The quick answer
Open the sales order, click Edit, open the item line, and change Supply Required By Date to the date the customer actually wants the goods. Save the order. With real-time Supply Allocation on, NetSuite recalculates the allocation when you save. If the line's Allocation Strategy includes future inventory from purchase orders and allocates as close as possible to the required date, the line can let go of the stock on hand and take a purchase order that arrives before that date. Committed drops to 0 and Back Ordered goes up, because a purchase order is a planned supply you can't pick yet. The line's Allocated Supply popup names the purchase order, and the purchase order's Allocated Demand names the sales order.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
You need the Supply Allocation feature turned on (it works with Multi-Location Inventory) and a role that can edit sales orders. Field labels and where the popups open can differ by form, role and release. Three things decide whether this works.
Real-time allocation has to be on. It's the option to perform Supply Allocation after transaction entry, update or delete on the Supply Allocation setup page. With it off, saving the order doesn't necessarily recalculate anything. The line can keep its old allocation until an on-demand, scheduled or manual allocation runs.
The line's Allocation Strategy has to allow future supply. It's a column on the line, and editing a strategy doesn't change lines that already use another one. This example uses a strategy with Future Inventory checked and Purchase Order among its future order types. Its Allocation Method is As Close As Possible To Supply Required By Date, with Available Quantity and Reserved Allocation. A strategy that allocates as soon as available commonly uses eligible stock on hand before later supply, so changing the date on such a line may not move it. The result still depends on the strategy's other settings and on competing demand.
The purchase order has to be eligible supply for the line too: the same item and location, an open status such as Pending Receipt, and an Expected Receipt Date.
In this example, Tacoma Warehouse has 60 HC-40-SS Stainless Hose Clamp 40 mm on hand. SO3841 for Lakeshore Marine Services is a Pending Fulfillment order for 60 of them, entered 10/14/2026, and it holds all of that stock. Three open purchase orders from Harbor Hardware Distributors cover the same item at the same warehouse, with Expected Receipt Dates of 11/20/2026 (PO6114, 100 units), 12/08/2026 (PO6127, 150 units) and 01/12/2027 (PO6139, 150 units). Lakeshore doesn't need the clamps until 12/18/2026.
01. Review the line's current allocation
Open SO3841. Its status is Pending Fulfillment.
On the Items subtab, the HC-40-SS line for 60 shows Committed 60, Allocated Supply 60, Back Ordered 0 and Available 60. The order is holding the stock on hand.
Scroll the sublist to the right. Expected Ship Date and Supply Required By Date are both 10/14/2026, and the Allocation Strategy is ACAP-Available-Reserved.
Click the Allocated Supply value, 60. The popup lists one row with the Supply Type Inventory for Commitment and Allocation, the Source Tacoma Warehouse, and 60 allocated. Close the popup.
02. Check the open purchase orders
Open PO6114, PO6127 and PO6139. Each is Pending Receipt from Harbor Hardware Distributors for the same item at Tacoma Warehouse, and Allocated Demand is 0 on all three. No order is using that supply yet.
Scroll each purchase order's Items subtab to the right, to Expected Receipt Date. It's 11/20/2026 on PO6114 (Quantity 100), 12/08/2026 on PO6127 (Quantity 150) and 01/12/2027 on PO6139 (Quantity 150). PO6127's 12/08/2026 is the last receipt before the date Lakeshore wants the clamps.
03. Move the Supply Required By Date and save
Open SO3841 again and click Edit. On the Items subtab, click the HC-40-SS line to open it for editing.
Replace the Supply Required By Date, 10/14/2026, with 12/18/2026, the date Lakeshore asked for, and click OK.
Click Save. With real-time Supply Allocation on, NetSuite recalculates the allocation as the order saves. You don't enter Expected Ship Date. NetSuite calculates it.
04. Confirm the line moved off the stock
On the saved order, the HC-40-SS line now shows Committed 0 and Back Ordered 60. Allocated Supply and Available are both still 60. The clamps are still on the shelf and free for other orders. SO3841 just doesn't hold them anymore.
Scroll right. Supply Required By Date and Expected Ship Date are both 12/18/2026. NetSuite calculates Expected Ship Date from the allocation and the strategy's available date calculation. Here it matched the new required date, which is later than PO6127's 12/08/2026 receipt. Don't expect it to equal the required date in every account.
05. Open the line's Allocated Supply
Click the Allocated Supply value, 60. The popup now lists one row with the Supply Type Purchase Order, Order PO6127, Order Status Pending Receipt, Source Harbor Hardware Distributors, Supply Quantity 150, Supply Receipt Date 12/08/2026 and 60 allocated. The line no longer points at Inventory for Commitment and Allocation. Close the popup.
06. Confirm the link from the purchase order
Open PO6127. On the Items subtab, Allocated Demand now shows 60 for the HC-40-SS line.
Click the 60. The popup lists one row: Demand Type Sales Order, Order SO3841, Customer Lakeshore Marine Services, Order Status Pending Fulfillment, Allocated 60 and Supply Required By Date 12/18/2026. Close the popup.
In this example PO6114 and PO6139 still show Allocated Demand 0, so the whole allocation went to PO6127.
Check the result
- The sales order line shows the new Supply Required By Date and Expected Ship Date, with Committed down and Back Ordered up by the quantity that moved.
- The line's Allocated Supply popup lists the purchase order instead of Inventory for Commitment and Allocation.
- That purchase order's Allocated Demand shows the sales order, its customer and the quantity.
- Available on the line is unchanged, because the stock is still on hand.
Allocated, committed, received and fulfilled are four different states. Allocated Supply names the supply a line is linked to. Committed is stock reserved for fulfillment. A purchase order row in Allocated Supply means allocation has planned that supply for the line. It doesn't mean the goods have arrived or shipped, and Committed 0 means the warehouse can't pick this line from this allocation.
This is also the result for this data and strategy. PO6127 could cover all 60 units, so it took the whole allocation. Partial quantities, allocation periods, demand sorting and other orders competing for the same supply can change the outcome. If the purchase order's Expected Receipt Date moves past the required date, or the order is received, allocation can recalculate, and the line's supply, Expected Ship Date and Committed quantity may change. A receipt turns future supply into stock on hand. Check the order after receipts and allocation runs.
Common questions
How do I allocate a sales order to a purchase order instead of the stock I have on hand?
Change the line's Supply Required By Date to the date the customer wants the goods and save the order. That moves the line only if its Allocation Strategy allows future supply from purchase orders, an eligible purchase order exists, the new date makes that purchase order the better choice under the strategy, and an allocation calculation runs. Real-time allocation makes that happen on save. In this example, moving SO3841's date from 10/14/2026 to 12/18/2026 moved the line from the stock at Tacoma Warehouse to PO6127.
Why did Committed drop to 0 and Back Ordered go up after I changed the date?
The line is now allocated to a purchase order that hasn't been received. Supply on a purchase order is planned, so NetSuite doesn't commit it and you can't pick it from this allocation yet. The 60 clamps are still on hand, and Available showed 60 after the save.
Why does my sales order keep using on-hand inventory when I move the required date out?
Check the line's Allocation Strategy. A strategy that allocates as soon as available commonly uses eligible stock on hand before later supply, and the result also depends on the strategy's other settings and on competing demand. A strategy without Future Inventory checked doesn't allocate to future purchase orders. The strategy in this example allocates as close as possible to the required date and includes purchase orders, so the date change moved the line.
What's the difference between Supply Required By Date and Expected Ship Date?
Supply Required By Date is the date the line needs supply by, and it's an input to Supply Allocation. You enter it. Expected Ship Date is what NetSuite calculates. It can use the required date, the dates of the allocated supply and the strategy's available date calculation, so it isn't simply the purchase order's receipt date. On SO3841 it became 12/18/2026, the new required date, which is later than PO6127's 12/08/2026 receipt.
Does a purchase order row in Allocated Supply mean the goods have been received?
No. PO6127 shows Pending Receipt. The row means allocation has linked that supply to the line. It isn't an item receipt, and it doesn't mean anything has shipped.
How do I see which sales order is using the supply on a purchase order line?
Open the purchase order and look at Allocated Demand on the Items subtab. Where the number is a link on your form and role, click it to open the Allocated Demand popup, which lists each order with its customer, status, allocated quantity and Supply Required By Date.
Will the line stay allocated to PO6127?
Not necessarily. A Reserved Allocation can be recalculated later under your demand sorting rules. Commitment Confirmed (where the strategy honors it) and a Firm Allocation can protect a line's supply, depending on the strategy. Receipts and a changed Expected Receipt Date can also change the result, so recheck the order after those happen.