🚨 Proactive Ordering: Emergency Orders to Avoid Lost Sales
The Emergency Orders feature, driven by the Avoid Lost Sales setting, is a proactive tool designed to ensure your service level remains high. When Optiply forecasts that you are at risk of running out of stock before your next scheduled order, it automatically intervenes in your purchasing agenda to prevent the stockout.
How to Enable the Feature
You must enable this dynamic planning feature per supplier:
Go to the Supplier Page: Navigate to the Suppliers overview in Optiply.
Select the Supplier: Click on the specific supplier you wish to configure.
Navigate to Agenda: Click on the Agenda settings tab.
Activate Avoid Lost Sales: Under the Emergency Orders section, set the Avoid Lost Sales feature to On.
The Two Intervention Options
When the system detects a potential stockout (threatening lost sales), it determines the most cost-effective intervention by comparing two choices:
Make an Extra Order: Placing an unscheduled, additional purchase order immediately.
Advance the Following Order: Bringing forward (preponing) the date of your next scheduled purchase order.
Optiply automatically chooses the option that results in the highest net profit after factoring in the associated costs (extra stock costs vs. fixed order costs).
The Essential Role of Fixed Order Costs
To ensure Optiply's decision is accurate, you must properly record your Fixed Order Costs per supplier.
Impact: Ordering earlier (Advancing the order) results in higher stock holding costs. Placing an extra order results in additional fixed order costs (e.g., freight, processing).
Cost-Effectiveness: Accurately high Fixed Order Costs may make it cheaper for Optiply to choose the Advancing Order option (higher stock costs) rather than placing a whole new order (higher ordering costs).
Financial Trigger Rules
Optiply will only intervene and update the agenda if the potential lost sales justify the intervention cost. The system checks the following rules sequentially:
Profitability Check (Rule 1): The estimated margin on the products at risk must be greater than the Fixed Order Costs. If this check fails, no intervention is made.
Financial Threshold Check (Rule 2): If the profit condition is met, the system then checks if the order value justifies the total financial commitment. The order is only generated if:
Condition | Emergency Order Value Must Be Greater Than... |
Fixed Order Costs | Fixed Order Costs |
Minimum Order Value (MOV) | Minimum Order Value |
Both Costs Combined | Fixed Order Costs + Minimum Order Value |
Tip: The trigger value you see on the purchase page is the calculated total value at risk that prompted the system to generate the emergency recommendation.
⚠️ Availability Note
The dynamic emergency ordering feature is unavailable in the Optiply Lite version.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the difference between an Emergency Order and a Preponed Order?
An Emergency Order is a new, unscheduled order placed immediately. A Preponed Order is your next scheduled order that has been moved forward to an earlier date.
If I see a large Lost Sales value, why might Optiply choose not to intervene?
Optiply will not intervene if the estimated margin you would make on the sales is less than the Fixed Order Costs associated with placing a new order. It prioritises saving money on unnecessary costs over small gains.
Does the 'Avoid Lost Sales' feature affect my safety stock setting?
No, this feature does not change your safety stock settings. It simply detects a forecasted demand surge and adjusts the timing (agenda) of your next purchase to ensure stock arrives before the safety buffer is fully depleted.
Where do I set the Minimum Order Value (MOV) used in the trigger rules?
The Minimum Order Value is set on the Supplier Page in the Information or General Settings section. It is a critical input for both the Emergency Order logic and standard purchase orders.