Confirmed supply (VMI)

A VMI supplier can send confirmed-supply messages to the customer. The confirmed supply is the quantity of the item the supplier has confirmed will be delivered to the customer on the planned delivery date. The confirmed supply can be less than the quantity requested by the customer.

Use of confirmed-supply data

LN uses the confirmed-supply data in two ways:

  • If the Confirm Supply check box in the Planning Terms and Conditions (tctrm1135m000) session is selected, you communicate the confirmed supply to the customer.
  • If the Planning Based On field is Confirmed Supply, LN uses the confirmed supply to generate planned orders to supply the customer.

Life cycle of confirmed-supply data

In the most extended form, the life-cycle of confirmed supply consists of the following stages:

  1. The supplier generates planned supply orders for an item based on the received forecast.
  2. The VMI supplier converts the planned supply orders and actual supply orders to confirmed supply.
  3. Optionally, the supplier adjusts the confirmed supply, for example if a limited production capacity or shortage of components makes it impossible to execute all planned orders.

    Alternatively, the supplier enters the confirmed supply manually.

  4. The supplier approves the confirmed supply and sends the confirmed supply to the customer.

Alternatively, the confirmed supply can be used as follows:

  1. The supplier receives the forecast from the customer.
  2. The supplier manually enters the confirmed supply.
  3. The supplier approves the confirmed supply and sends the confirmed supply to the customer.

When the confirmed supply is marked as approved, you cannot change the confirmed supply for that revision number. You can undo the approval, until the confirmed supply is sent to the customer.

The procedure is controlled in detail by the terms and conditions agreement defined by the supplier and the customer. For more information, refer to Overview of terms and conditions.

Aggregation period

The dates of the supply are independent from the forecast periods.

The dates of the supply can be based on the delivery moments specified in the terms and conditions agreement. You can specify these delivery moments in the Delivery Moments field in the Planning Terms and Conditions (tctrm1135m000) session.

Confirm Supply Horizon

The supplier must send confirmed-supply information for the number of days specified in the Confirm Supply Horizon field in the Planning Terms and Conditions (tctrm1135m000) session.

Customer actions

The customer can view the confirmed supply in the item supplier plan. This data can also be used to calculate the available-to-promise (ATP) quantity and to perform component CTP checks.