Sales Order Reservations in Common S&OP Scenarios Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations or AX 2012 R3

Sales order processing involves a wide spectrum of considerations and many variations in business practices, and sales orders comprise a key element in the S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning) game plans used by master planning calculations to coordinate supply chain activities in manufacturing firms. A critical consideration involves sales order reservations.

Some guidelines for sales order reservations are provided in this four-part series. The first two articles addressed the fundamental issue of reservation timing and the significance of the reservation policy for sales order lines. They stressed the importance of aligning sales reservations with the item's S&OP game plans, which represents the focus of this article.

This third of the four-part series explains the key considerations for several common S&OP scenarios, and the associated incremental considerations about sales order reservations. The explanation builds on content within the first two articles, so much of the introductory information is not repeated here. The article consists of the following sections.

1. Sales Order Reservations for Stocked Products
2. Sales Order Reservations for Make-to-Order Products
3. Sales Order Reservations in Scenarios requiring Linkage to the Supply Order
4. Case Studies

The article extends a previous summary of common S&OP scenarios to reflect the additional considerations about sales order reservations. It also builds on previous articles about the options for delivery promises, and the use of capable-to-promise (CTP) logic and explosions as some of the options for performing master planning calculations.