When you work with assigned quantities in Business Central, you can reassign quantity to sales orders whenever your supply situation changes. If you receive new supply orders, increase a production order, or place a new purchase order, you can run a reassignment so the available quantity gets distributed across your open sales orders again.
The graphical inventory profile shows you whether your inventory drops below zero. When you view the profile without the assigned quantity and the line stays at or above zero, your supply covers your demand. When it goes below zero, you do not have enough to promise.
You reassign by running the Assign Quantity report. You can delete all soft assignments within a chosen period and recalculate for a single item on a specific location, so you only process what you need.
How assigned quantity works across multiple sales orders
The same item number often appears on many sales order lines spread across different sales orders. One sales order might have three lines for the item, and other sales orders use the same item too. When you do not have enough quantity, some of those lines stay unassigned because you cannot promise what you do not have.
The graphical profile helps you see this clearly. Without the assigned quantity, the profile shows inventory missing and the line sitting below zero for much of the time. That is the visual confirmation that demand exceeds supply, which is why the system leaves those lines unassigned.
With the assigned quantity applied, the profile should not go below zero, assuming the math adds up correctly.
Increasing supply to cover unassigned sales orders
When you want to supply more than you currently do, you change your supply. If you produce the item, you go to manufacturing. If you purchase the item, you contact the vendor. Whether the extra quantity is possible depends on your situation.
In a production scenario with a firm planned production order, you simply change the firm planned order. It could also be a new order. If you have a shortage of 56 pieces, you might enter 60, or ask for a couple more to give yourself some slack. In this example, the manufacturing department is asked to provide 62 instead of the original quantity.
Changing your supply does not automatically reassign your sales orders. You may still have many sales orders that were not assigned. The difference is that the quantity now fits, so the reassignment has something to work with.
Running the Assign Quantity report to reassign sales orders
To distribute the new supply, you run the Assign Quantity report. You delete all the soft assignments within whatever period you choose and then reassign. You can limit the calculation to a single item on a specific location, which is all you need when you have only changed the supply for that one item.
After running the report, all sales orders are assigned. The reassignment happens in order of appearance, so the sales orders get quantity in the sequence they appear.
When you check the graphical profile again, without the assigned quantity, the line should no longer go below zero. In this example, the profile shows two extra, matching the two additional pieces planned for slack.
Q&A
Why do some sales order lines stay unassigned?
Sales order lines stay unassigned when you do not have enough quantity to cover them. The system will not promise quantity you do not have, so those lines remain unassigned until your supply increases.
Does changing a production or purchase order automatically reassign my sales orders?
No. Increasing a firm planned production order, contacting the vendor, or creating a new supply order does not automatically reassign your sales orders. You have to run the Assign Quantity report to distribute the new supply.
How do I reassign quantity after increasing supply?
Run the Assign Quantity report. Delete the soft assignments within your chosen period, then reassign. You can limit the calculation to the specific item and location you changed, so you only process what you need.
How can I see whether my supply covers demand?
Use the graphical inventory profile. View it without the assigned quantity. If the line stays at or above zero, your supply covers demand. If it drops below zero, you do not have enough to promise.
In what order does the reassignment distribute quantity?
The reassignment distributes quantity to the sales orders in order of appearance, following the sequence in which they appear.