Retailers often have to centrally distribute merchandise among a large number of recipients (for example, stores). One example would be fashion merchandise or promotional items. Using allocation tables, you can plan the distribution of this type of merchandise and then trigger the necessary goods movements.

You can have the merchandise delivered directly from the vendor to the recipient, from the vendor to a distribution center and then to the recipient, or from a distribution center to a recipient.

After you have completed the planning stage, you can then have the system automatically create documents for procuring or delivering the goods.

Allocation table – wa01, wa02, wa03

Allocation Rule – wa21, wa22, wa23

Follow-on documents – wa03, wa08

Components of an Allocation Table –

The allocation table in made up of various components. The following is a short description of the main ones:

• Allocation Table Header

An allocation table has one header.

The header contains information such as the allocation table number, the organizational levels for which it is valid (purchasing organization and purchasing group) and a header text.

• Allocation Table Item

An item is assigned to the header.

Each allocation table can have a number of items. An item contains information such as the items category, the article number, the planned quantity, the allocation rule or site group used and the item status.

• Site Group

A site group is assigned to an allocation table item.

The information displayed on the site group includes the number of the site group, the number of sites assigned to it, the quotas and the planned quantities.

• Site

A site is assigned to a site group.

The information displayed on the site includes the number of the site, the planned quantity for the site and supply source.

• Distribution Center

A distribution center is assigned to one or more sites.

The information displayed on the distribution center includes the number of the distribution center, the planned quantity and the external vendor supplying the distribution center.

• Delivery Phase for a Site or Distribution Center

A delivery phase is assigned to a site/distribution center.

The information displayed on the delivery phase includes the delivery date, the order date and the delivery quantity.

Allocation Table Set-Up

The following is a simplified example of how an allocation table can be set up. Allocation rule 17 is used to determine how merchandise in a particular merchandise category is split up among the sites in site group R0021. The merchandise is split up in the ratio 6:4 between the two sites R151 and R152 in the site group. Variants 1 and 2 are to be allocated for the generic article 1.

Item	Article	Alloc. rule	Site group	Site	Quantity
10	Single article 1	17			2000
			R0021		2000
				R151	1200
				R152	800
20	Generic article 1	17			1000
			R0021		1000
				R151	600
				R152	400
30	Variant 1 of item 20	17			700
			R0021		700
				R151	420
				R152	280
40	Variant 2 of item 20	17			300
			R0021		300
				R151	180
				R152	120

Synchronising Allocation table for Order changes –

You usually define allocation tables at an early stage in your business processes because you plan and order fashion goods, for example, with a long lead time. If your requirements change after you have created a purchase order but before the goods are delivered, for example, due to new stores opening, you can change the existing purchase order.

The system updates allocation-relevant changes in purchase orders to the relevant allocation tables.

Integration

You make changes to allocation-relevant purchase order items in purchase order processing for Seasonal Procurement. A log provides you with information about changes and about the synchronization of the allocation table.

The system synchronizes an allocation table in the background when purchase orders are changed.

Prerequisites

· You have generated a vendor order (Seasonal Procurement) as a follow-on document for an allocation table, manually created an allocation table with reference to a purchase order (Seasonal Procurement), or generated an allocation table with reference to a purchase order based on operational assortment planning and control.

· Apart from the vendor order there are no other follow-on documents for recipients of the corresponding allocation table item.

Direct delivery orders cannot be synchronized.

· The purchase order item that you change must be uniquely linked to a delivery phase of the distribution center for an allocation table, otherwise synchronization is not possible.

Features

When the following data is changed, the system updates the changes to the allocation table:

· Purchase order quantity and order unit

· Delivery date in distribution center

· Distribution center

· Flag for allocation table relevance

· Deletion of a purchase order item

You can use a Business Add-In (BAdI) to specify that when the allocation table is synchronized, the data for the distribution center be adjusted, but not the data for the recipient.

For more information, see Customizing for Logistics – General under Merchandise Distribution – Allocation – Allocation Table – Business Add-Ins for the Allocation Table – BAdI: Synchronizing Allocation Table for Changes to PO Items.

Activities

If you change purchase order items in purchase order processing for Seasonal Procurement and confirm your changes, the system first simulates synchronization of the corresponding allocation items. The changes are only effective in the database once you have saved them.

In both cases, you can check the results of changes in a log.

Synchronization is performed in several steps:

…

1. The system checks whether follow-on documents exist for recipients of the allocation table item. If they do, the system cannot change the allocation table and it issues a message to purchase order processing stating this.

2. The system copies the changes in the purchase order item to the distribution center of the relevant allocation table item.

3. The system copies changes that are relevant for the allocation table item from the purchase order item. While changes to the delivery date are not relevant, changes to quantities, for example, are.

4. The system transfers changes that are relevant for recipients for the individual allocation items .

You can use a BAdI to deactivate synchronization of recipient data.

5. It is possible that after the system transfers changes from the purchase order item to the allocation table items, these allocation table items will be incomplete. To ensure that the items are complete again and you are able to generate follow-on documents, you must post process incomplete allocation table items in the item overview of the allocation table.

Deleting Allocation Table

Choose the ‘Delete Allocation Table’ screen.

1. In the Deletion for frame, choose Alloc tbl.
2. Enter the required criteria for selecting the allocation tables to be deleted, for example purchasing organization, purchasing group or the allocation table number
3. Enter the status of allocation tables you want to select. A distinction is made between:

• • Status Not active

An allocation table has this status if no follow-on documents have been generated for it. This type of deletion is used in cases where you have just created an allocation table but you realize immediately that it is not required (because the data entered was not correct or the allocation is not needed after all) and can be deleted.

• • Status Done

An allocation table has this status if all follow-on documents have been generated for it.

5. Choose Program

Execute.