Scheduling changes of an ordering source

Executive summary

STOCK can schedule a change of the replenishment source for a warehouse item. The source can be an external supplier, another warehouse (redistribution), or production. Each source is valid for a specified date interval and can have its own ordering attributes.

This makes it possible, for example, to prepare a supplier change in advance, temporarily replenish a product from another warehouse, or switch between external supply and production without changing the configuration on the day of the change.

Functional description

Selecting the source in time

The source is selected separately for every replenishment order according to its order date. The validity interval includes both the Valid from and Valid to dates.

When an enabled primary source interval exists for the order date, STOCK uses the source and ordering attributes assigned to that interval. These attributes can include lead time, ordering period, minimum order quantity, ordering sets, ordering and delivery days, price, currency, and ordering unit. When no interval applies, the standard ordering-source configuration is used.

Intervals for the same warehouse item should not overlap. Consecutive intervals can be used to describe a sequence of planned source changes.

Configuration in SIDI

Scheduled sources are imported through the WAREHOUSE_PRODUCT_SUPPLY_SOURCE_INTERVAL table. Each row identifies:

  • the target warehouse and product,
  • the source type: SUPPLIER, WAREHOUSE, or PRODUCTION,
  • the supplier or source warehouse, where applicable,
  • the variant of the source-specific ordering attributes,
  • the first and last valid order date,
  • whether the interval is enabled and whether it is a primary source.

Variant 1 contains the standard ordering attributes. Additional variants allow a future interval to use different attributes without changing the current configuration. Supplier variants are defined in WAREHOUSE_PRODUCT_SUPPLIER and its ordering-set and delivery tables. Redistribution variants are defined in the corresponding WAREHOUSE_PRODUCT_REDISTRIBUTION tables. Production uses variant 1.

The detailed table and column definitions are available in the STOCK Input Database Interface documentation.

Displaying scheduled changes

The product detail displays an icon when the product has a scheduled ordering-source change. Its tooltip states that a future source change is planned.

The product’s ordering-source information also contains a Future ordering source changes section. It lists the validity dates, source, and ordering attributes of the scheduled intervals, so the upcoming configuration can be checked before it becomes active.