Sales Order Processing Quantity Shortage Options in Microsoft Dynamics GP

This article will discuss quantity shortage options available in Sales Order Processing.

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In Sales Order Processing, scenarios often arise where the ordered quantity surpasses the available inventory. This can occur due to fluctuating demand, unexpected sales spikes, or supply chain disruptions. Regardless of the cause, having robust mechanisms in place to address these shortages is crucial.

Options for Managing Shortages

1. Sell Balance: This option involves allocating the available inventory to the document. For instance, if you’ve ordered 5 items but only have 3 in stock, the system intelligently adjusts the ordered and invoiced quantities to 3, effectively depleting the item’s inventory to zero.
2. Override Shortage: Sometimes, it may be necessary to override the shortage and proceed with selling the entire quantity. This option is not applicable for discontinued items.
   • Note: You shouldn’t override a shortage on an item that is tracked by serial or lot numbers. Serial and Lot numbers cannot go negative, and your inventory will be overstated when the quantity is replenished.
3. Back Order Strategies: The system offers two distinct back order options:
   • Back Order All: This involves placing the entire quantity on back order, ensuring that no sales opportunities are missed despite current inventory limitations.
   • Back Order Balance: With this option, the system intelligently segregates the shortage quantity for back ordering while selling the available quantity. It’s worth noting that these options are only available if the item is marked to allow back orders.
4. Cancellation Approaches: In cases where fulfilling the order is not feasible, the system provides two cancellation options:
   • Cancel All: This option allows for the cancellation of the entire quantity for the item.
   • Cancel Balance: Here, the system cancels the shortage amount and proceeds to sell the available quantity. For example, if you ordered 5 items but only have 3 in stock, the system adjusts the ordered quantity to 5, invoiced quantity to 3, and canceled quantity to 2.
5. Distribute Functionality: The Distribute option enables you to substitute items or sell items from alternate sites, providing unparalleled flexibility in managing inventory constraints.
   • The Distribute option appears in the Sales Quantity Shortage Options window only if one of the following conditions is true:
     • The item is not a kit or a kit component.
     • The quantity previously back ordered equals zero.
     • The quantity previously invoiced equals zero.
     • You opened the Sales Quantity Shortage Options window from the Sales Transaction Entry window or the Sales Item Detail Entry window, or you pressed TAB on a line with an item that needed to be allocated.
     • You didn’t open the Sales Quantity Shortage Options window from the Sales Allocation-Fulfillment Options window.