Independent IFS Cloud practice · Sales and order management
Unconfirmed sales orders in IFS Cloud: why orders stop before release and how to get them moving
A customer order can be entered, saved and still not be confirmed as real demand. In IFS Cloud it sits in Planned status, waits behind a credit block, or has no order confirmation produced yet. This article defines the term from the IFS Cloud documentation, lists the documented reasons an order stops, and describes how to find, release and monitor such orders.
Key takeaways
- The documentation has no "unconfirmed" status. It describes a Planned header, not yet confirmed as real demand, and a separate Order Confirmation flag.
- Release changes the header from Planned to Released and, according to the Release Customer Order page, checks credit. A failed check sets the order to Blocked, and it stops in the flow.
- The Customer Order Type and its Stop After field decide which steps wait for a person. The order type's automatic flow cannot continue to automatic reservation while the order is Planned.
- Blocked orders are released on Handle Blocked Customer Orders, and the two release options differ in whether the order can be blocked again.
- The pages I read name no list of unreleased orders, so in my view an ageing check on Planned and Blocked orders is something you build yourself.
1.What is an unconfirmed sales order in IFS Cloud?
An unconfirmed sales order is, in the sense used in this article, a customer order that has been entered but has not yet been confirmed into the order flow, and I found no page or status with that name in the IFS Cloud documentation. What it does have are three separate facts, and which one you mean decides how you search.
- Header status Planned - the Print Order Confirmation page states that a Planned order is not yet confirmed as real demand, and that the automatic order flow defined by the order type cannot continue to automatic reservation while the order is Planned.
- Order Confirmation flag - on the Customer Order, Order Details tab, the Order Confirmation option is set to Yes when a confirmation is printed, and on lines the Confirmed flag carries the same idea.
- Blocked status - an order that failed a credit check, or was blocked by hand, is held in the flow. It is not Planned, but nothing moves until someone acts.
My working definition, not an IFS term, is wider: an order is unconfirmed while a person or a setting stands between its entry and its next step in the flow. It is the order-side version of the gap described in why "it is in the system" is not the same as "it is confirmed".
2.Why do orders stay unconfirmed?
An order stays unconfirmed when something in the documented flow holds it; I group these into five holds.
| Hold | What the documentation says |
|---|---|
| Nobody released it | The Release Customer Order page lists, as prerequisites, that the header is saved and in Planned status, and the Release command then changes it to Released. |
| Release prerequisites not met | The same page lists conditions such as one project for all lines of a project order and a defined configuration for a configurable part. For capability-checked orders, release is blocked if the latest release date is in the past, and the order stays Planned until a new check is made. |
| Order type stops the flow | The Customer Order Type page says the Stop After field marks the events that are performed manually, and that Release Order and Print Order Confirmation are among the events listed. Without Priority Reservation, Print Order Confirmation must be in Stop After, so reservation is done manually. |
| Credit check failed | The Release Customer Order page describes a credit check at release against the customer's credit block, credit limit and overdue thresholds, and a failed check sets the order to Blocked. The Credit Control in Customer Order page names four stages the credit control group can check: Release Order, Create Customer Order Reservations, Create Pick List and Deliver Order. |
| Blocked by hand | The Manually Blocking the Customer Order page says a manual block takes the order out of the processing cycle. According to the Release Blocked Customer Orders page, it is allowed in Planned, Released, Reserved, Picked and Partially Delivered statuses. |
The Stop After row needs a caution. The documentation example selects Report Picking and Print Delivery note and states that delivery and invoice creation then become manual, so the manual step follows the selected event. The pages I read do not spell out the same for a selected Release Order. Test one order of that type in a non-production environment before you assume either (my recommendation, not a documented procedure). The type is covered in customer order types and the order flow.
In my view the confirmation document is a separate hold. Print Order Confirmation requires an entered order and the Print Order Confirmation option on the customer's Sales tab. E-mail Order Confirmation requires the Email Order Confirmation option instead, plus IFS/Print Server, IFS/Connect, an enabled PDF_REPORT_CREATED event and an e-mail communication method on the customer.
3.How do you find unconfirmed orders?
To find unconfirmed orders you need three lists, because the three facts from section 1 live in different places, and the pages I read name no single page that shows all of them.
- Planned headers. List customer orders whose header status is Planned, with the entry date and the order type. Check which filters Quick Order Flow Handling offers in your release.
- Blocked orders. The Handle Blocked Customer Orders page is where blocked orders are released, so it is the natural starting list. Confirm on your system whether manual blocks appear there too.
- Orders without a confirmation. List headers whose Order Confirmation option is No, for customers whose Print Order Confirmation or Email Order Confirmation option is selected. The documentation also says that changing confirmation on a line resets the header option to No after printing.
Add the age to each row. In my view the age of each order matters more than the count, and the threshold depends on your order types.
Released orders with no supply behind them are a different problem, covered in sales orders without coverage.
4.How do you release or confirm a stuck order?
The fix depends on which hold applies, so identify the hold before you press anything.
A Planned order
Check the Release Customer Order prerequisites first, then run the Release command, or select several orders in Quick Order Flow Handling. The documented effect is that the header changes from Planned to Released and the order continues in the flow for its order type. Because release includes a credit check, the order can leave release as Blocked.
A Blocked order
The Release Blocked Customer Orders page asks you to confirm the block is legitimate first. If the customer record itself is credit-blocked, the Credit Blocked option on the Customer, Credit Information tab must be disabled first, and the documentation states that neither release option works until then. On Handle Blocked Customer Orders there are two options:
- Release from Credit Check - the order is not blocked again at any stage defined in the credit control group.
- Release Blocked Order - the order is released and may be checked and blocked again later in the flow.
The choice is a credit decision for whoever owns credit limits in your company.
An order without a confirmation
Print Order Confirmation requires only an entered order. For a Planned order the documentation describes the printout as generally for internal use, so sending a confirmation to the customer before release should be a deliberate decision. If the order is later changed, see changing a customer order after confirmation.
5.How do you keep orders from sitting unconfirmed? (author's practice)
The steps below are my practice, built on the documented behaviour above, and they are not an IFS procedure.
- Review Stop After on each order type. For every manual stop, name the person who acts on it and the time within which they should. A stop with no named person is where orders accumulate.
- Give the customer a default order type, so the routine follows the customer profile.
- Decide the credit-stage settings on purpose. The credit control group decides at which of the four stages the check runs, and each stage needs someone who watches the orders it blocks.
- Route exceptions to a named person. A Planned or Blocked order past its threshold goes to the owner of that order type or customer, not to a weekly report. The reasoning is in exception routing instead of reporting.
Checking these lists by hand has a cost, which the cost of manual monitoring puts a number on.
Limits: the 25R2 pages I read do not state default Stop After values, which roles may release or block, or how failures of automatic confirmation are reported. Behaviour can differ between releases.
6.Frequently asked questions
What is an unconfirmed sales order in IFS Cloud?
The IFS Cloud documentation has no status called unconfirmed. It describes a Planned order as not yet confirmed as real demand, a Blocked order that is held after a failed credit check or a manual block, and an Order Confirmation option on the header that is Yes or No. My working definition covers any entered order that has not moved to its next step.
Can the order type's automatic flow reserve a Planned customer order?
No, according to the Print Order Confirmation page: while the order is Planned, the automatic order flow defined by the order type cannot continue to automatic reservation. The Customer Order Type page adds that with Priority Reservation, orders are reserved at entry, so check how your order type is set. In my view, release the order first and then check its reservation.
What is the difference between Release from Credit Check and Release Blocked Order?
Both are options on the Handle Blocked Customer Orders page. With Release from Credit Check the order is not blocked again at any stage defined in the credit control group. With Release Blocked Order it can be checked and blocked again. If the customer record is credit-blocked, neither option works until the Credit Blocked option is cleared.
Does the Customer Order Type decide whether orders are released automatically?
The order type controls which steps run automatically and which are manual, and its Stop After field marks the manual events. Release Order is one of the listed events. The pages I read do not state the default settings.
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 which of your orders are waiting for a decision
Tell me which order types or customers feel slowest. On a 30-minute fit call we can look at your Planned and Blocked orders, the Stop After settings behind them and the credit control groups, and decide which holds add control and which add delay.