When you enter a sales document, the confirmed quantity is "reserved" and posted as a outward movement of stock on the confirmation date. This quantity cannot then be accessed by any other transaction. The order quantity is forwarded to material requirements planning even if it cannot be confirmed. The following figure shows how the transfer of requirements is affected by the creation of a sales document.

In the example shown above, the customer orders 100 pieces of material M1 for 06.01.92. On the basis of the availability status, 50 pieces can be confirmed on 06.01.92 and 40 on 06.09.92. The remaining 10 pieces cannot be confirmed. The confirmed quantities (90 pieces) are taken into account in the availability check for additional orders. This means that no other orders can access this quantity.

The order quantity is forwarded to material requirements planning as a requirement. There, if a planning run determines insufficient availability, inward stock movement elements (for example, purchase requisitions or planned orders) can be created.

By specifying the order quantity and the confirmed quantity, the original customer request is documented. As a result of, for example, additional production capacity, it may be still be possible to fulfil the original customer requirements (and thus confirm the entire order quantity by performing rescheduling). For more information on this subject, see