The AFS availability check is carried out in the order entry to see whether the desired AFS material is available for the requested delivery date in, for example, the selected color or size. During the order entry you check if there is enough stock to fulfill the order at the requested delivery date. If the order cannot be delivered immediately, the ATP specifies when enough goods are available and confirms this date as the delivery date.

In the apparel and footwear industry it often happens that there is a long period of time between the creation of an AFS material and the end of the sales process (invoice creation and the transfer to the financial accounting). The following image shows an example of a normal business process in the apparel and footwear industry:

The ATP in the sales order is carried out based on information that is available at the time of the order entry. A confirmed delivery date is determined according to the control parameters of the ATP. In the next step the AFS requirements planning assigns requirement quantities to available stock, or creates procurement proposals (purchase requisitions or planned orders) at SKU level for non-existing stock. It is frequently the case that there are several months between the order entry and the delivery. Changes of quantity and actual delivery dates are also typical in this branch of industry. Independent of the results of the ATP check, the actual assignment of the requirements to the existing stock is carried out by the AFS allocation run. The allocation run permits the distribution of customer requirements among existing stock based on certain rules. Sales orders can only be supplied with AFS materials if they have been allocated by the allocation run. In case of a stock shortage, the allocation run enables an optimal distribution of stock to the existing requirements. Thus you can make sure that your most important customer gets the ordered products. The control parameters of the ATP check, the MRP and the allocation run must be seen in context.