Service Works Orders, Commitments and Purchase Orders

Hi All,

Question regarding CSMS Service Orders Work Orders (P17714), their Parts List (P3111) and Purchase Orders (P4310):

1. When you create a PO directly from the Parts List, it creates a PO for the Total Quantity specified on the Work Order and not the Quantity actually needed, i.e. it doesn’t take into account QOH or availability. Thus, if you have a work order for 501 units, although you may have QOH/available of 500 units, it will create a PO for 501 and not 1 unit. I could get around this by creating the PO via the PO generator, but I was curious if anyone is doing anything differently?

2. With the PO Generator, you can relate a PO to a SO but not a SWO. But what am I losing? What's the benefit of relating/linking a PO to a SO, when during receiving you can release any SO backorder, i.e. the SO doesn't have to be "related" to the PO?

3. Is there anyway to automatically create POs for the shortages on your SWO?

4. With SWO, you can either soft commit during the creation of your parts list or hard commit. You can't hard commit during Pick Slip Printing/WO Printing (like for Sales Orders or Manufacturing Work Orders), what are the implications of this? Since I don't know which location I'm going to relieve inventory from, should I soft commit and then upon changing the location let the system hard commit?

Assistance/thoughts with any of the above would be greatly appreciated.

Lots of questions. I will hazard an opinion, about what I know, but you may wish to consult JDE for confirmation:

1. The PO created from the Parts List is intended for use with Spares not held in Inventory. Therefore it takes no notice of Inventory. It has always worked like this.
2. I don't think there is anything to be gained in linking a PO to a WO in this circumstance. It might be useful if that data printed on the GRN so that GI could issue it to that SWO immediately. I don't recall any "back-SWO alert" system. Regular Manufacturing Shop Floor Control uses this link with Subcontracting but this is not relevant to your case.
3. Creating PO's automatically for shortages is a function of MRP. Put your WO's into S&D Inclusion Rules and the Parts List demand is calculated for you netting off available stock. If you classify a "shortage" as a "late-delivery" then MRP will try and get you to expedite open PO's.
4. SWO's use the same P3111 or R31410 for Commitments that Manufacturing uses. Therefore the setup of Manufacturing Constants should effect Commitments. I could be wrong but there is a third option to Soft Commit before Hard Commit when R31410 is run. Are you sure this doesn't work or does it not apply to your Business?

Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for your response. In answer to your question #4, the option behind the Committment Control tab in the Manufacturing constants, of "Soft, Hard when Printing" doesn't appears to work for Service Orders Parts List, (at least on the Demo version). Using this setting I entered a Parts List, whose items were soft committed. Upon running R31410, I anticipated the items would hard commit, but they didn't. Only upon issuing the parts form the Parts List, did the hard commit actually take place.