1. SCM (Supply Chain Management)
  2. Inventory Management
  3. Advanced Inventory Management
  4. Available to Promise
  5. Available to Promise in Supply Allocation
  6. Earliest Item Availability for Kit Items in Supply Allocation

Earliest Item Availability for Kit Items in Supply Allocation

You can use the Earliest Item Availability feature in NetSuite to quickly see when inventory, assembly, or kit items can be fulfilled based on current and future supply. This helps you set realistic expectations for customers and plan your order fulfillment more efficiently.

Working with Earliest Item Availability

Follow these steps to set up and use the Earliest Item Availability page to manage your supply allocation strategy.

To use the Earliest Item Availability page:

  1. Go to Transactions > Order Management > Earliest Item Availability.

  2. If you're working in a OneWorld account, select a Subsidiary.

  3. Select the Item you want to check for availability.

    NetSuite displays the locations holding inventory and populates the related columns.

  4. To filter your item availability, select a Sales Channel.

    To display the available supply pool, leave the field empty.

  5. Enter the number of items you need in the Quantity field.

    If the displayed Earliest Available Dates don't match your required date, enter a lower quantity, and review other locations for available inventory.

  6. To apply rules to the date calculation, select an Allocation Strategy.

  7. If your allocation strategy has an allocation period, select a Supply Required by Date.

  8. Click Save.

    If there's a shortage of supply, then the Earliest Available Date becomes today's date plus the set ATP Lead Time.

Earliest Availability for Kit Items on Sales Orders

A kit item is a group of components (inventory or assembly items) sold together as a single product. When you use the Earliest Availability popup window on a sales order, NetSuite shows the earliest date when the kit can be fulfilled, based on the availability of all its components.

When you enable the Supply Allocation feature (Setup > Order Management > Supply Allocation), NetSuite supports detailed availability calculations based on the supply of each kit component. Here are other considerations:

  • If you enable the Sales Channel Allocation feature, NetSuite calculates availability based on sales channel reservations for kit components.

  • If you enable Automatic Location Assignment (ALA), NetSuite assigns a location based on the combined availability across all kit components, considering both current and future supply and sales channel reservations.

How NetSuite Calculates Earliest Availability for Kit Items

Here's an overview of the calculation process:

  • Decomposition – NetSuite breaks down the Kit Item into its components using the flattened kit structure.

    With Kit Sub Item
                                                                                                                                                                                 

    Without Kit Sub Item
                                                                                                                                       

  • Component Availability – For each component, NetSuite checks the following:

    • Current unallocated inventory

    • Future unallocated supply (like purchase or transfer orders)

    • Quantities already allocated or committed to the current sales order line, which are added back to the available quantities for calculation purposes

  • Earliest Available Date per Component – NetSuite calculates the earliest date each component will be available, factoring in ATP (Available to Promise) Lead Time if needed. If there is insufficient supply to meet the required quantity, the Earliest Available Date for a component is calculated as follows:

    • Today's Date + either ATP Lead Time or the Supply Required By Date (whichever is later), assuming a full supply replenishment cycle.

    • Note that in this calculation, the ATP Lead time is more likely to be used than Supply Required By Date because it's further out in the future.

  • Kit Item Earliest Available Date – The Earliest Available Date for the kit item is the latest date among all its components. If you set a Supply Required By Date, NetSuite uses the later of the computed date or your required date.

Additional Calculation Factors

NetSuite considers several factors when calculating the earliest available date for kit items:

  • Allocation Strategy – If you specify an allocation strategy (like FIFO), NetSuite uses it to prioritize supply. If you don't specify one, NetSuite falls back to the company-level default (Setup > Order Management > Supply Allocation > Supply Preferences > Default Allocation Strategy on Earliest Item Availability). If the default is set to “Do Not Allocate,” no date will be provided.

  • Sales Channel Allocation (if enabled) – If you use sales channel allocation, NetSuite considers supply reserved for sales channels. When you specify a Sales Channel on the sales order, NetSuite primarily uses supplies reserved for that channel. The general supply pool may or may not be included, depending on whether the sales channel is dedicated to reserved supply. If you don't set a Sales Channel, NetSuite only uses the general supply pool.

  • Automatic Location Assignment (ALA) – If ALA is enabled and configured, NetSuite can automatically assign a location for the kit item on the sales order line.

    • The sales order line's Do Not Auto Assign Location field must be set to False.

    • The sales order header's Automatic Location Assignment Configuration field must be set (not NULL).

Using the Earliest Availability Popup for Kit Items

Follow these steps to review the details for kit items:

To use the Earliest Availability Popup for Kit Items:

  1. Open a sales order and find the kit item line.

  2. Click the Earliest Availability icon next to the Supply Required By Date field.

  3. Review the available quantities and Earliest Available Date for the kit, which reflects the latest availability among all components.

  4. If ALA is enabled, click Assign Location to let NetSuite automatically assign the best location based on your configuration.

Resolving Kit Item Availability and Display Issues

When working with earliest item availability for kit items, here's how to resolve common issues:

  • If the earliest available date is far in the future, at least one kit component doesn't have enough available supply now or coming soon. NetSuite uses the latest date when all components are available, including incoming supply and ATP Lead Time.

  • Any changes you make to the item, quantity, location, sales channel, or supply required by date will trigger a recalculation of the earliest available date. The popup window works for kit items like it does for inventory and assembly items, but also considers the availability of all kit components.

  • The popup window summarizes at the kit level. To identify the cause of the delay, review the kit structure and check each component's inventory levels.

  • If the earliest available date isn't displayed, verify if a default allocation strategy is set at the company level.

  • For unexpected or incorrect dates, check the ATP Lead Times for components and investigate sales channel reservations or existing allocations that could affect supply.

  • If Automatic Location Assignment (ALA) isn't working, confirm that the sales order line allows auto-assignment and the order header has a configuration set.

General Notices