Independent IFS Cloud practice · Customer orders
Sales orders without coverage in IFS Cloud: why they appear, how to find them, how to fix them
A customer order line without coverage is a line that has been promised to a customer but has no supply behind it: nothing reserved from stock, and no purchase, shop or internal order connected to it. IFS Cloud does not use the word coverage for this. It talks about availability, reservation, sourcing and shortages, and a line without coverage is the one that slipped through all four. This article explains the causes the documentation lists, shows where the gap becomes visible, and walks through the fix for each cause.
Key takeaways
- An uncovered line is not a single error. It is the result of one of several separate mechanisms: no availability check, no source found, or a reservation that has not run or could not run.
- When stock is insufficient, IFS stops the order in the order flow and lists the line on the Handle Customer Order Shortages page, with a message giving the reason. That page is the first place to look.
- The documented ways to resolve a shortage are to move the delivery date later, reduce the quantity (it must stay above zero) or cancel the line, and then to re-run the reservation with Reserve Line.
- You choose when reservation runs: instantly at line entry, per order, per line, or in a scheduled batch. Automatic reservation runs as a background job, so a line that waits for the next batch is uncovered in the meantime. Instant reservation works differently: if the full quantity cannot be reserved, the line cannot be saved.
- A line with a shop order or purchase order behind it is covered, but its reservation is inherited when the parts are received into inventory, so it shows no reservation until then.
1.What does a customer order line without coverage mean in IFS Cloud?
For the purpose of this article, a line is uncovered when two things are both true: the quantity on the line is not reserved from stock, and no supply order or requisition is connected to it. A line with a purchase order in progress is covered, even though the parts have not arrived. A line reserved from stock is covered. A line with neither has nothing behind it.
It matters because everything downstream treats the line as real. The line is released, the customer has a delivery date, the warehouse expects to pick it. Unless someone looks at the shortage page, the gap is found when someone picks, plans or calls, which is the same pattern as an assumed record that nobody confirmed.
2.Why do customer order lines end up without supply?
Each row below is a documented behaviour, not a fault in IFS Cloud. The rows are grouped by where the gap opens.
| Where the gap opens | What IFS Cloud does |
|---|---|
| The availability check says nothing | A message appears when the entire quantity cannot be delivered, and only if the part has an asset class with On hand Analysis and the Availability Check option is enabled on Inventory Part. Without that, nobody is warned at entry. |
| No source is found | Sourcing can end with "No sourcing alternatives found". The documented causes include missing supply chain data for the relations, a single-occurrence address customer order line (automatic sourcing does not handle it), a supplier not connected to the purchase part, a Shop Order supply code on a part that is not Manufactured or Manufactured (recipe), and a supplier type that does not match. |
| Sourcing has not been run | Not Decided is the supply code a line must have before it can be sourced, so until sourcing runs nothing is behind the line. A sourced line cannot be released until its sourced quantity equals its revised quantity. |
| Reservation has not run yet | Automatic reservation runs as a background job, and the user gets no immediate result. The documentation gives a scheduled batch per site, run once a day, as an example, so lines entered after it wait for the next run. |
| Stock exists but cannot be reserved | The documentation lists a location that is not a picking location (floor stock, manufacturing cell, inspection location and shipment inventory are excluded), an expired part, part availability control that does not allow reservations, a balance that is not above zero after current reservations, and a failed customer credit control or advance invoice payment control (not applied to line-by-line reservations), among others. |
| The backorder option leaves the line incomplete | The partial reservation (backorder) option can be No Partial Deliveries Allowed, Incomplete Lines Not Allowed, Incomplete Packages Not Allowed or Allow Incomplete Lines and Packages. With the last one, a batch run shares stock by a fair-share rule: partially delivered orders first, then past-due lines, then quantity proportions and customer priority. |
One case looks like a gap but is not. A line with a purchase order or shop order connected is covered, yet for these supply codes the reservation is inherited when the parts are received into inventory, so the reservation views show nothing until then. The documentation does not describe reserving against supply before receipt.
The documentation does not say when exactly the availability check runs on a line, nor how a changed delivery date interacts with it. One detail is documented that bears on the promise: changing the Planned Delivery Date/Time sets Confirmed to No but leaves the Promised Delivery Date/Time as it was, so the line can show a promise that the plan no longer supports. The same drift is described for orders changed after confirmation.
3.Where do you see the lines that have no supply?
- Handle Customer Order Shortages - the page for lines that were not reserved automatically. When the full or partial quantity is not reserved, a shortage record is created and shown here with a message on why. The documentation does not describe its columns or filters.
- Reserve Customer Orders - lists all customer orders with unreserved material and reserves them using the automatic logic (FIFO, zone ranking, handling units, as configured).
- Analyze Supply Chain Customer Orders - shows how each demand is fulfilled by supply orders, for customer order lines whose supply code is Purchase Transit, Purchase Direct, Internal Purchase Transit, Internal Purchase Direct, Shop Order or DOP Order. It has no documented filter for demand that lacks supply, so using it that way is my inference, not a described step.
As far as the documentation describes them, these pages do not give you a list of released lines that have neither a reservation nor connected supply. In my practice that list is the one a sales team actually needs, and it is the kind of check that works well as a read-only monitoring pattern: compare reserved and connected quantities with the line quantity, and route the exceptions to the order owner, as described in routing exceptions instead of publishing a report.
4.How do you fix a line without coverage?
Start from the message on the shortage page; the documentation says it gives the reason a line was not reserved, although it does not spell out the wording. The fix then follows the cause.
| Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| Stock is short and will not arrive in time | On Handle Customer Order Shortages, move the delivery date later so supply can be re-planned, or reduce the quantity (it must remain above zero). For a 100% shortage, cancel the order or the line. Afterwards click Reserve Line to re-run the reservation. |
| A substitute can be delivered | Use the Substitute Sales Part command on the line to order the available quantity, or split the line between the original and the substitute. The substitutes must be connected on Alternate Sales Parts Base Data. |
| No source found | Check the documented causes: supply chain data for the relation, the supplier connected to the purchase part, or a sourcing rule with the sales part option Use Sourcing Rule. Then run Source Order Lines Automatically or Source Order Lines Manually. |
| Stock is in the wrong place or state | Check the location type, expiry, part availability control and the balance after existing reservations. Once the stock is reservable, reserve the line again. |
| Two supplies are pegged to the same demand | Adjust the pegging manually before reserving. The documentation states that reserving a pegged line replaces the pegging and reduces the pegged quantity by the reserved amount. |
| Reservation needs to be forced | Reserve manually. Manual reservations have priority over the configured rules. |
The documentation does not say whether moving a delivery date triggers a new availability check, or whether the shortage record is removed after resolution. Run the reservation again and read the result rather than assuming it.
When one line needs a diagnosis, this order works well in my practice, because each step uses a documented page or field:
- Look at the supply code. If it is Not Decided, the line has not been sourced.
- Compare sourced and revised quantity. A sourced line cannot be released until they are equal.
- Open the shortage page. If the line is listed, read the message.
- Check the stock itself. Location type, expiry, part availability control and balance after reservations.
- Check supply that is connected. Use Analyze Supply Chain Customer Orders to see the purchase, shop or DOP order behind the line, and Supply Chain Order Analysis on the line to see pegged orders.
- Check the dates. A changed Planned Delivery Date/Time sets Confirmed to No while the Promised Delivery Date/Time stays the same.
5.How do you stop the same lines from appearing again?
These steps are my recommendation, not an IFS procedure.
- Choose the reservation timing on purpose. Instant reservation at entry (set through the order type or the inventory part), reservation from Reserve Customer Orders and a scheduled batch have different consequences for a salesperson who has just promised a date.
- Decide the partial reservation option. Write down which option applies to your orders, because it decides how an incomplete line is treated.
- Give the shortage page an owner and a time. Someone should open Handle Customer Order Shortages on a fixed schedule, so the business finds a shortage before the customer does.
- Enable the availability check where it matters. Without the asset class and the Availability Check option, a salesperson gets no message at entry at all.
- Review sourcing data after master data changes. A new supplier, part or customer address has no supply chain data until someone defines it, so check the sourcing rules and relations when they change.
Behind all five is the question of who owns the promise after the order is entered. The date a customer is given is also what your on-time delivery figure is measured against, so a promise with no supply behind it can become a late delivery. For orders that need a date backed by a real plan, see order promising the plan can keep.
The primary sources are the IFS Cloud documentation pages Sourcing (25R2), Reservation Management (24R2), Handle Shortage (26R1), Enter Customer Order Line (26R1), Reserve Customer Orders (25R2) and Analyze Supply Chain Customer Orders (25R2). They are written for different releases, so check the pages for the release you run.
6.Frequently asked questions
Where do I find customer order lines that could not be reserved in IFS Cloud?
Lines that could not be reserved are listed on the Handle Customer Order Shortages page. When the full or partial quantity cannot be reserved, a shortage record is created and listed there with a message that states the reason. The Reserve Customer Orders page also lists all orders with unreserved material.
How do I resolve a shortage on a customer order line?
The documented options are to move the delivery date later on the order or line, to reduce the quantity (which must stay above zero), or to cancel the order or line when the shortage is 100%. After resolving it, click Reserve Line to run the reservation again.
Why is a line not reserved when the stock is in the warehouse?
The documentation lists several reasons: the stock is in a location that is not a picking location, the part is expired, part availability control does not allow reservations, the balance is not above zero after current reservations, or customer credit control or advance invoice payment control fails. The message on the shortage page names the reason.
Does a line with a purchase order or shop order behind it count as covered?
In this article, yes: a connected supply order is supply. The reservation itself is inherited when the parts are received into inventory, so until then the line shows no reservation even though supply is on the way.
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 the promises with no supply behind them
Tell me which order types or customers hit shortages most often. On a 30-minute fit call we can look at your reservation timing, backorder options and sourcing data, and at how the lines with no supply could reach their owner before the customer notices.