Availability Checks on VA02 - Dates misscalculating

[Former Member]

Hi,

A brief summary of the issue below - if anyone has any suggestions or comments and needs more info then just ask.  All help welcomed!

We have a material which currently has 2 in stock unrestricted (At today's date, 28/11/2012) with a PO due in on 04/12/2012 for Qty 2, and then lastly a sales order for 2 which is dated with a delivery date of 11/12/2012 for Qty 2.

MD04 looks something like this..

Date               MRP element     Req'dQty     Avail. Qty

29.11.2012     Stock                                        2

04.12.2012     OI-SL / PO             2                  4

11.12.2012     Order                     2-                 2

My question is this -  Why is it when the sales user enters the sales order and checks availability & reschedules in a bid to have SAP bring the date forward, that the system does not allocate the stock that is there to be used and retains the date of 11/12/2012?

The date of the 11th was calculated by the sales order because we had no stock at the time and the leadtime info meant that 11/12/2012 was the earliest that the stock could be made available.  Since then stock has become available, yet the sales order fails to see this - even when prompted to check.  I'm pretty sure that SAP is taking the delivery date entered onto the sales order as being the customers preference, and as a result it assumes it is to remain at it is.  If so, can anyone explain the fields/values that control this and why this does not happen automatically?  (Whenever we have to reschedule sales order it always has to be manually done - I was sure that SAP could do this automagically?!)

Again, any help is welcomed.

Thanks,

Stephen

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Stephen,

Look at the 'first' date of the order.item in VA02.  You can presume that this is the date that the customer wants the parts.  Not earlier; not later.  Once this date is confirmed, no further improvement can be made - the assumption is that the customer doesn't want the parts any sooner.

If the customer "really" wants the parts earlier, then Sales should enter an earlier date here, ideally during the original order creation.  If you are using ATP, then ATP will prevent the order from being confirmed to a date that can not be met by the factory.

There is nothing that standard SAP can 'magically' do to override the customer's requested delivery date.  I think you need to revisit your order entry procedures.  It does not make sense to enter 'today plus lead time' in the First Date field, if the customer actually wants the order earlier.

Best Regards,

DB49

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

That confirms my suspicions, thanks DB49 - much appreciated. 

Regards,

Stephen