Independent IFS Cloud practice · Business process optimisation
Goods receipt, inspection and put-away in IFS Cloud: finding stock that arrived but cannot be used
Outside Receive into Inventory, a delivery booked as arrived is not yet stock in a stock location. In IFS Cloud the receive case on the purchase order line decides which steps stand between the dock and that location. This article follows them as the IFS Cloud documentation (release 25R2) describes them, and shows where receipts stall.
Key takeaways
- The receive case sets the route: Receive into Inventory ends at Register Arrivals, and the cases with arrival or QA locations add inspection, a move into stock or a transport task.
- The receipt line status shows where a delivery waits. "To be Inspected" needs inspection results, "To be received" needs a move into stock, and the purchase order line stays Arrived until the goods are in stock.
- For inventory parts, inspection results must be entered before the quantity can move into a stock location.
- Without putaway zones for a part, the Inventory Putaway page states that putaway finds no locations.
1.What are the steps from arrival to stock in IFS Cloud?
Goods receipt in IFS Cloud starts when a receipt line is entered as arrived on the Register Arrivals page, and the route to stock depends on the receive case.
| Receive case | Route | Status after arrival |
|---|---|---|
| Receive into Inventory | Parts go directly to a stock location. Not allowed if mandatory create analysis is set in IFS/Quality Management. | Received |
| Receive into Arrival | Parts go to an arrival location and must be moved to stock. | To be received |
| Receive into Arrival, Perform Putaway | Parts go to an arrival location, then the system finds the best location and creates transport tasks. | Not stated on the pages I read |
| Receive into Arrival, Inspect at Arrival | Inspection at the arrival location, then results are entered and parts move to stock. | To be Inspected |
| Receive into Arrival, Inspect at QA | Parts move to an inspection location, are inspected, then move to stock. | To be Inspected |
| Receive into QA, Inspect at QA | Parts are received directly into an inspection location and inspected before moving to stock. | To be Inspected |
The three inspect cases are not supported for shipment order receipts. The statuses are documented as follows. "To be Inspected" is set when arrival is entered and an inspection demand exists, and the source order line becomes Arrived. "To be received" means goods sit in an arrival or inspection location, and the purchase order line stays Arrived. "Received" means all goods are in stock, and the order line becomes Closed. In my reading, an order line that stays Arrived marks an unfinished receipt.
In my reading, inspection demand exists when Qty to Inspect is above zero, taken from the inspection code of the receive case or from the control plan in IFS/Quality Management. Results go into the Register Inspection Results dialog, opened from Inspection Management or the Receipt page. An entry is complete when approved, scrapped and returned quantities together equal Qty to Inspect. Inventory Putaway ranks candidate locations and a transport task carries out the move, but only in the flows the Inventory Putaway page lists: the Perform Putaway receive case, the receipt and move overviews, shop order and production schedule receipts, and general moves. In Receive into Arrival the move to stock goes through Move Into Stock.
2.Why do goods get stuck between arrival and stock?
Goods stall in IFS Cloud wherever a documented step needs a person or a setup value that is missing. The causes below come from the 25R2 pages.
- Inspection results not entered - a line in "To be Inspected" cannot send inventory parts to stock without them.
- Partial inspection reports - the remaining quantity stays open until results are fully reported.
- No move into stock - with Receive into Arrival the parts must be moved to stock.
- Transport task not executed - after Perform Putaway the next step is to execute the transport task.
- Putaway finds no location - zones must be set up for the part, and a part with no height cannot use a location with a defined height. If quantity remains after all zones, an information message informs the user.
- Blocked locations - the receipt rules include Receipts blocked, Receipts to occupied blocked, and mix rules for part number, condition code and lot batch number.
- Quality Management gates - a required analysis does not block receipt, but a confirmed analysis is needed before goods can move into stock.
The pages I read do not state how planning, reservation or customer orders treat quantity sitting in an arrival or QA location. They state that parts in arrival or QA locations are Supplier-Owned when the Ownership Transfer Point is "Receipt into Inventory". In my reading, a delivery in either waiting status is physically present but not yet in a stock location, so test on your own system how your reservation and planning treat it.
3.How do you find stuck receipts?
Stuck receipts are found by listing receipt lines whose status is not yet Received and looking at how long each has sat there. The Receipts and Receipt pages are the documented places for receipt lines, and the pages I read do not describe their columns or default filters, so check which fields your release offers.
| What you see | What to check first |
|---|---|
| Line in To be Inspected | Whether Qty to Inspect is above zero, who owns the inspection step, and whether a partial report left a remainder. |
| Line in To be received | Whether the goods are still in an arrival or inspection location and whether the move into stock was started. |
| Purchase order line stays Arrived | The receipt lines behind it, because the order line closes when all goods are in stock. |
| Transport tasks left open | Whether they were executed, directly or through a warehouse task. |
| Customer return not closed | Whether the RMA line is Partially Received and the parts were received on Register Arrival. |
In my practice the useful question for each row is age, and the pages I read give no threshold, so set one per part group and supplier. A scheduled read-only query answers the same question, as read-only OData monitoring describes, and order states that need attention covers the wider pattern.
4.How do you clear a stuck receipt?
A stuck receipt is cleared by completing the step its status points to, on the documented pages and dialogs.
- To be Inspected: open Inspection Management or the Receipt page and use Register Inspection Results. Enter the To Inspect and Approve quantities, and scrap or return per cause for faulty parts.
- To be received: move the parts into stock with the Move Into Stock page.
- Open transport task: execute it directly or through a warehouse task.
- No location found: correct the setup. Putaway zones must be set up for the part, and dimension rules with missing values can leave no location.
- Wrong receipt: a receipt can be cancelled at any point and restarted from the source order arrival. A purchase order receipt cannot be cancelled once an invoice is matched, once parts are scrapped or returned, or when the link between the receipt line and the stock location is broken, so undo scrapping or returns first.
Customer returns follow the Register Arrival page as well. Inventory parts are scrapped by an inspection on the Receipt page with a scrapping cause, and the RMA header is set to Completed after all returned parts are received into inventory or scrapped. The article RMA and customer returns in IFS Cloud covers that side in detail.
5.How do you stop receipts from stalling again?
Receipts stop stalling when each waiting status has a named owner, an age limit and a check that reports breaches. What follows is the author's practice, built on the documented behaviour, and it is not an IFS procedure.
- Choose the receive case per part group on purpose. The case sets the steps between dock and stock, so inspect cases belong to parts with a real quality reason.
- Name an owner per waiting status. Quality owns "To be Inspected", and the warehouse owns "To be received" and transport tasks.
- Set an age limit per status. The pages I read give none, so agree one with the people involved and write it down.
- Check putaway setup when a part is created.
- Replace the weekly review with an exception check. Exception routing sends the line to its owner when it breaches the limit.
- Count against the receipts. Cycle count variance reconciliation is the independent check. In my reading, goods left in arrival or inspection locations also age, see the anatomy of stock aging.
The primary sources are the IFS Cloud documentation pages Arrival and Receipt, Inspection and Inventory Putaway (25R2). Check the pages for the release you run.
6.Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Receive into Arrival and Receive into Inventory in IFS Cloud?
With Receive into Inventory, parts go directly to a stock location at arrival registration and the receipt line is Received. With Receive into Arrival, parts go to an arrival location and must be moved to stock, and the line is To be received until then.
Why is my receipt line stuck in To be Inspected?
The line is waiting for inspection results. For inventory parts, results must be entered before the quantity can move into a stock location. They are entered in the Register Inspection Results dialog, and a remainder stays open until approved, scrapped and returned quantities equal Qty to Inspect.
Why does IFS Cloud putaway not find a location for a part?
The Inventory Putaway page names these causes. Putaway zones must be set up for the part, and open-interval or unset-dimension rules can leave no available location. Receipt rules on locations and validation of storage requirements can also block the transaction.
How are customer returns received in IFS Cloud?
Returned material is received on the Register Arrival page. Inventory parts to be scrapped are scrapped by an inspection on the Receipt page, with a scrapping cause, and the RMA header becomes Completed after all parts are received into inventory or scrapped.
7.About the author
Dariusz Myśliwiec brings 18 years of hands-on work with IFS (Apps 7.5–10 and IFS Cloud). IFS Certified Associate Consultant. PRINCE2® 7. Based in Kraków, delivering remotely across Europe and globally as an independent practice, so you talk to the consultant who builds it.
Selected clients: Fugro · LGC · BVI Medical · Betafence (PRÆSIDIAD) · Barlinek · NGK Ceramics · Newag · Oleofarm.
IFS is a registered trademark of IFS AB; this practice is not affiliated with IFS AB.
Find where your received goods wait
Tell me which deliveries feel slowest to become usable stock. On a 30-minute fit call we can look at your receive cases, the statuses that collect receipt lines, and your putaway setup, and decide who should own each waiting step.