Release Date: 7/8/2025
Version: All
Q - Our Production Manager was entering a Material Work Order this morning and
received notification that the Quantity on Hand was insufficient even though the component
was physically available. I was unable to track down a cause, but the error
resolved itself after running the I/M -> Processing -> Reset Allocated Quantities utility.
Can you share how the Quantity Allocation & On Order values can
drift? I normally run this until after closing COP at end of the month, so I was surprised at
this morning’s allocation error since I just ran it a few days ago.
A - The allocation issue can result from:
- Someone manually changing the item or inventory location’s allocated quantity;
- System-level exceptions such as power failure, software crash, or forced termination of Elliott; or
- An Elliott software bug.
I assume what you encountered is not caused by (a). I think both (b) and (c) are possibilities in your case, but I am inclined to think (c) is more likely than (b). All programs that allocate quantity in Elliott should deallocate it at some point when the process cycle is complete. When that cycle is broken—due to an exception or possibly a software bug—an incorrect allocated quantity can result.
The "Reset Allocated Quantities" utility is a legacy program dating back to the Macola & MCBA's days several decades ago. This is a long-standing issue. You should run this utility when no Elliott users are using the system. So typically, you can run this at nighttime, or schedule it through deferred processing to automate this procedure. We have seen people run this utility from daily to weekly and, in your case, monthly.
If we knew the exact scenario that causes this allocation problem, we would have already fixed it. The Reset Allocation utility exists for handling scenarios that are not yet known. If you are able to replicate the issue consistently, please let us know.
EMK