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Status Future consideration
Created by Guest
Created on Apr 9, 2019

Ability/ API to provide inventory availability considering the OPEN_ORDER/ BACKORDER in the response of IV service

The Get Network Availability API exposed in Inventory Visibility mandate Distribution Group to be passed in the input. The API does not consider OPEN_ORDER/ BACKORDER demand types while computing the availability in IV. This leads to inconsistencies in the availability picture provided to consumers of IV service and could lead to situations like over-promising. There must be the capability in IV to get the right availability picture considering these uncommitted demand types during the computation of inventory availability.  This API must behave similar to getATP from OMoC.

What is your industry? Computer Services
How will this idea be used?

Customers implementing IV can use this picture to ensure the correct inventory picture is provided for use by the order capture channels and not land in over-promising situations.  

  • Admin
    Sampson Wong
    Reply
    |
    Oct 5, 2022

    Thank you for the update. To instate the requirement, client is facing issue with unassigned demand which is slightly different than the OPEN ORDER demand which was discussed in earlier thread.
    The issue here is when multiple vendors whose does not have access to order scheduling or inventory allocation against a shipnode, they will create a demand without shipnode. By default IV does not support unassigned demands as there is no context of shipnode. To address this problem clients wants a way to include unassigned demand when computing the availability for a given item-node, therefore mitigating the risk of overselling.
    Currently the vendors does not use the concept of reservation, and the unassigned demand is created directly on the system.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Sep 23, 2022

    Hi Sampson, The use case is very specific where order is captured from partner channel (Marketplace). when this order is created in sterling then a OPEN_ORDER demand is created without association of any node. Then this demand picture flows to IV this is not recognized as a demand and also not associated to any of the node or DG for availability calculation. Only when we pass the OPEN_ORDER demand against a specific node, IV takes this demand for AVL calculation. Please let know if you see a different behavior.

  • Admin
    Sampson Wong
    Reply
    |
    Sep 13, 2022

    Hi All. the network availability API by default considers OPEN_ORDER demand for the distribution group. If the client wish to consider across the full network, a DG must be created to include all node that should be considered.

    Can you please provide more details what is needed here provided the API already does what is asked in the RFE.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Jun 29, 2022

    We are doing this for our ecosystem, but third parties and external systems are exported to sterling without any reservation. We can use a workaround where we create a reservation for external open orders, but need to be sure that IBM has the feature "Consider Open Order Demands" on your roadmap.

  • Guest
    Reply
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    Apr 12, 2019

    Workaround 1 will create a demand against the node which might not be the node from where the fulfillment would happen. The other question which node to tie this OPEN_ORDER demand against. Workaround 2 will require customization in OMoC just to ensure it work with IV's APIs in their current state. 

    Can a getATP like API be exposed in IV, which does not mandate DG/ ShipNode and considers all nodes and demands in ATP calculation? That way, both OMoC and IV responses will be in sync and there won't be any discrepancies. 

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Apr 12, 2019

    We do take open-order and back-order demands into account for availability. In OMS there are 3 kinds of availability levels (node, DG and across all node). The catch is that sometimes demands do not belong to a node or DG. 
    Therefore, you must use the GetATP API.

    Workaround 1 : On the orderline, create an order and select a tentative node (which can be changed with sourcing rules). A config in OMS can allow backorders to flow to the highest priority node in the hierarchy.

    Workaround 2: When you take the order, make a DG level reservation on IV. And when the order gets scheduled, remove the reservation.

  • Guest
    Reply
    |
    Apr 10, 2019

    From a client perspective, it is critical that the inventory be accurate with what is truly available when displaying inventory pictures to the customers.