In IFS ERP, efficient material reservation is critical for keeping production on schedule and orders fulfilled. At DH Pace, Auto Reservation automates the process of allocating available inventory to Shop Orders, Customer Orders, and Work Orders — eliminating manual effort and ensuring the right materials are reserved from the right locations at the right time.
This guide covers the complete workflow of material reservation in IFS ERP, including warehouse concepts, reservation priorities, remote warehouse handling, part control checks, and the business rules that drive DH Pace's inventory strategy.
In This Guide
Understanding Warehouses in IFS ERP
What is a Warehouse?
In IFS ERP, a Warehouse is a logical and physical inventory unit used to store, manage, reserve, pick, issue, and receive parts. It represents where inventory exists and how it can be used in business processes such as sales, manufacturing, projects, and maintenance.
What is a Remote Warehouse?
A Remote Warehouse manages inventory that is not physically present in the main warehouse but is still part of the supply chain. It is created in the Warehouse Navigator by checking the Remote option when setting up a new warehouse.
Shop Order Creation Workflow
At DH Pace, automatic Shop Order (SO) creation is triggered when a Customer Order (CO) containing a manufactured part is released. This ensures customer demand is instantly converted into production demand based on predefined planning and manufacturing parameters.
Create Customer Order
Create a CO and add a CO line using supply code as 'SO' with the quantity and part number for a manufactured part (not a purchased part).
Release the Customer Order
Releasing the CO automatically creates the Shop Order based on the given parameters.
Shop Order Created
The SO is created automatically, and when reserving material it uses the demand code for an inventory part number instead of the manufactured part.
How Auto Reservation Works
What is Auto Reservation?
At DH Pace, Auto Reservation is the process where IFS ERP automatically allocates available inventory to a Shop Order's material requirements. Instead of manually reserving stock, the system checks all eligible warehouses, locations, and rules to decide where to pull materials from. This ensures production can start without delays and reduces planner workload.
How to Perform Auto-Reservation
Enabling Auto Reservation
In IFS Cloud, auto reservation is enabled inside the Site page under Warehouse Management → Auto Reservation tab. Materials are reserved based on the following priority rules:
Determines which zone should receive incoming material first when stock is received.
Materials with the closest expiry date are used first (FEFO logic).
Stock received earliest is prioritized for reservation (FIFO logic).
Prefers the handling unit containing the largest available quantity of the required part.
Reservation Locations in IFS ERP
IFS ERP can reserve materials from different location types. These locations represent logical or physical zones in the warehouse where stock is staged, consumed, or dispatched.
Picking Location
Primary location for order fulfillment. The most common reservation point for customer orders.
Floor Stock
Materials kept directly on the shop floor for immediate use in production, stored at or near the production area.
Production Line
Groups machines, work centers, and labor. Executes operations like cutting, welding, painting, and assembly.
Shipment Location
Staging area for goods ready to ship — the final inventory point before goods leave the site.
Remote Warehouse Reservation Logic
DH Pace Custom Logic
For DH Pace, the reservation logic is customized when material is reserved from a remote warehouse. The system ignores all part control checks and instead follows available locations and available quantity to reserve the material directly.
How Remote Warehouse Reservation Works
Where Remote Warehouses Fit in the Process
Customer Order, Shop Order, or Work Order triggers the process. System checks demand site, required part, quantity, and required date.
System checks picking locations and shipment locations in local warehouses first.
If local stock is insufficient, the system checks remote warehouse eligibility.
Automatically creates an Inventory Order or Distribution Order to pull from the remote location.
Reservation Dimensions
When reserving from remote warehouses, the system can reserve at multiple levels of granularity:
IFS Standard Flow & Part Control Checks
When reserving material from a warehouse using the IFS standard flow, the system enforces part availability controls to ensure proper inventory governance.
Part Control Checks (Standard Flow)
Unlike remote warehouse reservations, the standard flow enforces these controls:
Standard Reservation Logic
Key Business Rules for DH Pace
Auto-reservation in IFS ERP for DH Pace ensures efficient inventory management, compliance, and customer satisfaction. These rules align with DH Pace's operational needs in managing large-scale projects and security hardware distribution.
Demand Priority
DH Pace defines a fixed priority order for auto reservation to protect revenue and production commitments:
Demand Status
Auto Reservation is allowed only after demand is released to avoid premature inventory blocking:
Part Supply Control
At DH Pace, part supply control governs which orders can use auto reservation:
Warehouse Selection
DH Pace controls inventory ownership and logistics cost through warehouse hierarchy:
Cross-warehouse reservation follows site and ownership rules based on business approval.
Reservation Ranking (FIFO)
When multiple stock options exist, DH Pace applies the FIFO (First In, First Out) rule for reserving materials. This optimizes warehouse efficiency, reduces waste, and ensures older stock is consumed first to maintain compliance and quality standards.
Benefits of Auto Reservation for DH Pace
Improved Inventory Accuracy
Auto-reservation rules like FIFO and expiry-based allocation reduce waste and ensure compliance. Accurate stock levels are maintained across multiple warehouses and sites, preventing double-booking or over-reservation.
Efficiency in Order Fulfillment
Critical for DH Pace's construction and security hardware business where project timelines are strict. Eliminates delays caused by manual reservation processes.
Supply Chain Integration
Seamless integration between local and remote warehouses ensures material availability across the entire supply chain network.
Compliance & Traceability
Lot/Batch and serial number tracking ensure full traceability. Date-based reservations and priority handling support regulatory compliance requirements.
Streamlining Material Reservation at DH Pace
Auto Reservation in IFS ERP transforms material management at DH Pace by automating inventory allocation, enforcing business rules, and integrating remote warehouse logistics. By leveraging FIFO rules, priority-based demand handling, and customized remote warehouse logic, DH Pace achieves faster order fulfillment, reduced manual effort, and improved inventory accuracy across all sites.
Whether reserving from local picking locations, floor stock, production lines, or remote warehouses, the IFS auto-reservation framework ensures the right materials reach the right place at the right time — keeping production running and customers satisfied.