Segmentation allocation rules

A segment allocation plan consists of one or more business allocation rules. The rules define how inventory is distributed across different segments. The rules prioritize and determine the rebalancing outcome for every applicable item.

Each rule consists of a rule condition, an allocation strategy, and ranking that is associated with the strategy. When allocation is triggered by the Reallocate items across segments API or a supply synchronization request, the system reviews a list of qualifying rules that should be run as part of the allocation batch. For more information about the allocation plan, see Segment allocation plan. To manage the allocation rules, see Creating and updating segmentation allocation rules.

Each allocation rule is defined according to the following criteria:
Rule ranking
When an inventory item is being considered for allocation, the system determines a list of qualifying rules. If multiple rules are applicable for the item, the rules with the highest ranking take precedence. This results in a deterministic approach taken in allocation execution.
For example, the following two rules exist:
  • Rank1: Item01
  • Rank2 : Item01+January
In this example, the rule that specifies January is not selected because it has a rank 2 precedence.
Rule condition
Allocation rules consist of one or more conditions that are defined by using a query-based structure. For example, a rule might contain a Rules Item01 AND node01 conditions. Rules might have any number of conditions. The system supports the following conditions:
  • Item ID
  • Node
  • Date range
Allocation strategy
When the rules are applicable, the allocation strategy is used to determine the order in which the inventory is distributed, based on the availability pool.
The allocation strategy consists of the following setup criteria:
  • Segment priority
  • Participating segment
  • Segment percentage
  • Minimum quantity
Segment priority
The segment with the highest priority that is first to receive the inventory distribution. If more inventory remains after the first distribution, the next segment is considered.
Participating segment
All segments that are included in the allocation rule are considered participants for allocation. The allocation inventory pool is calculated based on the aggregate availability and supply of all participating segments. Any segment that is not defined isn't considered.
Allocation percentage
When the allocation inventory pool is determined, starting from the highest priority segment, the allocation percentage for each segment is used to calculate the inventory distribution. The total allocation percentage for the segment rule must always equate to 100%. The unsegmented inventory might be configured to absorb the remaining percentages.
Allocation minimum quantity
When a segment is assigned a percentage, as an inventory manager, you can mandate that a segment receives a minimum amount of inventory. For example, if a segment is assigned 10%, then the distribution differs if the allocation inventory pool is 1000 items rather than 100 items. Set a minimum quantity to ensure that a minimum quantity of inventory is assigned to the targeted, participating segment. In this example, if the minimum quantity is set to 100 items, regardless if there are 1000 items or 100 items in the allocation pool, the system always ensures that the segment receives at least 100 items. If the pool is smaller than 100 items, in these circumstances, all the inventory is assigned to the segment.

To learn more about inventory segmentation rules and redistributing inventory, see Creating and updating segmentation allocation rules. View the different scenarios to apply segmentation allocation rules. For more information, see Scenario: Supply segmentation allocation rules.

Example: Segment allocation rules

Consider a simple business setup where the participating segments are defined in this order:
  • B2B
  • Partner
  • B2C
  • Unsegmented

    This is served as a shared pool for all other channels.

In the following diagram, the segment allocation rule for the four segments and the percentage allocation assignment are shown:
Figure 1. Inventory segmentation allocation
Inventory segmentation allocation process

In this example, the reallocation schedule is set to run every 12 hours. When the process runs, the system evaluates the current availability picture across the B2B, partner, B2C, and unsegmented segments to determine the inventory allocation pool. If the pool is positive, the inventory rebalances the inventory. Rebalancing is done that is based on the defined allocation percentages, in the order of priority that is defined, while the inventory quantity exists.

Enabling the segment allocation plan

You can use the UI or an API to enable inventory segment allocation. For more information, see Enabling inventory segmentation allocation and rebalancing frequency.