Configuring inventory rules

Inventory business rules are used to set up rules and common codes used for product item availability calculations and inventory handling in Sterling Order Management System Software.

You can access the Inventory Rules window by choosing the Inventory Rules branch from the tree in the application rules side panel. The following table describes the tabs and fields in the Inventory Rules window.

Table 1. Inventory rules screen, ATP rules
Fields Description
Default ATP Rule Select the ATP rule you want to default to a catalog item if no ATP rule is specified
Lead Days Enter the lead days you want to default to for an item that is not defined in the catalog. If the item exists in the catalog, the lead days specified for that item will be used. Lead days is the amount of time it takes to procure an item for shipping.
ATP Rules
ATP Rule The ATP rule identifier.
ATP Rule Description The description for the ATP rule.
Table 2. Inventory rules screen, monitor rules
Fields Description
Use Activity-Based Mode For Real-Time Availability Monitor Select this checkbox if you want to use the real-time availability monitor in activity-based mode.
Distribution Group To Use For Node Level Monitoring Select a distribution group to use for node level monitoring from the dropdown, if applicable. You can also click the Configure Monitor Rule Distribution Group icon to open Monitor Rule Distribution Group screen where you can subscribe multiple distribution groups to use for node level monitoring, as well as multiple distribution groups to use for group-level monitoring. If this option is left blank, monitoring is based on the distribution group subscription in the Monitor Rule Distribution Group screen. If there is no distribution group subscription, the organization's default distribution group is used for monitoring. If you select the initial dropdown as well as choices on the Monitor Rule Distribution Group screen, the initial dropdown choice is ignored.
Availability Monitor/Inventory Monitor Relog Interval (Hours) Enter the availability monitor/inventory monitor relog interval, in hours.
Real-Time Availability Monitor Buffer (In Minutes) Enter the buffer time in minutes to be considered for the real-time availability monitor to process demand or supply activities. By default, the value is set to 0.
Compute Availability Information with Ship Dates for Real-Time Availability Monitor Select this checkbox if you want the real-time availability monitor to compute and publish a matrix of available quantities and corresponding maximum ship dates.
Maximum Ship Date Time (HH:MM) Enter the time of day for the maximum ship date, in hours and minutes.
Number of Days To Offset the Maximum Ship Date Enter the number of days by which the maximum ship date is offset.
Default Inventory Monitor Rule Select the default inventory monitor rule to be used for any item that is not available on the system. Setting this rule ensures that activity will be recorded when the system is running in activity-based mode and that inventory is monitored across all nodes in the associated distribution group. The distribution group and other rule details are defined in the ATP Monitor Rules on this screen.
Default Node Level Inventory Monitor Rule Select the default node level inventory monitor rule to be used for any item that is not available on the system. Setting this rule ensures that activity will be recorded when the system is running in activity-based mode and that inventory is monitored at the node level for all nodes defined in the distribution group. The distribution group and other rule details are defined in the ATP Monitor Rules on this screen.
ATP Monitor Rules
ATP Monitor Rule The ATP monitor rule identifier.
ATP Monitor Rule Name The ATP monitor rule name.
Disabled This field indicates whether the ATP monitor rule is disabled.
Onhand Inventory Monitor Rules
Item ID The item for this monitor rule.
Node The node on this monitor rule.
Table 3. Inventory rules screen, product classes
Fields Description
Product Class The product class.
Short Description The short description for this inventory reason.
Table 4. Inventory rules screen, inventory reasons
Fields Description
Inventory Reason The inventory reason.
Short Description The short description for this inventory reason.

For more information about the Other Rules tab, see Defining additional inventory rules.