This function allows you to use an MSO order to deliver to stores directly or designate stores for further delivery from a distribution center.

The stores you deliver to directly are the same as normal ship-to parties.

When involving a distribution center (cross-docking), you specify in the document exactly which materials in which quantity a store should receive, but you ship all goods to a distribution center. The distribution center already knows at goods receipt which materials/quantities to distribute because you create individual documents per store.

Marking stores and their goods in this manner is helpful for example, if your sold-to party wants the distribution center to apply special treatment to the goods, such as attaching their own labels or trade marks.

For stores that should be delivered via distribution center, you must enter the distribution center in the customer master in the AFS Additional Data in the Control view.

You identify these stores by the indicator S in a multi-store order. When processing the document, the system treats these stores the same as standard ship-to parties.

The system creates individual sales orders when it explodes the document, with these stores as ship-to parties.

You identify these stores by the indicator M. The system recognizes the appropriate distribution center because

• you have entered it in the customer master records of the stores,
• or have manually entered it in the MSO mix.

Only if the distribution center is to receive part of the goods for its own consumption do you need to specify it in the MSO document.

When exploding the document, the system creates individual sales orders with the distribution center as the ship-to party. It copies the store to each document for which the delivery has been marked, as a partner with the role Store (marked-for) (JM).

As a rule, you would not have the same name for a store in your system as the distribution center has in its system. For this reason, you have the option of entering the name or number in the store’s customer master with which you can identify the distribution center. The system carries both names in the MSO document and later in the individual documents. You also have the option of specifying the store under the name of the distribution center in the MSO document. The system can then determine the store’s name in your company.