Topic overview
This article describes the identifier reservation function. An identifier reservation is a reservation of specific identifiers as part of the automatic identifier assignment. An identifier reservation prevents the specified quantity of a specific identifier from being assigned to other processes by an automatic identifier assignment. This function is particularly active whenever the customizing function Reservations is not activated. However, it is also executed if a reservation is prevented despite the reservation function being activated.
Below, you will find information on the differences between the identifier reservation and the reservation function and learn what role the identifier type plays in the identifier reservation. In addition, the most important processes that can lead to an identifier reservation are described.
Definitions of terms
Identifiers
An identifier enables the identification of specific items or item variants. As identifiers, batch, lot, and serial number are supported.
Identifier reservation
With an identifier reservation, a particular identifier (batch, lot or serial number with inventory management) is marked in such a way that it is excluded from further identifier assignment. If, for example, a specific serial number is confirmed in a picking order, a lot is assigned during the automatic identifier assignment or a particular batch is specified in a sales order, the corresponding identifier quantities are reserved with an identifier reservation so that they are no longer available for further identifier reservations.
Identifier assignments
If an item is managed in identifiers, identifiers must be assigned during picking or during the delivery. If the user did not provide identifiers, the assignment occurs automatically.
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.
Identifier reservations
Identifier reservations are made if the customizing function Reservations is generally not active or reservations are not made in a specific context.
The identifier reservation is used to record the quantity of planned issues of identifiers at a specific warehouse. The identifier reservation means that a specific identifier can only be picked or withdrawn up to the available inventory quantity at a specific warehouse. An identifier is only reserved if it is a withdrawal from the warehouse. Neither putaways nor internal warehouse relocations of items that are managed in identifiers result in identifier reservations.
In contrast to reservations, identifier reservations do not contain any demand data and therefore no information about the person who made the reservation. This is one of the most important differences to reservations. Items that are managed in serial numbers are an exception. If a specific serial number is reserved, the person who made the reservation is noted directly on the serial number.
Creating identifier reservations
Identifier reservations are created as a result of the automatic identifier assignment or by specifying manually a particular identifier in a voucher line item if the customizing function Reservations is not activated. As long as the identifier reservation exists, the reserved quantity is not available to other vouchers, for example due to validations in the automatic identifier assignment.
Identifier reservations can occur with the following voucher types:
- Sales order
- Production order
- Delivery order
- Picking order
- Distribution order
- Inventory requisition
Inventory requisitions of the type Put-away and internal warehouse relocations without a change of inventory owner do not generate any identifier reservations. If a voucher contains an identifier-managed item, but without a specific identifier, no identifier reservation is made.
The following example illustrates the creation of identifier reservations using two sales orders:
- 350 pcs. of batch 1
- 200 pcs. of batch 2
Two sales orders are entered for the item:
- The first sales order comprises 200 units with batch 1.
- The second sales order comprises 100 units without a particual batch specification.
The sales orders result in an identifier reservation of 200 units from batch 1.
150 units of batch 1 and 200 units of batch 2 are therefore still available.
When the second sales order is picked, an identifier assignment is carried out automatically, in which 100 units of batch 1 are assigned to the sales order. This results in a second identifier reservation of 100 units of batch 1.
50 units of batch 1 and 200 units of batch 2 are therefore available for other orders.
When entering inventory postings in the application of the same name or when importing inventory postings, an identifier reservation can also occur if the posting key of the process is Withdrawal (for a positive quantity), Receipt (for a negative quantity) or Receipt transfer posting (for different source and destination warehouses or source and destination inventory owners). In the case of the Receipt transfer posting process, the value is only reserved for the source warehouse. An identifier reservation is therefore always generated if the manual inventory posting is an actual issue.
Removing identifier reservations
In the sales process, the identifier reservations are only removed once the inventory postings resulting from the delivery have been processed by the inventory management server. If a voucher is canceled or an identifier is deleted or changed in a voucher line item for which an identifier reservation has already been made, the identifier reservation is removed again.
Taking into account identifier reservations
Identifier reservations are only taken into account during automatic identifier assignment. The identifier quantities marked accordingly are excluded from the automatic identifier assignment.
Displaying identifier reservations in the system
In the Cockpit: Inventories/items and Cockpit: Inventories/identifiers applications, the quantities of the identifier reservations per warehouse, item and identifier are displayed in the Reserved quantity column. The Availability query application also displays the identifier reservations. However, the quantities displayed are for information purposes only: they are not taken into account in the availability query.
Identifier reservations are not displayed in the Reservations application and cannot be created there.
Identifier reservations and reservations
Even if an item already has an identifier reservation, the Reservations customizing function can be activated at a later date. The already existing identifier reservation quantities are then still interpreted as reserved quantities and displayed in the Reserved quantity column in the Cockpit: Inventories/identifiers application, for example.
Reservations are deactivated for an item, its inventory in a warehouse is 100 kg and a sales order line item has been entered with the quantity of 120 kg and an identifier specification.
Open in the Cockpit: Identifiers/identifiers application:
(However, the inventory is not automatically “re-reserved”).
After activating the customizing function Reservations, run the batch application Update demand data to reserve the inventory automatically. If automatic reservation is set for the sales order type, the inventory is completely reserved by this line item. The sales order line item receives the reservation status Partially reserved.
The identifier reservation has therefore been converted into a reservation.
When the customizing function Reservations is deactivated, reservations are removed at the end of the respective processes; in newly started processes, identifier reservations may then be created.
Data model
The identifier reservations are stored at different levels analogous to the inventory records (business object: com.cisag.app.inventory.obj.InventoryOnhandReservation).
The specification reservations are managed per inventory owner, item, identifier, warehouse and quality assurance status, whereby the quality assurance status is permanently set to Released. The summaryLevelattribute specifies the consolidation level valid for the data record.
The following levels are generated during an identifier reservation:
- Inventory owner/item/warehouse/QA status and
- Inventory owner/item/identifier/warehouse/QA status
com.cisag.app.inventory.obj.InventoryOnhandReservation are closely related to instances of the business object com.cisag.app.inventory.obj.InventoryOnhand (inventory records). For each instance of the InventoryOnhandReservation business object, there is always an instance of the InventoryOnhand business object. The relationship is given via the key attribute guid. Conversely, this relationship does not apply. This means that an instance of the business object InventoryOnhand does not necessarily have to have a corresponding instance of the business object InventoryOnhandReservation. One reason for this is that instances of the business object InventoryOnhand exist for several levels or reservation data can only be added later.The following table describes the attributes relevant for the identifier reservation in the business object com.cisag.app.inventory.obj.InventoryOnhandReservation:
| Attribute | Name | Explanation |
| guid | Key attribute | Unique key of an instance of this business object. |
| owner | Inventory owner (integral part of the functional key) | The inventory owner for whom the identifier reservation was made. |
| item | Item (integral part of the functional key) | The reserved item. |
| identifier | Identifier (integral part of the functional key) | The reserved identifier. |
| storageArea | Warehouse (integral part of the functional key) | The warehouse at which the identifier was reserved. |
| qcStatus | Quality assurance status (integral part part of the functional key) | The identifier reservations are saved separately for each quality assurance status. Possible quality assurance statuses are:
Vouchers of the voucher types sales order, distribution order and picking can only be assigned identifiers with the quality assurance status Released. The automatic attribute assignment also only determines released attributes. |
| summaryLevel | Reservation level | The reserved quantities of an identifier are managed separately at the following levels of consolidation:
The Item/identifier/warehouse/QA status level represents the lowest level of the identifier reservation. The quantities at higher levels therefore correspond to the quantity at the lowest level, consolidated over the identifier. |
| identifierReservationQuantity | Identifier reservation quantity | This attribute contains the sum of all identifier reservation quantities. |
| reservedQuantity | Reserved quantity | The reserved quantity of an item or an identifier. This quantity is only used if the customizing function Reservations is active. This quantity is not used for identifier reservations. |
In the Cockpit: Inventories/identifiers application, the Reserved quantity column always displays the sum of the identifierReservationQuantity and reservedQuantity attributes.