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Inbound delivery schedules

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The Inbound Delivery Schedule functionality provides possibilities to handle logistics information from customers, either received through any DI method, for example EDI, or by registering the information manually.

Note: When mention is made of delivery schedules, this is in reference to Inbound Delivery Schedules. These differ from Outbound Delivery Schedules, which form part of the purchase routines. For more details relating to outbound delivery schedules, see About outbound delivery schedules

DC1 Distribution can handle two types of inbound delivery schedules:

  • Net forecast: This type of delivery schedule contains information about how much, and when, to deliver the item to the customer. The customer states the quantity and the dispatch time of the item to deliver. You, as the supplier, only have to follow the customer’s request and send the goods according the schedule.
  • Gross forecast: This type of delivery schedule contains information about the stock situation at the customer’s warehouse. The customer informs you about the actual inventory of the item at his warehouse, together with a minimum and maximum stock level. In this case you, as the supplier, have to monitor the customer’s stock and calculate when, and how much, to deliver to meet the customer’s requested minimum stock level. Note: A gross forecast delivery schedule can also contain information about net forecasts, i.e. the customer does not only inform you about the actual stock situation, but also requires you to send goods at certain dates.

What this document contains:

Process flow

The following is an example of how a delivery schedule between you and your customer can be carried out:

Step Action
1 Customer sends delivery schedule number 123456 for week 1, 2, 3 and 4.
2 You receive the delivery schedule. The sales order files are updated.
3 You ship goods.
4 Customer receives the goods.
5 Customer sends a delivery schedule number 123456789 for week 2, 3, 4 and 5.
6 You retrieve the delivery schedule. The existing delivery schedule is updated as well as the sales order files.
7 You ship goods.
8 Customer receives the goods.
9 Customer sends a delivery schedule number 123456 for week 3, 4, 5 and 6.
10 etc.

Mandatory information in a delivery schedule

The following information has to be defined in a delivery schedule:

  • Identity: The delivery schedule number and the customer number represents the identity of the delivery schedule.
  • Start date: The start date has to be before the first dispatch date on the delivery schedule.
  • End date: The end date has to be the same as the last dispatch date, or later, on the delivery schedule.
  • Item

DI message types

DC1 can handle the following two types of messages:

  • the EDIFACT message type Delivery Schedule Message (DELFOR) with document message 241 (net forecast).
  • the EDIFACT message type Delivery Schedule Message (DELFOR) with document message SMI (gross forecast).

Net forecast with firmed orders (EDIFACT doc msg = 241)
Forecasts from customers can be handled in different ways. The short-term forecast can create sales orders automatically after the delivery schedule has been retrieved and updated. This is called firmed deliveries.

Long term forecasts from the customer can be included when DC1 calculates forecast in the Inventory calculation routine in DC1 Inventory Control.

Gross forecast with min/max/actual inventory (EDIFACT doc msg = SMI)
Supplier Management Inventory (SMI) means that you as a supplier control the customer’s warehouse. The customer sends information about gross forecast, minimum, maximum and actual inventory and from these figures the system automatically calculates how much, and when, to deliver the goods.

Note: SMI is an expression used by EDIFACT. A more frequently used expression is VMI, Vendor Managed Inventory.

Retrieving delivery schedules

When a delivery schedule is retrieved and updated from the DI database the system can perform the following checks:

Create sales order lines

The system will automatically create sales order lines when a delivery schedule is retrieved and updated if the following is true:

  • If the Firmed horizon field in the Business partner file, DI documents panel is completed, the system uses this number of days to calculate the firmed horizon according to:
    Schedule start date + Number of firmed horizon days

    Forecasts with a dispatch date before the calculated firmed horizon date will automatically generate order lines.

  • If the forecast is defined as firmed by the customer in the delivery schedule.

Note: If Firmed horizon in the Business partner file is defined, the calculated firmed horizon overrides the information sent by the customer in the delivery schedule

Activate warning flags

When retrieving the delivery schedule, one or several warnings can be displayed. The following warnings can be activated:

Warning When displayed or activated
Total change % Displayed if the total quantity in the retrieved delivery schedule is changed with more than the percentage allowed, compared with the total quantity on the previous delivery schedule. The percentage to be allowed is defined in the Warn limit %, total field in either the Business partner file or DIS control file.

Note: If the percentage is not defined, this warning can never be activated.
Change % line Displayed if the quantity on a line in the retrieved delivery schedule is changed with more than the percentage allowed, compared with the same line on the previous delivery schedule. The percentage to be allowed is defined in the Warn limit %, line field in either the Business partner file or DIS control file.

Note: If the percentage is not defined, this warning can never be activated.
Not delivered Displayed if an order line created from a previously retrieved delivery schedule has not yet been dispatched. This means that at least one sales order line created from a previous delivery schedule exists, for which the following applies:

  • the order line status is less than or equal to 40
  • the dispatch date is before the start date of the current delivery schedule
Last delivery Displayed if one of the following applies:

  • the transport note number (stated by the customer in the delivery schedule) for any of the last 3 dispatches, does not correspond to any transport note number in the Sales order line file in DC1.
  • the dispatch date (stated by the customer in the delivery schedule) for any of the last 3 dispatches, does not correspond to any dispatch date in the Sales order line file in DC1. Note: The field used in the Sales order line file to compare with the dispatch date defined by the customer is the Confirmation date on the sales order line.
  • the quantity (stated by the customer in the delivery schedule) for any of the last 3 dispatches, does not correspond to any quantity updated as dispatched (Conf quantity) in the Sales order line file in DC1.
Item missing Displayed if an item included in the previous delivery schedule is not included in the current delivery schedule.
Note: In order for this warning to ever be displayed, the Warning item missing field has to be set to YES in the Business partner file.
New item Activated if the current delivery schedule contains an item that was not included in the previous delivery schedule.

Update despite of warning
When the delivery schedule is retrieved, you decide if you want sales order lines to be created despite of any warnings. If you set the Update despite warn field to NO, the delivery schedule will be retrieved and updated in the Delivery schedule files, but no sales order lines will be created, even if the system finds that order lines should be created. To create the sales order lines you have to update the delivery schedule by using the appropriate option in the Work with inbound delivery schedules program.

However, if you set the Update despite warn field to YES, order lines will be created (if needed) and the corresponding warning field will be set to YES on the Work with inbound delivery schedules, Header details panel. Refer to step 5 in Retrieve an inbound delivery schedule sent through Data Interchange.

Adjustments of delivery schedules

The system can adjust the quantity to dispatch in a delivery schedule automatically if the Not delivered figure (stated by the customer in the delivery schedule) does not conform to the Sales order line file in DC1. See Example of quantity adjustment in an inbound delivery schedule.

Delivery schedule forecasts in DC1 Inventory Control

If the Incl in forecast field in the Business partner file, DI Documents panel for the DELFOR document is set to YES, the forecasts in delivery schedules are included when calculating forecast in the Inventory calculation routine in DC1 Inventory Control. The delivery schedule forecast is updated in the Customer forecast field in the Forecast file. The dispatch date in the schedule controls the forecast period in which the quantity should be updated.

Considerations
You have to consider the ability of the customer to forecast, before deciding if to include delivery schedule forecasts when calculating forecast in DC1 Inventory Control. Indeed you can use the Forecast factor field to adjust the forecasts from the customer, but if the forecasts are unreliable, it might be more accurate to only use demand history when forecasting in DC1 Inventory Control.

Caution: If the customer’s forecasts are included in the DC1 Inventory Control forecast, make sure that the order type used when creating sales orders from delivery schedules sent by this customer, does not update demand data in DC1, i.e. the Update demand data field in the Sales order type table should be set to NO.

Enquiries

  • Delivery schedule enquiry

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