Back-to-Back Supply Creation: On-Hand Flow in Oracle Cloud

1. Overview of Back-to-Back On-Hand Flow

The Back-to-Back On-Hand Flow is the simplest and fastest fulfillment method in Oracle Cloud because the required stock is already available in the fulfillment warehouse at the time of sales order entry.

Unlike Buy, Make, or Transfer Flows, no additional supply is created. Instead, Oracle Supply Chain Orchestration (SCO) directly reserves the available inventory against the sales order, making it ready for immediate shipment.

2. Step-by-Step Back-to-Back On-Hand Flow Process

Below is a detailed step-by-step breakdown of the Back-to-Back On-Hand Flow using Oracle Fusion Cloud applications.

Step 1: Enter & Schedule Sales Order

The customer places a sales order in Oracle Order Management.

The system checks inventory availability in Oracle Inventory Cloud.

Oracle Global Order Promising (GOP) determines that the required stock is already available in the fulfillment warehouse.

No procurement, manufacturing, or warehouse transfers are needed.

The sales order is scheduled immediately for fulfillment.

? System Action: The system identifies that on-hand stock is available and proceeds to reservation.

Step 2: Reserve Available Inventory

Oracle Supply Chain Orchestration (SCO) reserves the available stock against the back-to-back sales order.

The system ensures that this stock is allocated only to this order, preventing other orders from using it.

? System Action: The system reserves the required quantity for the sales order.

Step 3: Ship the Sales Order

The order moves directly to shipping in Oracle Inventory Cloud.

The warehouse team picks, packs, and ships the goods using Oracle Shipping Execution.

An invoice is generated in Oracle Receivables.

The sales order is closed after shipment.

? Final Action: The system completes the order and ships it to the customer.

3. Oracle Fusion Cloud Modules Involved in On-Hand Flow

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4. Benefits of Back-to-Back On-Hand Flow

? Fastest Fulfillment Process – No need for procurement, manufacturing, or transfers.? Minimizes Order Processing Time – Orders can be shipped immediately after reservation.? Eliminates Additional Costs – No purchase orders, work orders, or transfers required.? Ensures Inventory Optimization – Uses available stock efficiently.? Improves Customer Satisfaction – Quick shipping and fulfillment.

5. Real-World Use Case

Scenario: Electronics Retailer Fulfilling a Popular Smartphone Order

A retailer sells Smartphone XYZ and has 100 units in stock at its fulfillment warehouse.

Process Flow:

A customer places an order for 10 units of Smartphone XYZ.

Oracle Global Order Promising (GOP) identifies that stock is available.

Oracle Supply Chain Orchestration (SCO) reserves 10 units against the sales order.

The warehouse team picks, packs, and ships the smartphones.

The customer receives the order, and the system closes the sales order.

? Result: The order is fulfilled immediately without additional supply creation.

Back-to-Back Supply Creation Flows in Oracle Cloud

Back-to-back (B2B) fulfillment in Oracle Fusion Cloud allows organizations to trigger supply creation (Buy, Make, Transfer, or On-Hand Reservation) after a sales order is entered and scheduled. The system dynamically generates supply documents depending on the source of the item and executes supply fulfillment through Oracle Procurement, Manufacturing, or Inventory Management.

1. Overview of Back-to-Back Supply Creation Flows

Each back-to-back flow follows these key steps:

Sales Order Entry & Scheduling – A customer places an order that requires supply creation.

Supply Order Generation – The system determines the best supply source based on predefined sourcing rules.

Supply Execution – The supply is created using procurement (Buy), manufacturing (Make), transfer (Transfer), or existing stock (On-Hand).

Receiving & Reservation – The supply is received and linked to the sales order.

Order Fulfillment – The sales order is shipped to the customer.

2. Back-to-Back Supply Creation Buy Flow (Procurement-Based Fulfillment)

The Buy Flow is used when the required item is procured from an external supplier because it is not available in stock or another warehouse.

Step-by-Step Buy Flow Process

Below is the step-by-step breakdown of the Back-to-Back Buy Flow with Oracle Fusion applications involved:

Step 1: Initiate Back-to-Back Sales Order

The customer places a sales order in Oracle Order Management.

The system checks stock availability in Oracle Inventory Cloud.

If no stock is available, Oracle Supply Chain Orchestration (SCO) triggers a supply request.

Oracle Global Order Promising (GOP) determines procurement as the best supply source.

The sales order is scheduled for back-to-back fulfillment.

? System Action: The system marks the sales order for procurement and creates a supply order.

Step 2: Create Supply Order

Oracle Supply Chain Orchestration (SCO) generates a Supply Order.

The system determines that a Purchase Order (PO) is needed.

A Purchase Requisition is created in Oracle Procurement Cloud.

? System Action: The system sends a request for procurement.

Step 3: Request Purchase Order (PO)

Oracle Procurement Cloud converts the requisition into a Purchase Order (PO).

The PO is sent to the external supplier.

The PO is linked to the sales order, ensuring that supply is dedicated to fulfilling the order.

? System Action: The system creates a Purchase Order (PO) and tracks supplier delivery.

Step 4: Receive the Purchase Order (PO)

The supplier delivers the goods to the fulfillment warehouse.

The warehouse team receives the PO in Oracle Receiving.

The received inventory is updated in Oracle Inventory Cloud.

The supply is reserved against the back-to-back demand.

? System Action: The system marks the received supply as reserved for the sales order.

Step 5: Ship the Back-to-Back Sales Order

The order is picked, packed, and shipped from the warehouse.

Oracle Shipping Execution updates the order status.

An invoice is generated in Oracle Receivables.

The sales order is closed.

? Final Action: The system completes the order and ships it to the customer.

3. Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Involved in Back-to-Back Buy Flow

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4. Benefits of the Back-to-Back Buy Flow

? Reduces Inventory Holding Costs – No need to stock large quantities in advance.? Ensures Order-Specific Procurement – Every sales order is directly linked to supply.? Automates Procurement & Order Processing – Seamless integration between Oracle modules.? Enhances Customer Satisfaction – Quick fulfillment by sourcing products efficiently.? Optimizes Supplier Collaboration – Real-time PO creation and tracking with suppliers.

5. Real-World Use Case

Scenario: Electronics Distributor Fulfilling a Large Order

A distributor selling high-end laptops does not keep them in stock but procures them from suppliers only when an order is placed.

Process Flow:

A corporate customer places an order for 50 laptops.

The system checks stock and finds no available inventory.

A Purchase Order is created in Oracle Procurement Cloud and sent to the supplier.

The supplier delivers the laptops to the warehouse.

The laptops are reserved against the sales order.

The laptops are shipped to the customer, and the invoice is generated.

? Result: The distributor minimizes inventory costs while fulfilling customer demand efficiently.

Set Up Back-to-Back Transfer Flow in Oracle Cloud

The Back-to-Back (B2B) Transfer Flow allows organizations to move inventory from one warehouse (source) to another warehouse (destination) when stock is unavailable in the fulfillment location. This setup ensures that Oracle Global Order Promising (GOP) can automatically determine the best supply source and execute the transfer process efficiently.

1. Prerequisites: Enable Back-to-Back for Items

Before setting up the transfer flow, ensure that the item is Back-to-Back enabled in Oracle Product Information Management (PIM):

Navigate to Oracle Product Information Management (PIM).

Search for the item you want to enable for back-to-back fulfillment.

In the item definition, enable the "Back-to-Back Enabled" attribute.

Save and publish the item updates.

? This ensures that the item can participate in the B2B fulfillment process.

2. Configure Global Order Promising (GOP) for Back-to-Back Transfer Flow

In Oracle Global Order Promising (GOP), configure the system to determine the best transfer source when fulfilling back-to-back orders.

Step 1: Create a Global Sourcing Rule (Type: Transfer From)

Navigate to Oracle Global Order Promising (GOP).

Create a Global Sourcing Rule with the following details:

Type: "Transfer From"

Source Organization: Warehouse 1 (Requesting warehouse or fulfillment location).

? This rule ensures that items are sourced from Warehouse 1 whenever stock is available.

Step 2: Create a Local Sourcing Rule (Type: Transfer From)

Create a Local Sourcing Rule for Warehouse 1 as follows:

Type: "Transfer From"

Source Organization: Warehouse 2 (Stock-holding warehouse).

? This rule ensures that if Warehouse 1 does not have stock, the system transfers items from Warehouse 2.

Step 3: Set Up an ATP Rule for Availability Check

Create an ATP Rule (Available-to-Promise Rule) with the following parameters:

Promising Mode: "Supply Chain Availability Search".

Enable attributes for supply chain availability search based on business needs.

Configure ATP search to consider on-hand stock, in-transit inventory, components, and resources if needed.

? This ensures that GOP can evaluate stock levels across multiple locations.

Step 4: Assign ATP Rule to Organizations

Assign the ATP Rule to the appropriate organizations.

Ensure that the rule applies to Warehouse 1 and Warehouse 2 based on their roles in the sourcing process.

? This enables availability checking when processing sales orders.

Step 5: Assign Sourcing Rules to Organizations

Assign the Global Sourcing Rule to the enterprise-wide sourcing assignment.

Assign the Local Sourcing Rule to Warehouse 1, specifying Warehouse 2 as the sourcing location.

Ensure that the assignment level for the global sourcing rule does not include a specific organization (it should apply at a broader level).

? This ensures that Oracle GOP prioritizes sourcing stock from Warehouse 1 first and transfers from Warehouse 2 if needed.

Step 6: Refresh and Restart Order Promising Server

Once the sourcing rules and ATP configurations are in place:

Refresh Oracle Global Order Promising (GOP) Rules.

Restart the Order Promising Server to apply sourcing and ATP rule changes.

? This step ensures that all updates take effect and are used in future order promising decisions.

3. Expected Behavior After Setup

If Warehouse 1 has stock ? GOP reserves inventory and processes the sales order immediately.

If Warehouse 1 does not have stock ? GOP triggers a transfer order to move stock from Warehouse 2 to Warehouse 1.

Once the transfer order is fulfilled and received, the sales order is shipped to the customer.

? This ensures automated order fulfillment with minimal manual intervention.

4. Benefits of Back-to-Back Transfer Flow in Oracle Cloud

? Optimized Inventory Utilization – Uses stock efficiently across multiple warehouses.? Automated Stock Transfers – Eliminates manual intervention by automatically moving stock when needed.? Reduced Procurement Costs – Moves existing inventory instead of purchasing new stock.? Faster Order Fulfillment – Reduces lead times by sourcing from internal stock before procurement.? Seamless Oracle Cloud Integration – Works across Oracle Order Management, Inventory, GOP, and Supply Chain Orchestration.