Does anyone know how to split supplier allocation in IFS? If I want to give 50% of the volume to one supplier and 50% to another, what needs to change in IFS? how does it behave? Thanks!
Demand allocation to multiple suppliers?
Best answer by Pilar Franco
Hi
You can configure supplier allocation at Purchase Part level:
Purchase Part → Supplier for Purchase Part → Supplier Split tab
Setup steps
- Create / open your Purchase Part
- Maintain Supplier for Purchase Part records (at least 2 suppliers)
- Go to Supplier Split
- Add lines:
- Supplier A → 50%
- Supplier B → 50%
- Define Valid From / To dates (important!)
- Save
👉 Important: The suppliers must already exist in Supplier for Purchase Part, otherwise you cannot assign them to the split.
⚙️ How IFS behaves
✅ 1. Split happens at requisition creation / MRP
- When a Purchase Requisition (PR) is created (manually or via MRP):
- The system splits the required quantity according to percentages
- It creates:
- multiple PR lines, or
- prompts to split the requisition
➡️ Example:
- Demand = 100 pcs
- Split = 50 / 50
→ PR: - 50 pcs → Supplier A
- 50 pcs → Supplier B
✅ 2. It is a fixed percentage logic (not dynamic)
- The split is:
- static
- manually maintained
- IFS does NOT automatically rebalance based on:
- supplier performance
- lead times
- stock situation
➡️ You must adjust percentages yourself over time
✅ 3. MRP logic: sequencing matters
IFS typically:
- Calculates required quantity
- Applies planning rules (lot size, etc.)
- Then applies supplier split
⚠️ This leads to some side effects:
- Quantities may not respect lot sizes after split
- Small rounding differences can appear
⚠️ 4. Important behavioral limitations (often misunderstood)
🚫 Not a “target share over time”
It is:
- NOT averaging 50% over a month/year
- It is applied per requisition event
➡️ So:
- If demands come unevenly → actual share may deviate
🚫 Not inventory-aware
IFS does NOT:
- check how much you already bought from each supplier
- rebalance to maintain 50/50 historically
🚫 Not context-aware (make/buy or constraints)
Example from real case:
- If you already have supply covered from one source,
IFS still splits the remaining demand 50/50
(even if it doesn’t make business sense)
🚫 Doesn’t always trigger if PRs already exist
- If you have existing open PRs/POs, the split may not apply cleanly
- Best practice:
- run MRP without existing PRs
- or cancel/regenerate
🧠 Practical example (consultant view)
Let’s say:
- Demand: 1,000 pcs
- Already planned internally: 700
- Remaining: 300
- Split = 50 / 50
👉 IFS will do:
- 150 pcs → Supplier A
- 150 pcs → Supplier B
⚠️ Even if:
- you intended to buy only from one supplier for the remainder
🧩 When to use vs not use
✅ Good use cases
- Dual sourcing policy (e.g. risk mitigation)
- Stable, predictable demand
- Strategic sourcing split
⚠️ Not ideal for
- Dynamic allocation (capacity-based)
- Performance-driven allocation
- Make vs buy optimization
- Highly volatile demand
💡 Key takeaways
- ✅ Use Supplier Split on Purchase Part
- ✅ Define percentages (50/50)
- ✅ Expect split at PR/MRP level
- ❗ It is static, per-event logic
- ❗ No automatic balancing or intelligence
🚀 Consultant tip (important for design discussions)
If your business says:
“We want 50/50 yearly share”
You need:
- reporting (Power BI / IFS KPIs)
- periodic manual adjustments
or - custom logic / optimization layer
Because standard IFS = tactical split, not strategic allocation engine
If you want, I can map this to your specific process (MRP vs manual PR vs supplier agreements), because behavior slightly changes depending on how you're generating demand.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Pilar
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