The quick answer
An item stays off Reorder Point Items while its location has no Reorder Point or Preferred Stock Level. Open the item, go to the Locations subtab on Purchasing/Inventory and click Edit on the location row. On the Planning subtab enter the Reorder Point, the Purchase Lead Time and the Preferred Stock Level, then save. Back on Transactions > Purchases > Order Items, the item now appears with a suggested quantity of the preferred stock level plus any backordered quantity, minus what is available and on order. Select the line, click Submit and open the purchase order from Processed Purchase Orders. The order does not receive stock, so quantity on hand stays the same until an item receipt.
The screenshots show sample data. Company, person, item and location names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
This example runs in an account with Multi-Location Inventory, Advanced Inventory Management and Advanced Item Location Configuration turned on. Yours may differ, because the menus, subtab names and fields you see depend on enabled features, your role, your form and your release. Your role needs access to the item, the location, the Item Location Configuration record and purchase orders. Larkspur Outdoor Supply stocks RV-210 Regulator Valve at Tacoma Warehouse, where 8 units are on hand and 8 are available. The item uses the Reorder Point replenishment method and has Summit Valve Supply as its vendor. The example assumes no backorders, no open orders, 1:1 units, no reorder multiple and no minimum order quantity that would change the 32 in the result. It also assumes Auto-Calculate is off for the three planning values, so check Setup > Accounting > Inventory Management Preferences before you rely on what you type.
01. Check Reorder Point Items
Go to Transactions > Purchases > Order Items and select the Reorder Point Items subtab. The list says No records to show, although RV-210 Regulator Valve has 8 units at Tacoma Warehouse. That empty list is the symptom. Stock on hand does not put an item on the list. NetSuite needs a reorder point and a preferred stock level for the location before it can suggest anything, and the item has to pass the other checks listed in the questions below.
02. Open the location's configuration
Open RV-210 Regulator Valve from Lists > Accounting > Items and go to the Locations subtab on Purchasing/Inventory. Each location the item uses has its own row. Tacoma Warehouse shows 8 on hand, 0 committed and 8 available, and Reno Warehouse shows none. Click Edit on the Tacoma Warehouse row. That opens the Item Location Configuration record for this item at that location, which is where the planning values live. Without Advanced Item Location Configuration the Edit link is missing and the location fields are usually edited in the Locations list itself.
03. Set the planning values and save
Open the Planning subtab. Reorder Point and Preferred Stock Level are blank. Enter 12 as the Reorder Point, 10 as the Purchase Lead Time and 40 as the Preferred Stock Level. The Reorder Point is the stock level Order Items compares against to flag a replenishment need. The Preferred Stock Level is the target quantity it uses to work out how much to order, which is the amount you want on hand once the order arrives. Purchase Lead Time is the expected number of days between the purchase order and its receipt. It is a planning estimate and not a promise from the vendor. Click Save. NetSuite closes the record and shows Item Location Configuration successfully Saved on the item, though the wording and whether the page stays open can differ by release.
04. Check Order Items again
Go back to Order Items and select Reorder Point Items. RV-210 Regulator Valve is now listed at Tacoma Warehouse. Available is 8, Back Ordered and On Order are 0, Reorder Point is 12 and Preferred Stock Level is 40. The Quantity is 32 and the Rate is 18.50. Order Items works that quantity out as the preferred stock level plus any backordered quantity, minus the available quantity and the quantity on order. Here that is (40 + 0) minus (8 + 0). A reorder multiple, a minimum order quantity or a unit conversion can change the number you see, so read it before you submit. The Rate comes from your purchase pricing for the vendor and item, and the 592.00 total later on assumes no discount, tax or other charge on the line. A purchase order that is still waiting for approval may not count as on order in your account, so check that before you order the same item again.
05. Order the shortfall and check the purchase order
Select the line and click Submit. NetSuite opens Processed Purchase Orders and works through the request in the background, so click Refresh until the row for Summit Valve Supply shows Complete. With several lines selected, NetSuite can split them across more than one purchase order and an individual line can fail, so read every row. It lists PO-6531 with an amount of 592.00 and an Approval Status of Pending Approval. Complete describes the processing and says nothing about the order's own status. Your approval setup, role and workflows decide that one, so read the status on the order you open. Open PO-6531 and check the vendor, the quantity of 32 and the rate of 18.50 on the item line, which gives the total of 592.00. The order does not receive anything, so the 8 units on hand do not change until you receive the items.
Check the result
- The location's Item Location Configuration record holds the Reorder Point and Preferred Stock Level you entered, and NetSuite showed the saved confirmation.
- Reorder Point Items lists the item at that location, and the Quantity matches the preferred stock level, plus any backordered quantity, minus what is available and on order.
- Processed Purchase Orders shows Complete, a purchase order number and the amount you expect.
- The purchase order shows the right vendor, quantity and rate. Quantity on hand has not changed, because only an item receipt adds stock.
Common questions
Why is my item missing from Reorder Point Items?
A blank Reorder Point or Preferred Stock Level generally keeps the item off the list, and that is the case this guide fixes. If the item is still missing after you save both values, check that the item uses the Reorder Point replenishment method, that the location has an active configuration for the item that your role can access, that it has a usable vendor or the setting that includes items without a preferred vendor, and that the filters at the top of Order Items, including Minimum Quantity, let it through. Your role's location access matters too.
Is a reorder point of zero the same as leaving it blank?
No. Zero is a real value, so an item with a reorder point of 0 can show up once its stock is at or below that level. A blank value gives NetSuite nothing to compare against, and the item generally stays off the list.
How does NetSuite work out the suggested quantity?
It takes the preferred stock level plus any backordered quantity, then subtracts the available quantity and the quantity already on order. In this example that is (40 + 0) minus (8 + 0), which is 32. Backorders raise the number and open orders lower it. A reorder multiple, a minimum order quantity or a unit conversion can change what Order Items shows, so read the Quantity column before you submit.
Do Purchase Lead Time and Safety Stock Level change the quantity?
Not when you have typed both the reorder point and the preferred stock level yourself. Purchase Lead Time is a planning estimate for the expected receipt date, and Safety Stock Level feeds the values that NetSuite can calculate for you. They do not change a quantity on a line that uses your manual values, as long as Auto-Calculate is off for the reorder point and the preferred stock level.
Will the values I typed stay once Auto-Calculate is on?
Not always. Saving the record makes your manual values available to Order Items when you reopen the page. It does not run an Advanced Inventory Management calculation, and that calculation runs on a schedule. Each of the Reorder Point, the Preferred Stock Level and the Purchase Lead Time has its own Auto-Calculate option. If one is on, a later calculation can replace what you entered in that field. Check Setup > Accounting > Inventory Management Preferences and decide which values you want NetSuite to own.
Why set this on the location record and not on the item?
In an account with Multi-Location Inventory, Order Items looks at the item at the location you select. The values on the Item Location Configuration record for that location are the ones that count, so another location's row or the item header does not stand in for it. Set them for every location you want to replenish. Centralized purchasing, the subsidiary and the location filters can change which location a generated purchase order uses, so check the location on the order too.
Does submitting the order receive the stock?
No. Submit creates the purchase order from the lines you selected. It does not receive anything and it does not create a vendor bill. Quantity on hand and quantity available change when you receive the items against the order, and the approval status of the order depends on your approval setup. The Complete status on Processed Purchase Orders only says the request finished processing.
Why does my screen look different?
The menu path, the subtab names and the fields depend on your role, your release, the custom forms in use and the features your account has enabled. Advanced Item Location Configuration has to be on for the Edit link to appear on the Locations subtab. A workflow or a custom field can add requirements. Follow the labels you see on your own records.