The quick answer
Go to Setup > Order Management > Order Allocation Strategies and click New Strategy. Enter a Name, check Future Inventory, then select the supply types you want in Future Inventory Order Types: click the first, hold Command (Control on Windows) and click the others. Leave out the types you don't trust, such as Blanket Purchase Order. Choose the allocation method, quantities, date calculation and allocation type, and click Save. The list returns with a Confirmation and the new row. Open View to check the saved order types. Saving the strategy doesn't change any order. A line uses it only when the strategy is chosen on the line or filled in by a default.
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 and a role that can create and view Order Allocation Strategies. This walkthrough used a OneWorld account. Field labels, available order types, list columns, confirmations, defaults and permissions vary by account version, enabled features, role and form, so check each point in your own account. If Order Allocation Strategies is missing from Setup > Order Management, check the feature, your role's permissions and your navigation.
A strategy considers current on-hand inventory, subject to the usual item, location, status and availability rules. Checking Future Inventory adds supply that hasn't been received yet, and the Future Inventory Order Types list says which kinds of open orders count: an unselected type isn't considered for lines that use the strategy. If Future Inventory is checked and no type is selected, the strategy effectively uses current inventory only. Allocating to future supply links an order line to expected supply. It doesn't receive the goods or fulfill the order, and whether anything is committed depends on the allocation type and inventory settings.
Supply that you want a strategy to use also has to be eligible: the right item, location, status, open quantity and expected receipt date, and inbound shipments need your account's inbound shipment setup.
In this example the account already has 11 strategies and the planner wants a strategy that uses inbound shipments, purchase orders, transfer orders and work orders but not blanket purchase orders, whose release dates are rough estimates. The names and settings below are examples. Check the list in your own account.
01. Review the strategies you have
Go to Setup > Order Management > Order Allocation Strategies. The list shows each strategy's Current Inventory, Future Inventory, Allocation Method, Allocation Quantities, Available Date Calculation and Allocation Type. Future Inventory shows only Yes or No, so the list can't tell you which supply types a strategy uses.
Click View on ACAP-Available-Reserved. Future Inventory is checked and Future Inventory Order Types lists all five types, Blanket Purchase Order included. Predefined strategies and their settings can differ in your account, so open one of yours before you decide what to copy. Click Back when you're done.
02. Choose the future supply types
Click New Strategy. In Name enter ACAP-Available-Reserved-No-Blanket-PO, or a name that says what the strategy does in your account. Check Future Inventory. The Future Inventory Order Types list can now be selected. Before you check the box it's greyed out.
Click Purchase Order, then hold Command (Control on Windows) and click Inbound Shipment, Transfer Order and Work Order. That is what added each type in the account used here. The list shows three rows at a time, so scroll it to reach the last two. Leave Blanket Purchase Order unselected.
Some accounts select Inbound Shipment for you when you choose Purchase Order. It didn't here, so check that every type you want is highlighted before you save, and clear any type you don't want. NetSuite reconciles inbound shipments with their purchase orders, so selecting both doesn't necessarily double the future quantity.
03. Choose how it allocates
Leave Limit Inventory Allocation Period Before Supply Required By Date and Limit Inventory Allocation Period After Supply Required By Date unchecked. Without an allocation period the strategy takes into account all inventory that is available to allocate. The before limit applies to current and future inventory, the after limit to future inventory only.
Under Allocation Method select Allocate As Close As Possible To Supply Required By Date, which prefers supply that arrives near the date a line needs it. The other choice prefers the earliest supply before that date. Keep Available Quantity, which allows a partial allocation when only part of the quantity is available, and Calculate Available Date with ATP Lead Time. Location, eligibility and sorting rules can also affect which supply a line gets. Under Allocation Type keep Reserved Allocation, which the system can reallocate later. A Firm Allocation isn't reallocated to another order by the normal system allocation process, although permitted manual or exception actions can still change it. Leave Commitment Confirmed Stops Allocation on Order Line unchecked unless you want lines with Commitment Confirmed checked to stop receiving allocations or de-allocations.
04. Save and check the strategy
Click Save. In this account the list returns with the Confirmation Order Allocation Strategy successfully Saved, Total 12 and the new row. The rows are sorted by Name, so the new strategy sits next to the strategy it's named after. The confirmation text and where NetSuite takes you after saving can differ in your account.
Click View on the new row. Future Inventory Order Types lists Inbound Shipment, Purchase Order, Transfer Order and Work Order, without Blanket Purchase Order. Check the values rather than their order. The selected settings are marked with an X.
Scroll to System Notes. In this account it shows a Create row with the Internal ID and a Set row for Future Inventory Order Types. The rows, labels and order can differ with your role, release and account, and a System Notes row doesn't by itself show that any order was reallocated.
Check the result
- The list shows the Confirmation and one more strategy than before.
- The saved record lists exactly the order types you chose, and none you left out.
- The allocation method, quantities, date calculation and allocation type are the ones you selected.
Saving the strategy doesn't allocate or reallocate any order by itself. A demand line uses the strategy in its Allocation Strategy field, and a default can fill that field from the customer, the item or Setup > Order Management > Supply Allocation, depending on the transaction and your configuration, so confirm which strategy a line actually carries. Existing allocations can change later, when an allocation calculation runs for lines that use the strategy, subject to firm allocations, commitment confirmation and sorting.
Leaving Blanket Purchase Order out doesn't necessarily exclude a purchase order created from a blanket agreement. That purchase order can count as Purchase Order supply, so check the transaction type, location, expected receipt date and status of released orders in your account.
Common questions
How do I create an Order Allocation Strategy in NetSuite?
Go to Setup > Order Management > Order Allocation Strategies, click New Strategy, enter a Name, choose the inventory options, allocation period, allocation method, quantities, date calculation and allocation type, and click Save. The list returns with a Confirmation and the new strategy. Then choose the strategy where lines should use it.
What do Future Inventory and Future Inventory Order Types do?
Current on-hand inventory is considered, subject to the usual item, location, status and availability rules. Future Inventory also considers on-order and in-transit supply that hasn't been received, and Future Inventory Order Types limits that to the types you select. This account listed Blanket Purchase Order, Inbound Shipment, Purchase Order, Transfer Order and Work Order. A type you leave unselected isn't considered for lines that use the strategy.
Why is Future Inventory Order Types greyed out?
The list can be selected only while Future Inventory is checked. Check the box first, then select the types.
How do I select several order types?
Click the first type, then hold Command (Control on Windows) and click each further type. The list shows three rows at a time, so scroll it to reach the others. Check that every type you want is highlighted before you save, because choosing Purchase Order didn't select Inbound Shipment in the account used here.
How can I see which order types an existing strategy uses?
Open the strategy with View. The list page shows only Yes or No for Future Inventory, while the saved record lists the selected order types.
Does leaving out Blanket Purchase Order exclude purchase orders released from a blanket agreement?
Not necessarily. A purchase order created from a blanket agreement can count as Purchase Order supply, so check the transaction type, location, expected receipt date and status of the released orders in your account.
What do Reserved and Firm allocation mean?
A Reserved Allocation can be reallocated by the system later. A Firm Allocation isn't reallocated to another order by the normal system allocation process, although permitted manual or exception actions can still change it. When Commitment Confirmed Stops Allocation on Order Line is checked on the strategy, a line whose own Commitment Confirmed box is checked is protected from further allocation, reallocation and de-allocation by the normal processes.
What is the difference between allocation, commitment, receipt and fulfillment?
Allocation links a demand line to a supply source, current or expected. Receiving the goods and fulfilling the order are separate transactions. Whether stock is committed depends on the allocation type and inventory settings, so an allocation to a purchase order doesn't mean the goods have arrived.
What does Complete Quantity do?
It allocates a line only when the full quantity can be supplied. Available Quantity allows a partial allocation, and a later calculation can allocate the rest.
What happens if I don't limit the allocation period?
Without an allocation period the strategy takes into account all inventory that is available to allocate, still subject to the other allocation rules.
Does saving a strategy change my sales orders?
No. Saving doesn't allocate or reallocate any order by itself. A line uses the strategy in its Allocation Strategy field or through a default. Existing allocations can change when a later allocation calculation runs for lines that use it, for example a real-time, on-demand, scheduled or manual calculation, and editing a strategy later doesn't prove that existing allocations changed.