Arthur Ria
7.8 KiB
title, type, sources, related, last_compiled
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| Stock Assignment | concept |
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2026-04-17 |
Stock Assignment
Overview
Stock assignment is the engine that binds concrete stock to outbound work. Given an outbound order line (and its OutboundOrderLineDetails), it decides which stock lines will fulfil the demand and what type of task will be created to physically move them (picking, container shipping, replenishment, virtual picking).
Every line detail is assigned independently — a line can have several details either because the requested item is a non-assembled kit (one detail per component) or because alternative items have been configured (if the main item is short, the WMS adds an extra detail with the substitute item and zeroes the main item's quantity).
The assignment engine is a chain of workflows all prefixed StockAssignProcess_*. The main entry point is StockAssignProcess_AssignOutboundLine_PR, which loops over the line's details through StockAssignProcess_AssignOutboundOrderLineDetails_PR.
Engine pipeline
1. Fetch and lock the detail
Workflow: StockAssignProcess_GetLockAndUpdateDetail_PR
Loads the outbound line detail, locks it for the assignment run, and reads the minimum data needed for stock search. To expose additional detail fields to downstream steps, extend the Select of the query in this workflow.
2. Search candidate stock
Workflow: StockAssignProcess_GetAvailableStockForOutboundOrderLineDetails_PR
Calls the query Stocks_AssignableForProductOutboundOrderLineDetailsAndStockAssignStrategy. Additional filters on assignable stock (e.g., custom-attribute filtering, reservations, supplier constraints) are added as extra where clauses on this query — once they are in place, SmartUI surfaces them under the "Trace d'assignations de stock" button for auditability.
3. Apply assignment strategy
Two branches:
- Kits, manufacturing orders, TenseFlow — the WMS prioritises stock already sitting in the dedicated consumption zone (assembly zone, production supply zone, TenseFlow supply zone) through
StockAssignProcess_CalculateByAssignmentManufacturingAndKits_PR. This avoids pulling stock across zones when an in-zone alternative exists. - Standard details — applies the outbound priorities (preferred status, preferred UoM…) and then:
Stocks_ApplyOutboundLogic_PR— applies the shipping logic of the item (FIFO, FEFO, LIFO, custom).StockAssignProcess_CalculateEfficiencyMode_PR— applies the efficiency mode (see concepts/replenishment.md and the outbound efficiency settings on the shipping profile).
The candidate list is narrowed and finally validated by StockAssignProcess_ValidateStockList_PR.
4. Persist assignments and build tasks
Two sibling workflows:
StockAssignProcess_CreateAssignments_PR— writes the assignment rows (visible in SmartUI under Allocations de stock).Outbound_StockAssignCreateOrderLineDetailsTasks_PR— translates each assignment into a task of the appropriate type (see below).
Assignment types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| PickingLocations | Classical picking task on a location flagged as picking. The stock is already at a pickable place. |
| ReplenishmentAssignment | The candidate location permits replenishment but the on-hand quantity is insufficient. The engine creates a picking task and a parallel replenishment task — covers both static (PDL-driven) and dynamic replenishment scenarios. |
| ShippingContainer | The full container (mono-reference) is needed and the location allows container shipping. A container-shipping task is created instead of a picking task. |
| PickingContainer | Specific to TenseFlow. A BufferReplenishment task is created first, moving the container to the supply zone ; during virtual picking, virtual picking tasks are generated against the buffered stock. |
Interactions with other features
Kits
If any component of a non-assembled kit cannot be assigned, no component is assigned — the engine rolls back and leaves the line short so the operator does not start half-kits. The matching behaviour for assembled kits (ready-made component) is standard.
Crossdocking
When the item allows crossdocking, an inbound expected to arrive shortly will block the engine from re-assigning the outbound line to existing stock — it will wait for the crossdocking candidate. Customers who do not want this behaviour comment out the crossdocking branch in the stock search query.
Alternatives
When the main item cannot cover the line quantity, the engine inserts a new detail with the alternative item and sets the main item's remaining quantity to zero. The alternative detail goes through the same pipeline — it may itself fall back to another alternative if further shortage occurs.
Customisation points
| Need | Workflow / query to touch |
|---|---|
| Expose more line-detail fields to the engine | Extend Select in StockAssignProcess_GetLockAndUpdateDetail_PR |
| Filter candidate stock on a new criterion | Add where clauses in Stocks_AssignableForProductOutboundOrderLineDetailsAndStockAssignStrategy (visible in SmartUI "Trace d'assignations de stock") |
| Generate only picking tasks (e.g., for waves — wave mode only consumes picking tasks) | Modify StockAssignProcess_GetStockToAssignForStrategy_PR ; if the WMS version has the assignment-merge feature, also modify Outbound_CreatePickingLocationsTasks_PR |
| Disable crossdocking blocking | Comment out the crossdocking predicate in the stock search query |
Observability
- SmartUI → Allocations de stock — shows which stock line is reserved for which outbound line detail, with the assignment type.
- "Trace d'assignations de stock" button — exposes the extra filters added to
Stocks_AssignableForProductOutboundOrderLineDetailsAndStockAssignStrategyso support can see why a candidate was rejected.
Common issues
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
Outbound line stays in StockFailure despite visible stock |
Filter on the assignment query (custom clause), preferred status rejecting everything, or logistic attribute mismatch |
| Kit line assigned with some components but not all | Should not happen — rollback rule is absolute. Check if components were split across two details by an alternative cascade |
| Expected replenishment-plus-picking not generated | Picking location does not actually permit replenishment, or all candidate reserves are locked |
| Container shipping task created when picking was expected | Line quantity equals full container quantity and location allows container shipping — disable the container-shipping branch on the location if not desired |
Related
- stock — the data model assignment writes against
- order-outbound — outbound lines and their
OutboundOrderLineDetailsare the inputs of the engine - picking — most assignment outputs are consumed as picking tasks
- replenishment —
ReplenishmentAssignmenttype materialises the replenishment-plus-picking pairing - kits — kit handling special case (all-or-nothing rollback, dedicated assembly-zone preference)
- crossdocking — assignment waits for inbound crossdocking candidates unless disabled
- cutting-stock — cutting items use the same pipeline with cut-specific post-processing
- task — tasks are the tangible output of each assignment
- tenseflow — the PickingContainer assignment type is the TenseFlow-specific path