How Node Allocation Is Used

Settings That Affect Allocation Planning

Allocation type, which can be Number or Percentage
Allocation target dates
Allocation node specifications
Assignment basis

Note: If an item in a sales order has an allocation rule association but allocation values aren't defined for that sales order then the supply can't be allocated for that item.

How Allocation Is Planned

When you plan your backlog after allocating supply, the planning process first considers the total supply allocated for a week, defined by your target dates. The process then plans to allocate a percentage or quantity of item supply to each allocation node based on the allocation node hierarchy and the node rank. If there's insufficient supply at a node, the process may steal supply from a lower-ranked node. If allocated supply is less than available supply, the remaining supply is allocated to the top-level node; if the allocated supply is more than available supply, the specified allocation is reduced at nodes proportionately. Each node is assigned an allocation number.

How Stealing Works

When there's insufficient supply at an allocation node, the planning process may steal unprotected supply from a lower-ranked node. Let's say the Tier 1 node is BLM-ALL, the Tier 2 nodes are BLM-North and BLM-South, and the Tier 3 nodes are BLM-Northeast and BLM-Northwest, for BLM North, and BLM-Southeast and BLM-Southwest for BLM-South.

Node Tier	Node	Node Rank	Available Supply	Stealing Protection
1	BLM-ALL	-	20 units	10%
2	BLM-North	6	12 units	6%
3	BLM-Northeast	8	30 units	15%
3	BLM-Northwest	7	50 units	25%
2	BLM-South	9	8 units	4%
3	BLM-Southeast	10	36 units	18%
3	BLM-Southwest	15	44 units	22%

If more supply is needed at a node, it's stolen from a lower-ranked node by tier.

If supply is needed at BLM-Northeast, which is at Rank 8, the process steals from BLM-Southwest, at Rank 15, and then from BLM-Southeast, at Rank 10.
If supply is needed at the BLM-All, the process steals it from BLM-South, which is ranked lower than BLM-North.

Now lets say that the stealing protection at BLM-Southeast is 50%. Then, only 18 units out of 36 can be stolen. And, at BLM-South, if the stealing protection is 25%, only 6 units out of 8 can be stolen.