The quick answer
An item supply plan is a snapshot, so a sales order entered after it was generated has no planned supply behind it. Open Transactions > Demand Planning > Gross Requirements Inquiry, choose the item and location, and check Show Details. The order appears as Entered Demand Orders with a negative Quantity, and Quantity On Hand goes negative and stays there. Run Generate Item Supply Plan again for the same item and dates, then reopen the inquiry. A new Planned Work Order - Assembly Build row covers the order and the balance returns to zero.
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
This guide covers classic Demand Planning for Time Phased items, not Supply Planning (MRP), and the screens differ between the two. The account needs Advanced Inventory Management and Demand Planning turned on, and the menu labels depend on enabled features and role. The item's Replenishment Method must be Time Phased, and with Multi-Location Inventory its planning settings are kept per location. You also need permission to open Gross Requirements Inquiry and to generate item supply plans. Field placement and available views can vary with the account and role.
This example plans one assembly item, Cedar Spice Gift Crate, at Portland Warehouse in subsidiary Tidewater US. The demand plan forecasts 140 for December 2026 and 160 for January 2027. The supply plan generated on 10/20/2026 holds one planned work order for each. Today is 10/22/2026. The dates, quantities and balances below are an illustrative result for these settings, and they change with order status, time fences, lead times and your account's configuration. A sales order for 9 crates, SO5528, was entered on 10/21/2026, after that plan was generated.
01. Check how the item is planned
Open Cedar Spice Gift Crate from Recent Records and click the Purchasing / Inventory subtab. In the Locations sublist, set View to Planning if it is not already selected, and find the Portland Warehouse row. Demand Source is Forecast and Orders, so the plan counts both the demand plan and open sales orders. Lot Sizing Method is Periods of Supply.
Scroll the sublist right. Periods of Supply Type is Monthly, so demand is grouped by month and a planned order is dated on the first day of its month.
Keep scrolling. Work Order Variable Lead Time is 0.04, which is days per unit. The system multiplies it by the quantity to set how many days before the due date a work order must start. Leave the item unchanged.
02. Open the sales order that arrived after the plan
Go to Transactions > Sales > Enter Sales Orders > List and open SO5528. The order is entered for Portland Warehouse, and its Items sublist has one line for Cedar Spice Gift Crate. Order Quantity is 9 and Expected Ship Date is 10/24/2026. Before using an order as demand, check that its line is for the same item and location, the order is open with quantity left to fulfill, and the line has an Expected Ship Date (the transaction date is used when it is blank). The order was entered on 10/21/2026, a day after the current supply plan was generated, so that plan has not seen it.
03. Read Gross Requirements Inquiry before regenerating
Go to Transactions > Demand Planning > Gross Requirements Inquiry. Confirm Subsidiary Tidewater US and Location Portland Warehouse, choose Cedar Spice Gift Crate in Item, and check Show Details, which adds order-level detail such as the order behind each demand row. Unit of Measure and Safety Stock Level fill in on the right.
Read the rows in date order. Quantity On Hand is a projected running balance after each row, not a posted inventory balance. Beginning Inventory on 10/22/2026 shows 0. Entered Demand Orders on 10/24/2026 is a Sales Order, SO5528, for -9, and the projected balance falls to -9. Date is when the quantity moves, and Order Date is when the order was entered for the sales order.
Then read the December and January rows. A Planned Work Order - Assembly Build of 140 on 12/01/2026 (ordered 11/25/2026) is followed by Forecast from Demand Plan for -140, and a planned work order of 160 on 01/01/2027 is followed by a forecast of -160. Each month covers only its own forecast, so the balance comes back to -9. Nothing in the plan supplies SO5528.
04. Regenerate the item supply plan
Go to Transactions > Demand Planning > Generate Item Supply Plan. Select Subsidiary Tidewater US. Plan Through Distribution Network is for accounts that plan supply across a distribution network. This example plans one location, so if the box is checked and Location is unavailable, clear it. Select Location Portland Warehouse. Enter Start Date 10/22/2026 and End Date 01/31/2027, check Select for Cedar Spice Gift Crate only, and click Submit.
Open the job status page from the processing confirmation and click Refresh until the job shows Complete. If it does not complete, do not read the inquiry as the result of the new run. The plan recalculates this item and location for the date range, so check the result rather than assuming only one order was added, and make sure the End Date still covers the December and January forecast months.
05. Read the inquiry again
Return to Gross Requirements Inquiry, choose Cedar Spice Gift Crate and check Show Details. The first row is now a Planned Work Order - Assembly Build for 9 dated 10/01/2026, with Order Date 10/01/2026. Monthly periods of supply place it on the first day of October, which is before today. In this example the work order lead time is 9 × 0.04, about 0.36 days, which naturally rounds to 0, so the order date matches the date. It raises Quantity On Hand to 9, and SO5528 on 10/24/2026 takes it back to 0.
Check the result
- A Planned Work Order - Assembly Build for 9 is dated 10/01/2026.
- Entered Demand Orders for SO5528 takes Quantity On Hand from 9 to 0.
- The planned work orders of 140 and 160 are unchanged, and the balance returns to 0 after each forecast month.
- Nothing was created: planned work orders are recommendations, not work orders.
Planned work orders only become real work orders through a separate step, such as creating them from the recommendations. Reading this inquiry changes nothing. A recommendation dated before today is a planning result, not a backdated transaction, so review its date, lead time and your planning time fences before you release it.
Common questions
Why is Quantity On Hand negative in Gross Requirements Inquiry?
The inquiry shows a projected balance, not posted stock. It goes negative when demand on a date is larger than the supply the plan has counted so far. In this example SO5528 for 9 crates had no planned supply, so the projected balance fell to -9 and stayed there after each forecast month was covered by its own planned work order. Generate the item supply plan again so the order is planned.
Why doesn't my supply plan include a sales order I just entered?
An item supply plan is a snapshot of the last run. Entering, editing or fulfilling a sales order does not change it. Run Generate Item Supply Plan again for the item and a date range that includes the order's expected ship date. Also check that the order is open, has quantity left, and is for the planned item and location.
Why is a planned work order dated before today?
With Periods of Supply and a Monthly type, demand is grouped by month and the planned order is dated on the first day of that month. An order shipping on 10/24/2026 therefore produces a planned work order dated 10/01/2026, even though today is 10/22/2026. It is a planning date, not a backdated work order. Review lead time, rounding and time fences before releasing it.
What is the difference between Date and Order Date?
Date is when the quantity is expected to arrive or ship. Order Date is when the order needs to be placed, which for a planned work order is generally when it should start. In this example the 140-unit work order is due 12/01/2026 and its Order Date is 11/25/2026, six days earlier.
Does a sales order reduce the forecast for a Forecast and Orders item?
Not with the additive Forecast and Orders method used here. The order is added to the forecast as demand on its own date, and the December and January forecast rows keep their own planned work orders. Treating an order as satisfying forecast takes a consumption-based method or a consume-forecast setting. Confirm the exact demand source label in your account and read the regenerated plan and the inquiry.