Inventory tracking for cost and service items

Inventory tracking is required for physical cost and service items to enable the use of global trade concept data, such as the country of origin, for reporting purposes. For example, Intrastat or customs reporting.

A physical cost or service item is an item for which the customer is invoiced, but no inventory is registered. For example, if you sell a machine to a customer, you also invoice the user manual, but you do not keep stock of the user manual.

The inventory tracking receipt and issuing processes for physical cost and service items are similar to those of regular inventory items. These are the main differences:

  • No inventory is registered for cost and service items, and therefore, no quantities are maintained in the inventory tracking receipts, inventory tracking units, and consumptions. The quantity for these entities is always 1.

  • To indicate that an item is a physical cost or service item, the Inventory Item check box is cleared in the inventory tracking sessions relating to inbound and outbound movements.

  • You can manually create inventory tracking units during the issuing process.

  • The Physical Traceability Required check box is cleared and uneditable in the inventory tracking parameter sessions.

The inbound and receipt processes

During the inbound and receipt processes, you can specify or change the country of origin in the same way as inventory items, that is, items for which inventory is registered.

Also, inventory tracking receipts are created and linked to existing or newly created inventory tracking units as described in Overview of the inventory tracking receipt process.

The difference is that you cannot split-off an inbound order line to specify multiple countries of origin, since the quantity on an order line for a physical cost or service item is always 1.

The outbound and shipment processes

Unlike regular inventory items, when a physical cost or service item is issued, the shipment line is created directly after the creation of an outbound order line.

Consequently, the inventory tracking unit must be selected before the shipment line is confirmed instead of after the creation of the outbound advice.

If a single inventory tracking unit with the correct country of origin is available, this inventory tracking unit is automatically selected.

If multiple inventory tracking units are available, the user must select the appropriate inventory tracking unit or, if no inventory tracking unit is available, the user must manually create an inventory tracking unit.

Since no quantities are specified on an inventory tracking unit, an inventory tracking unit can always be consumed if these conditions apply:

  • The matching attributes of the inventory tracking unit and the consumption record are identical.

  • The location and ownership tracking levels of the consumption record are not outside the tracking levels of the inventory tracking unit.

Note: In the Sales Deliveries (tdsls4101m200) session, you can use the Country of Origin option to navigate to the inventory tracking consumptions for physical cost and service items.