Made-to-customer orders

To support Buyer compliance, an organization may offer Value Added Services (VAS), which provide customization of items to Buyers.

For example, a cell phone manufacturer, ABC, may supply a cell phone to two different cellular service providers. The first cellular service provider, EFG wants the EFG logo to be applied on each phone. The second cellular service provider, XYZ targets a teen market and wants a logo of a popular teen singer applied on the phone. In addition, KLM want special marketing materials placed in the phone's box. These materials describe special services that appeal to a teen market, such as games, instant messaging, and a music review service.

The cell phone manufacturer, ABC, can accommodate these requirements by setting up separate inventory segments for the two Buyers. Unlike the made-to-order model, where there is no assumption that an order for a similar object is placed, here the cellular service providers can place multiple orders for their customized cell phone. ABC can build up inventory for the cell phones.

To support these Value Added Services, a Buyer Organization is configured to support made-to-customer orders, by setting the Requires_VAS_Compliance flag in the configuration of the Organization. This indicates that the Buyer may have orders for items that are made to their specifications.

When items that can be customized are specified in the catalog, the item is assigned classification of "VAS" (Value Added Service), to indicate that the item is customized to the requirements of the Buyer. In the definition of the item, a compliance services is specified. A compliance services define activities that should be performed to prepare the item to meet the requirements of the buyer. Items which are classified as VAS can not have a Kit.

When an order is created, the Segment is the Buyer Organization, and the Segment Type is "MTC" (made-to-customer) indicating that this a a made-to-customer order.

When a made-to-customer order is submitted, if there is sufficient inventory for the order, a work order is created.

A work order confirmation may result in inventory transformations. Sterling™ Order Management System provides visibility into such inventory transformations using the Allocation Considerations configuration.

Work order allocation in Sterling Order Management System is used as follows:

• When a work order is created, demand is placed against the original inventory (the one being consumed), and supply is increased for the new inventory (the one being created). However, the supply being increased is not an onhand supply. It is an indicative supply that would be available in future. And, the demands being increased are not promised demands.
• When a work order is allocated, the demands placed are modified to indicate that the demands are promised. The supplies may also be modified to indicate their increased chance of arrival. These demands and supplies could be used to assess the availability of inventory.
• When a work order is confirmed, the supply for the original inventory is removed and supply for the new inventory is created.