analyzed and utilized specifically according to QA status. If QA status is defined for certain inventory both at the warehouse level and for the identifier level, the inventory has the lower QA status.
Quarantined inventory
Quarantined inventory is inventory of an item with the In quarantine QA status. These items are usually rechecked and then possibly blocked. The In quarantine QA status is usually assigned by the user. The system generates this status if the item is put away in a quarantine warehouse.
Blocked inventory
Blocked inventory is inventory of an item with the Blocked quality status. Blocked inventory usually comes about when the user of an identifier has assigned the Blocked quality status. It can also come about when inventory of an item is put away in a warehouse zone with the Blocked quality status. In the availability rule it can be specifies whether blocked inventory should be considered as available for the availability check.
Back orders
Back orders are order line items with open quantities for delivery whose delivery date lies in the past (i.e., is smaller than the current date).
Availability
The availability is the predicted supply of an item on a current or a future date. Availability is calculated by means of an availability rule and consists of:
- the current inventory,
- planned receipts,
- the planned issues.
Possible back orders can also be taken into account with the calculation of availability. If the reservation function is used, availability consists of:
- the unreserved current inventory,
- the unreserved planned receipts, and
- the unreserved planned issues.
Partial quantities are also taken into consideration in the process.
Inventory management unit
Inventory management unit refers to the primary quantity unit of an item in the framework “Inventory management”, in which the inventory is managed and reserved. The inventory management unit is the first counting unit in the order of the item units. If none of the item units is a counting unit, the 1st item unit applies.
Packaging units
Inventory units can be consolidated into packaging units in order to form other units, such as cartons or pallets. A packaging unit must be convertible into an inventory unit using a conversion factor. For the purposes of freight cost calculation, one such packaging unit will be defined in the item master data as the relevant packaging unit for freight.
Application description
You can use the Availability query application to determine and display how high the available quantity of an item or an identifier is at a warehouse at a specific time (Item and Identifier views).
It also shows which receipts and issues in which line items account for the available quantity (Origin view).
When working with reservations, reservation dates are also taken into account.
The following views are available to enable different perspectives on the inventory data:
- Item
- Origin
- Identifier
The application consists of a query pane and a work pane. The number and sequence of the fields and columns in these panes depends on the selected view.
Special features
Inventory owner groups – if you are working with inventory owner groups, the availability for inventory owner groups should also be queried. In other words, the checkbox Display for inventory owner group should be active. Otherwise, availability changes that affect the entire inventory owner group are displayed for each inventory owner in this group.
Suppliers as inventory owners (consignment) – the data of inventory owners who are only suppliers is displayed if the supplier is defined as a member of a inventory owner group for the item and the relevant warehouse. This also applies if the supplier is not set up as a company.
Calculated quantities – the total quantity and the QA status quantities show inventories. In contrast, the reserved and available quantities are calculated values that refer to the inventory management unit of the item, i.e. the inventory management unit or an inventory-managed packaging unit. The conversion to the inventory management unit can result in quantity differences.
Views
This section describes the purpose and special features of the individual views. The fields and columns are described in the following sections.
Item view
The Item view answers the question of what quantity of a particular item is available at a warehouse on a particular date.
The available inventories determined are displayed grouped by warehouse and inventory owner. If the availability is queried for an inventory owner group (Display for inventory owner group checkbox activated), the grouping is omitted.
In the Item view, you can show and hide the receipts and issues for each warehouse using the [Receipts/issues] button. You can expand and collapse individual lines in the work pane by double-clicking on them.
Origin view
The Origin view shows the total and available inventory plus planned issues and receipts that are relevant for calculating the availability of an item. Which planned issues and receipts are used in the calculation is defined in the availability rule used. There are also planned issues and receipts that are always taken into account regardless of availability rules (paperless demands, inventory postings, batch inventories).
The availability data is displayed grouped by inventory owner. Availability data relating to the entire group of inventory owners is displayed for each member of the group. If the availability is queried for an inventory owner group (Display for inventory owner group checkbox activated), the grouping is omitted.
Reservation data relating to the entire group of inventory owners is also displayed for each inventory owner in this group and is not distributed among the inventory owners. However, quantities that have already been reserved and quantities that have already been distributed (without reservations) are only taken into account once for the relevant inventory owner.
The system property com.cisag.app.production.order.log.UseDayTimeBasedAvailability, the standard sorting (item, inventory owner, date, receipts before issues, order identification, identifier, active availability records before temporary ones) can be changed to an extended sorting with millisecond precision within production orders (item, inventory owner, date, receipts before issues, active availability records before temporary ones, current start of production, order identification, identifier).
External users must have the See origin capability to be able to use this view.
Identifier view
The Identifiers view answers the question as to the quantity of a certain identifier of an item that is available at a warehouse on a certain date.
The view is only available if the Identifiers function is activated in the Customizing application.
The identifier inventories are displayed grouped by inventory owner. If the availability for an inventory owner group is queried (Display for inventory owner group checkbox activated), the grouping is omitted.
Query pane
In the query pane of the Availability query application, you will find fields that you can use as search criteria. The system uses the search criteria to determine the corresponding available inventories and displays them in the work pane.
You must enter at least one item and one availability rule as search criteria.
Below is a detailed description of the fields:
Item – enter the inventoried item whose availability you would like to query. You can enter both items and kits. Depending on this input, the output in the work pane varies, see Query results for items and Query results for kits.
By date – in this field, enter the date for which you would like to query availability. The availability is made up of the current inventory plus the planned receipts and minus the planned issues up to the specified date. Any back orders are also taken into account.
If the reservation function is used, the availability is made up of the unreserved current inventory plus the unreserved planned receipts and minus the unreserved planned issues up to the specified date.
In the Item and Identifier views, you must enter a date in this field. You can either use the suggested current date or enter a future date. In the Origin view, you can optionally use the date as a query identifier.
Warehouse – enter the warehouse for which you want to query the available quantities. If you display the available quantities of an inventory owner group, you must enter exactly one warehouse.
Warehouse classification – if required, enter a classification of the warehouses whose availability you want to query in this field.
Unit – if required, enter the unit in which you would like to query the availability. The unit must be one of the item units or a packaging unit of the item.
If the Binding checkbox is active, the unit must be either the inventory management unit or a packaging unit of the inventory-managed item.
If you do not specify a unit, the availability is displayed in the 1st item unit in the Item view and in the inventory management unit of the item in the Origin view.
Binding (checkbox) – use this setting to specify whether only the quantities that are available in the specified unit – or in a unit that contains the specified unit according to the packaging structure – are considered for the calculation of availability.
If the checkbox is activated, only the quantities that are available in the specified unit in the inventory are considered for the calculation of availability.
If the checkbox is not activated, all item units are considered for the calculation of availability and converted into the specified unit if necessary.
The availability query with the Binding setting for the unit Pal results in: 10 pallets are available.
The availability query without the Binding setting for unit Pal results in: 11 pallets are available.
A total of 11 pallets could therefore be made available if 10 of the 17 unpacked items are packed on one pallet.
This field is only available in the Item and Identifier views, and only if the Manage inventory in logistic units function is active in the Customizing application.
Origin since – if required, enter the date from which you would like to display the origin of the availability in this field. This field is only visible in the Origin view.
Identifier – if required, enter the identifier for which you want to query availability in this field. If you do not specify an identifier, the availability of all identifiers of the item is displayed. This field is only visible in the Identifier view.
Inventory owner – if required, enter the inventory owner for whom you want to query the availability in this field. The inventories of different inventory owners are grouped by inventory owner in the work pane. The field is not available if you display the available quantities of an inventory owner group. In this case, the availability data is not grouped by inventory owner, but displayed for the inventory owner group as a whole.
Display for inventory owner group (checkbox) – you use this parameter to specify whether the availability data is displayed grouped per inventory owner or for the inventory owner group of the warehouse as a whole.
If you activate the checkbox, the Inventory owner query field is not ready for input and you must enter exactly one warehouse in the Warehouse query field. The availability data is then not grouped by inventory owner, but displayed for the inventory owner group specified for the warehouse.
Availability rule – enter an availability rule in this field. The availability rule determines the determination and notification procedures of the availability check.
The availability rule determines for each order type the status at which the availability check should take the respective order line items into account. The availability rule also determines whether blocked or quarantined inventory is to be considered available.
The availability rule defined in the Customizing application under the Inventory management function is displayed as the default value.
Work pane
As a result of the query, the available inventories that match the search criteria are listed in the work pane.
Query results for items
Item view
The work pane of the Item view contains a list with the following columns:
- Warehouse
- Reserved
- Blocked
- Quarantine
- Released
- Total
- Unpacked quantity
- Available
If the availability data cannot be displayed for all warehouses in this view, the row with the corresponding inventory owner is marked with an icon in the Available column. This is the case, for example, if the query has been restricted by search criteria or missing content-related authorizations so that certain warehouses are excluded.
Origin view
The work pane of the Origin view contains a list with the following columns:
- [Receipt/issue/deletion marker]
- Voucher line item
- Delivery partner
- Warehouse
- Identifier
- Inventory owner
- Due date
- Total
- Binding
- Reserved inventory
- Reserved receipt
- Open after reservation
- Available
Identifier view
The work pane of the Identifier view contains a list with the following columns:
- Identifier
- Reserved
- Blocked
- Quarantine
- Total
- Unpacked quantity
- Available
Columns in detail
Below is a detailed description of the columns:
[Receipt/issue/deletion marker] – a symbol in the line header indicates whether it is a receipt or issue. The following symbols are possible:
Receipt
Issue
Deletion marker
This column is visible in the Origin view. In the Item view, the symbols for receipts and issues are visible if the [Receipts/Issues] button is activated.
Warehouse – this column in the Item view contains the warehouses that have available inventory. Depending on the search criterion and view, the available inventories of several warehouses can be summarized in this column. All warehouse totals are displayed for all warehouses as well as for queried warehouses. In the Origin view, the warehouses of the respective planned receipts and issues are displayed in this column.
Identifier – this column contains the identifiers of the queried item in the Identifier view. All identifiers are displayed and not just those that have an available inventory. In the Origin view, this column shows the identifiers of the respective planned receipts and issues if the planned receipt or issue is defined at identifier level.
Voucher line item – this column contains all voucher line items or other non-order sources, such as open inventory postings or paperless demands, which are relevant for the calculation of availability. If this column only shows the order, then it is an order whose line items have not yet been saved. If this column is empty, then this is an order that has not yet been saved. However, the quantities of the orders are already taken into account in the availability. The consideration of order line items or orders that have not yet been saved is limited in time. If the order item or order is not saved within this time, these line items or orders are no longer included in the availability. The time (Validity period of temporary receipts/issues) in which these orders are taken into account is defined in the Customizing application under the Inventories function. The view in this column is also empty for availability records for batch inventories. This column is only visible in the Origin view.
Delivery partner – this column contains the delivery partner or the delivery recipient of the displayed order. Depending on the process and voucher category, the following options are available in the view:
- Receipt from purchase – the delivery partner from the purchase order is displayed.
- Receipt from customer return – the delivery recipient from the sales order is displayed.
- Receipt from distribution order – the delivery partner from the distribution order is displayed.
- Issue to customer – the delivery recipient from the sales order is displayed.
- Return to supplier – the delivery partner from the purchase order is displayed.
- Issue from distribution order – the delivery recipient from the distribution order is displayed.
Production receipts, production issues and order line items that have not yet been saved are not displayed. Inventory requisitions are not displayed, either. This column is only visible in the Origin view.
Inventory owner – this column contains the inventory owner according to the voucher. This can also be an inventory owner group. Inventory owner groups are identified by a curly bracket. Availability data relating to the entire inventory owner group is displayed for each member of the group. This column is only visible in the Origin view.
Due date – this column contains the date of the displayed order. In the case of a sales order, for example, the shipping date is displayed here. This column is only visible in the Origin view.
Reserved – this column contains the quantity of the item reserved from inventory. This column is only visible in the Item and Identifier views. Observe the notes on the displayed unit in the Units section.
Blocked – this column contains the currently blocked inventory of the item or identifier. The blocked inventory is the inventory with the quality assurance status Blocked. The Blocked status is usually assigned by the user by blocking an identifier, a warehouse or a warehouse zone. However, it can also be assigned automatically when assigning the identifier. This column is only visible in the Item and Identifier views.
Quarantine – this column contains the current quarantine status of the item or the identifier. The quarantine inventory is the current inventory with the quality assurance status In quarantine. These items are normally checked again and then blocked or released if necessary. The status In quarantine is usually assigned by the user. It is then generated by the system when the item is put away in a quarantine warehouse or the warehouse or warehouse zone in which the put away item is in quarantine. However, the status In quarantine can also be assigned automatically when the identifier is assigned. This column is only visible in the Item and Identifier views.
Released – this column contains the currently released inventory of the item or identifier. The released inventory is the current inventory minus the quarantine inventory and the blocked inventory. This column is only visible in the Item view.
Total (Item and Identifier views) – This column contains the total current inventory of the item or identifier. The total inventory includes all quality assurance statuses.
Total (Origin view) – inventory lines: this column shows the total inventory (inventory in all quality assurance statuses). Lines with receipts and issues: the total order quantity is displayed in this column. Order line items that have not yet been saved, but whose quantities are already taken into account in the availability, have a quantity of zero here. In the case of issues, the total quantities are shown as negative and in red.
Unpacked quantity – this column shows how many of the queried units are available without further repackaging. If the quantity is displayed in a packaging unit and the Binding checkbox is activated, the packaging structure is displayed in the tooltip for the quantity. See Displaying the packaging structure. The column is available if the Manage inventory in logistic units function is active in the Customizing application.
Open – this column contains the open quantities from the orders displayed. For example, for a sales order line item with a total quantity of 100 units that has been partially delivered (40 units delivery quantity), the open quantity is 60 units. In the case of issues, the open quantities are shown as negative and in red. This column is only visible in the Origin view.
Reserved inventory – inventory lines: the reserved inventory is displayed in this column. Lines with issues: This column shows the order quantity that is reserved from inventory. The quantities reserved from inventory are also shown as positive for issues. This column is only visible in the Origin view. Observe the notes on the displayed unit under Units.
Reserved receipt – Lines with issues: this column shows the order quantity that is reserved against planned receipts. The quantities are presented as positive. Lines with receipts: This column shows the order quantity that is assigned to demand origins. The quantities reserved from inventory are also shown as positive for issues. This column is only visible in the Origin view. Observe the notes on the displayed unit under Units.
Open after reservation – this column shows the quantity that influences the available quantity.
Available – this column contains the quantity of an item or identifier available on the specified per date. The available quantity is calculated from the current inventory plus the planned receipts and less the planned issues as of the specified date. If the reservation function is used, the available quantity is calculated from the unreserved current inventory plus the unreserved planned receipts and minus the unreserved planned issues on the specified per date.
If availability data cannot be displayed for all warehouses in the Item view, the row with the corresponding inventory owner in this column is marked with an icon. This is the case, for example, if the query has been restricted by search criteria or missing content-related authorizations so that certain warehouses are excluded.
In the Origin view, the entire reserved and available inventory is displayed in the inventory owner rows (or in the top row for single sites). For availability data that is only displayed and not calculated according to the specified availability rule, no available quantity is displayed. Observe the notes on the displayed unit of the available quantity under Units.
Units
The available quantity and the reserved quantity are determined in the inventory management unit or in a packaging unit of the inventoried item. If you query the availability in a different unit, the quantity is converted into this unit.
If you query the availability without specifying a unit, the available quantity and the reserved quantity are displayed in the Item view in the 1st item unit and in the Origin view in the inventory management unit of the item.
Displaying the packaging structure
If the Binding checkbox is activated for the query, the packaging structure of the item is displayed in the tooltip for a quantity in a packaging unit, as it is stored in the item master data in the Packaging table.
3 cartons
6 pcs
3 boxes are packed in a gitterbox. A total of 6 pieces are packed in the 3 boxes (2 pieces are packed per box).
[Receipts/issues] button
In the Item view, you can show and hide the receipts and issues for each warehouse using the [Receipts/issues] button.
Below is a detailed description of the additional columns:
[Receipts/issues] – this column shows whether the line is a receipt or issue.
Back orders – this column contains the quantity of all back orders that represent a receipt and fulfill the selection criteria of the availability rule used. Back orders are order line items with quantities still open for delivery whose delivery date is in the past, i.e. before the current date. For example, back orders from a purchase order or a production order can be displayed here.
Planned receipts – this column contains the quantity of planned receipts (e.g. from the purchase or production orders) between the current date and the per date. Exactly which orders are taken into consideration is determined by the availability rule used.
Back orders – this column contains the quantity of all back orders that represent an issue and fulfill the selection criteria of the availability rule used. Back orders are order line items with quantities still open for delivery whose delivery date is in the past, i.e. before the current date. For example, back orders from a sales quotation, a sales order or from the material withdrawal for a production order can be displayed.
Planned issues – this column contains the quantity of planned issues between the current date and the per date, for example from sales quotations or sales or production orders. Exactly which orders are taken into consideration is determined by the availability rule used.
[Alternative item] button
In the Item view, you can use this button to show and hide the result of the availability query for the alternative items for an item. The button is only available if an alternative item is specified for the item entered.
[Further variants] button
In the Item view, you can use this button to show and hide the result of the availability query for the other variants of an item’s reference item. The button is only available if the availability of a variant item is queried.
[Hide completely reserved entries] button
In the Origin view, you can use the [Hide completely reserved entries] button to show and hide the vouchers whose open voucher quantity is completely reserved.
If the open quantity of a voucher is covered by reservations, this does not result in any availability changes, as the reservations themselves have already been taken into account in the availability calculation. The button is only visible if the Reservations function is active in the Customizing application.
Query results for kits
Only the Item view can be used for kit items; the Origin and Identifier views are not available for kits.
The work pane of the Item view for kit items contains a list with the following columns:
- Warehouse
- Numbering
- Component
- Total
- Available
- Kit quantity
- Available kit
Some columns are only displayed if the [Components] button is activated.
Below is a detailed description of the columns:
Warehouse – this column contains the warehouses that have available inventory. Depending on the search criterion and view, the available inventories of multiple warehouses can be summarized in this column. All warehouse totals are displayed for all warehouses as well as for queried warehouses.
Available kit – this column contains the quantity of a kit item available on the specified date. The available quantity is calculated from the total quantity plus the planned receipts and minus the planned issues as of the specified date. If availability data cannot be displayed for all warehouses in the Item view, the row with the corresponding inventory owner in this column is marked with an icon. This is the case, for example, if the query has been restricted by search criteria or missing content-related authorizations so that certain warehouses are excluded.
[Alternative item] button
In the Items view, you can show and hide the alternative kit items for a kit item.
[Components] button
You can show and hide the components of a kit item using the [Components] button.
Below is a detailed description of the additional columns:
Numbering – this column shows the number that was assigned to the component in the Kits application. The components are sorted by this number.
Component – this column shows the item identification of the component.
Total – this column contains the entire current inventory of the component. Order line items that have not yet been saved, but whose quantities are already taken into account in the availability, have a quantity of zero here.
Available – this column contains the quantity of the component available on the specified date. The available quantity is calculated from the total quantity plus the planned receipts and minus the planned issues as of the specified date. If availability data cannot be displayed for all warehouses, the row with the corresponding inventory owner in this column is marked with a symbol. This is the case, for example, if the query has been restricted by search criteria or missing content-related authorizations so that certain warehouses are excluded.
Kit quantity – the quantity of the item defined for the kit item in the Kits application.
Available kit – this column shows the quantity of the component available for the kit item. This value is calculated from the available quantity and the defined set quantity of the component (available/kit quantity).
Customizing
In the Customizing application, the following field in the Inventory management function is relevant for the Availability query application:
Availability rule – the availability rule stored in this field is displayed as the default value in the Availability rule field.
Business entities
For the Availability query application, the following business entity is relevant, which you use, for example, to:
- assign authorizations
- set up activity definitions
- import or export data
Availability: com.cisag.app.inventory.obj.AvailabilityDetail
The business entity is part of the following business entity group:
Warehouse voucher data: com.cisag.app.inventory.OrderData
Authorizations
Authorization can be assigned using the authorization roles as well as by assigning an organization. The authorization concept can be found in the technical article Authorizations.
Special capabilities
The following special capability exists for the Availability query application. You can assign authorizations for this capability in the Authorization roles application.
See origin: com.cisag.app.inventory.ui.ViewOrigin
With the View origin capability, external users can also select the Origin view and query data there.
Organization assignments
If the Content-related authorizations function is activated in the Customizing application, a person can only use the Availability query application if they have been assigned an organization in the partner master data that is included in at least one of the following organization structures:
- Inventory management
Special features
There are no special features for the Availability query application.
Authorizations for business partners
The Availability query application is released for the following types of business partners:
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Sales representatives
The visibility of the data is restricted for the various business partner types by authorizations. These restrictions are described below.
Customers
For external customers, only the data for those warehouses for which they have authorization is displayed.
The authorization of a customer for a warehouse depends on the following settings:
- Assignment of a responsible sales organization to the customer, in the Customer logon authorizations application
- Assignment of the responsible sales organization to the warehouse, in the Warehouses application (Authorizations tab)
If a field for selecting an organization is visible in the workflow toolbar and you are logged into the system as an external customer, all external organizations that are assigned to you as an external customer are displayed in this field in the Availability query application.
Further information can be found in the Customer logon authorizations article.
Suppliers
For external suppliers, only the data for those warehouses for which they have authorization is displayed.
The authorization of a supplier for a warehouse depends on the following settings:
- Assignment of a responsible purchase organization to the supplier, in the Supplier logon authorizations application
- Assignment of a responsible purchase organization to the warehouse, in the Warehouses application (Authorizations tab)
If a field for selecting an organization is visible in the workflow toolbar and you are logged into the system as an external supplier, all external organizations that have been assigned to the person are displayed in this field in the Availability query application.
Further information can be found in the Supplier logon authorizations article.
Sales representatives
For external representatives, only the data of those warehouses are displayed for which they have authorization.
The authorization of a representative for a warehouse depends on the following settings:
- Assignment of a responsible sales organization to the sales representative, in the Sales representative logon authorizations application
- Assignment of a responsible sales organization to the warehouse, in the Warehouses application (Authorizations tab)
If a field for selecting an organization is visible in the workflow toolbar and you are logged into the system as an external sales representative, all external organizations that have been assigned to the person are displayed in this field in the Availability query application.
Further information can be found in the articleation Sales representative logon authorizations.