Boyum Reserve Inventory Integration with SAP

The integration between Boyum and SAP Business One allows for the reservation of inventory for specific sales orders. While SAP can allocate stock for batch or serially controlled items, the Boyum add-on extends this functionality to non-batch or non-serially controlled inventory.
We invite you to learn more about Boyum reserve inventory.

Reservation Considerations

Item-Specific Reservations

The Boyum add-on provides the capability to reserve inventory for specific item orders. Certain considerations apply to items subject to reservations. Contact us to talk to our SAP Business One consultant to learn more.

Unnecessary Reservations

Some items may not require inventory reservations if their available inventory levels consistently exceed the sum of open order quantities. Additionally, if these items can be restocked quickly, there is no need to disrupt standard SAP procedures to include "reserve on hand."

First-Come-First-Served Basis

For items that do require reserved inventory, the add-on allows for an automatic and periodic reservation process on an item-by-item basis, following a first-come-first-served approach.

Manual Intervention

  • Items with chronic shortages necessitate manual intervention by staff to decide which customer orders will be assigned the available on-hand inventory.

Batch and Serial Controlled Items

The Boyum add-on does not handle batch and serial-controlled inventory items unless there is a specific need to reserve inventory, ignoring batch or serial numbers. Standard SAP functions should be utilized for items with critical batch and serial number allocations.

Warehousing Considerations

This add-on is designed to accommodate multiple warehouses and function for a single warehouse scenario.

Reservation Timing

Deciding when to reserve inventory is a crucial consideration. Reservations can be made either as orders are entered or periodically through user-initiated reservation processes. Automated or manual reservation methods can be employed based on specific operational needs. By leveraging the Boyum add-on, businesses can effectively manage inventory reservations within SAP Business One, ensuring optimal customer satisfaction and streamlined inventory allocation. Reach out to a certified SAP Business One consultant for further assistance and consulting on SAP Business One and Boyum integration.

Definition of 'Available To Sell'

Available to sell for our purposes is: The on hand in a specific warehouse less the quantity in a ‘return request’ document that is being sent to another warehouse from this same warehouse. The ‘return request’ is treated as an in-transit inventory transfer. For example, part A has 250 on hand in warehouse ‘10’ and a ‘return request’ of this same part for 80 pieces is being sent to warehouse ‘20’. The net available on hand for part A in warehouse 10 is 250 – 80 = 170 ‘available to sell’. Do not confuse this definition with the SAP 'Available' on hand as shown in the inventory tab on the item master screen.

Inventory Reserve Setups by Warehouse

There is a general setup table ‘Reserve Inventory Setup’ which must be set up with one record per warehouse using inventory reserves. This ‘setup’ table defines the types of inventory reservations in use and the timing of the processing of reserved inventory for each warehouse. Each warehouse manager defines these options - so they can differ by warehouse. Sort Hierarchy – when inventory is automatically reserved by an algorithm there are 2 hierarchies used to sort the data: use the sales order due date; and use the ‘Customer Priority’ code as the primary sort sequence with the order due date as the secondary sort sequence. How to Reserve InventoryAll - this means that all inventory items are subject to being reserved. Specific items could be designated as 'Manually Reserved' whereas others could be 'auto' reserved. Only Items Identified - this means the user must identify all of the items which will be reserved. All other items will not be reserved. This is a typical setting when trying to manage chronic shortages. Note: while identifiying items to be reserved some of these can be designated as 'Manual Reserve' - meaning the user will apply the reserve quantities on an order by order basis. Timing of Reserve Inventory can be reserved as the sales orders are entered or users can periodically run processes (manual or automatic) to reserve inventory. Include Batch / Serial Items - SAP has functions to allow the user to manage inventory allocations for batch and serial controlled items. You can still utilize this application to handle batch and serial controlled items, but by default they are not managed and you need to specifically state your intent manager batch and serial controlled items

Practical Implementation Options

In practice, how would your company use this Boyum functionality? Here are two basic options on a conceptual level - with the assumption being that you have several thousand SKUs: 1. Only 30 – 40 parts are routinely subject to shortages. You would want to ‘flag’ these 30 – 40 parts and manage the allocation of on hand as new orders are received from customers. A ‘setup’ function is required to identify the 30 – 40 parts. You would add or remove parts from this list as shortages emerge or fade.2. You want to manage all items with inventory reservations by sales order. In this instance, there is a ‘general’ setup for all items, but no specific items need to be identified for inventory reservations.

Scenarios Based on Setup

  • Option 1

    ‘How to reserve inventory’ will be set to Only Items Identified - meaning there must be a list of items to manage. ‘Timing of Reserves’ will be set to ‘Periodic Processing' and can be run at the discretion of the user.
    Within this option, some items can be flagged as 'Manually Reserved'. Those would require user intervention to be reserved.

  • Option 2

    ‘How to reserve inventory’ will be set to Only Items Identified - meaning there must be a list of items to manage. ‘Timing of Reserves’ will be set to ‘Order by Order' - meaning the reserve quantities are allocated as the sales orders are entered.
    Within this option, some items can be flagged as 'Manually Reserved'. Those would require user intervention to be reserved.

  • Option 3

    ‘How to reserve inventory’ will be set to 'All'- there does not need to be a list of items to manage. ‘Timing of Reserves’ will be set to Periodic - meaning the reserve quantities are allocated when the user runs a process.
    Some items are 'excluded' from 'All' items and managed manually.

  • Option 4

    ‘How to reserve inventory’ will be set to 'All'- there does not need to be a list of items to manage. ‘Timing of Reserves’ will be set to ‘Order by Order' - meaning the reserve quantities are allocated as the sales orders are entered.
    Some items are 'excluded' from 'All' items and managed manually.

Boyum Functions

  • User Defined Tables

    Use standard SAP functionality to create the user defined tables. Then use the SAP function to create the User Defined Object' for Reserve Items' - screen shown throughout.

  • IPT Creates Buttons on UDO

    Use the Item Placement Tool to create buttons on the UDO for 'Reserve Items'.

  • Clear Reserves Actions

    The gallery shows the B1 Validation to initiate the 'Clear Reserves' process and all of the associated Universal Functions accessed by clicking the Clear Reserves button.

  • Show List Actions

    The Show List button is initiated using a B1 Validation and this calls a Universal Function that produces a SQL report.

  • Auto Reserve Button

  • Report Reserves Button

  • Apply Manual Button

  • Reserve Item Form

    These screens detail the checks on the Reserve Item UDO form not related to the buttons.

  • Warehouse Setup

Reserve Process Functions

  • Clear Reserve Button

    When this button is clicked a warning that this proess is ireversible is displayed and the user is asked if they want to continue. A 'Yes' answer will prmpt the user with how much to clear. The options are 'Auto Only' and 'Manual Only'. Regardless of the option chosen, clearing reserves only applis to the warehouse you are currently working with. a. Auto Only – this option only clears reserve quantities that are not manually controlled but ‘automatically’ controlled. b. Manual only – this option provides the means to reset all of the manually controlled item reserve quantities to zero. This would only be used if the ‘manual’ application of reserve quantities needed to be re-done due to changes in priorities (or because someone messed up the reserve quantities).c. All – it means what it says – all items would have their reserve quantities zeroed.

  • Refresh Button

    After making changes to the screen clicking the ‘Refresh’ button will update the screen with the latest values. For instance, if the ‘Clear reserve’ had selected to clear the ‘manual reserves’ then the currently displayed screen would be inaccurate. Clicking the ‘Refresh’ button updates the information on the screen.

  • Show List Button

    The information on the Reserve Items screen is displayed in the sequence it was entered. The 'Show list' displays the information in either item sequence or item group, item sequence.

  • Auto Reserve Button

    This button is used to automatically calculate the reserve quantity for those inventory items that are not ‘Manually’ assigned. It is 'active' when the timing of reserving inventory is set to 'Periodic', but NOT when set to 'Order by Order'. The user is prompted to select a report by Item or Sales Order. The resulting report versions are shown. The actual processing of the reserve application takes place and then the report (by item or sales order) is presented to the user. Note: the reserve quantities are applied based on the setup function ‘Sort Hierarchy’.

  • Report Reserves

    This button provides the means to display the report of the items / orders with reserved quantities. It is basically the same report(s) as the 'Auto Reserves' result except it does not apply any reserves,. It simply reports reserves. The user is asked whether to display this report in item sequence of sales order sequence. The resulting report versions are shown.

  • Apply Manual Button

    This option provides the means to manually apply reserve quantities. When it is pressed the system displays the items that are manually controlled. To apply a quantity, enter the quantity in the applicable ‘row’ in the ‘Reserved Qty this Order’ column and click on the ‘Post’ check box. When you click on the ‘Close’ button the update of the reserved quantities will be applied. Note: if 'All' items is the current option selection then all items would display. If you have thousands of items on sales orders, click the 'X' at the top of the screen to do nothing. Otherwise, click the 'Close' button to update the reserves assigned - it goes through each line item on order.
    When using the 'Apply Manual' option, the user is presented with every item (in this screen = 1 item), all instances of open orders for this item. The user enters the quantity to 'reserve' for each order and then clicks the 'Close' button to apply these reserve quantities.
reserve inventory documentation - word