Plan a power window switch reorder at the approved SKU and variant level, using a dated stock snapshot, open purchase-order balances and the demand the stock must cover. Calculate a proposed quantity, then check when stock will arrive. An adequate total at the end of a planning period can still hide a shortage before the delivery date.
This guide provides a small manual planning method for distributors. Its quantities and dates are fictional training inputs, not PIRANA stock, sales, minimum order quantities or delivery promises. It does not establish product functions, vehicle fitment or interchangeability.
Start with one stock identity and one counting convention
Use your internal stock code together with the supplier SKU, meaningful suffix and approved version. Keep different versions separate unless their relationship has been established for the intended applications. A shared original equipment (OE) reference or similar switch face is not permission to pool their stock or fulfil an order with another variant.
For example, the PIRANA HQ-6901 catalogue record lists reference A9438200097; the HQ-6913 record lists 22154285 and 22154235. These are identity examples only. Neither the reference list nor the photograph supplies a demand forecast, a stock balance or a confirmed substitute. Use the catalogue data template to maintain product identities and their source records separately from replenishment calculations.
Before counting, define the stock location, review timestamp and planning end date. This guide uses the following convention:
| Input | Include | Keep separate |
|---|---|---|
| Usable stock now, U | Physically received, accepted stock of the specified SKU at the planning location, including units already committed to customers. | Quarantined, damaged, disputed or unaccepted returned units; stock at other locations unless an approved transfer is separately scheduled. |
| Eligible open receipts, R | Remaining quantities on confirmed orders expected to become usable at this location by the planning end date. | Quotations, draft RFQs, cancelled balances, receipts after the cutoff, and units already included in U. |
| Planned demand, D | Outstanding customer requirements plus additional expected demand through the end date, with overlap removed. | Shipped orders and forecasts already represented by those customer orders. |
| Desired ending buffer, B | Your approved usable-stock target remaining at the end date. | A universal percentage or quantity assumed to suit every SKU. |
Because U includes committed units, the corresponding unshipped customer demand belongs in D. If your system instead exports stock after allocation, reconcile that export before using this method: subtracting the same allocated order again would count it twice. Give each customer requirement and purchase-order line an identifier so that duplicate rows can be found.
Calculate a proposal before negotiating an order
For this manual planning exercise, calculate:
Projected ending stock = U + R − D
Proposed new quantity = max(0, D + B − U − R)
This is an order-to-target exercise for the chosen period. It does not set an optimal buffer, a reorder trigger or a complete inventory policy. Set those decisions using your own demand pattern, replenishment experience, review interval, cash and space constraints. Historical shipments alone may understate demand if customers could not buy during a stockout; record unmet requests separately rather than assuming every enquiry would have become a sale.
For context, Oracle’s documented min-max planning also distinguishes on-hand stock, eligible supply and demand, uses cutoff dates, and can modify suggested quantities for order constraints. Its configured min-max trigger is a different policy from this article’s simple period-end target calculation. Check your own system’s definitions before transferring a formula into it.
Work through three reorder decisions
All three rows below use fictional records at a single location. The proposed quantity assumes that new supply can become usable in time; the date check in the next section must confirm that assumption.
| Illustrative planning line | U: usable now | R: eligible open receipts | D: period demand | B: desired ending buffer | Projected ending stock before new supply | Proposed new quantity |
| — | —: | —: | —: | —: | —: | —: | —: |
| HQ-6901 | 24 | 30 | 70 | 20 | −16 | 36 |
| HQ-6913 | 50 | 40 | 60 | 20 | 30 | 0 |
| Unapproved variant candidate | Unknown | Unknown | 25 | Not set | Not calculated | Hold identity approval |
For HQ-6901, 24 + 30 − 70 gives −16. The proposal is 70 + 20 − 24 − 30 = 36 units. Adding 36 would leave 20 units at period end if every assumed receipt and demand occurs as entered. A negative projection identifies an unmet balance under these assumptions; it does not mean the warehouse physically contains negative stock.
HQ-6913 already has an eligible open order. Its proposal is max(0, 60 + 20 − 50 − 40) = 0. Ignoring the 40 units on order would suggest 30 extra units unnecessarily. The buyer must still check the receipt date and customer due dates before deciding that no action is required.
The third row deliberately stops before calculation. A requirement for an unidentified variant cannot be treated as demand for whichever approved switch has spare stock. Resolve the product identity first; do not manufacture a planning balance by merging uncertain references.
Check the sequence of demand and receipts
Use the HQ-6901 example to test a different issue. Suppose the review date is 3 November, the planning end date is 30 November, and the existing 30-unit receipt will be usable on 18 November:
| Event | Quantity change | Projected running balance |
|---|---|---|
| Usable stock at review | +24 | 24 |
| Customer requirements due by 10 November | −35 | −11 |
| Existing order usable on 18 November | +30 | 19 |
| Remaining period demand | −35 | −16 |
This running balance assumes the 11-unit shortage remains as unfulfilled customer demand and is covered when the receipt arrives. If the customer cancels or the requirement is permanently lost, revise D and the remaining timeline; do not retain cancelled demand as a backlog.
The 36-unit proposal restores the intended ending balance only if it becomes usable by the time it is needed. It does not repair the 10 November shortage if it also arrives on 18 November. Escalate the earlier shortfall: confirm the customer dates, ask about an earlier confirmed receipt, assess an approved transfer or agree a changed fulfilment date. Any alternative switch still needs its own application approval.
Count usable arrival, not only dispatch. Use the relevant transit, clearance, receiving and inspection assumptions for your actual route. A supplier’s quotation is not a confirmed receipt. If a delivery date becomes uncertain, show that uncertainty and recalculate a scenario excluding the receipt rather than quietly relying on it.
Review order constraints without hiding excess stock
The arithmetic gives a proposal, not supplier acceptance or purchasing authorization. Check the current offer’s quantity constraints and delivery arrangements before release. A minimum order quantity and a pack multiple are different constraints; neither establishes the planning buffer.
For example, if a fictional offer requires a pack multiple of 10, rounding the 36-unit proposal to 40 would leave 24, rather than 20, units at period end. Show the extra four units and their cost for approval. Do not treat that hypothetical multiple as a PIRANA commercial term. If a minimum quantity or budget limit makes the proposal unsuitable, record the exception and its decision instead of changing the inputs to make the calculation appear compliant.
Once the planning decision is reviewed, use the batch RFQ and supplier reply template for the commercial enquiry. Carry the exact SKU, version, requested quantity, required usable-arrival date, destination and any packaging requirements into that enquiry. Keep an RFQ separate from a confirmed purchase order so that the same proposed supply is not counted twice.
Close the loop after receipt and changes
Update both stock and open supply together. In another fictional example, a 40-unit purchase-order line has a 15-unit accepted receipt. Add 15 to usable stock and reduce the remaining open quantity to 25. Leaving all 40 units open while also counting the received 15 overstates future availability.
Record rejected or quarantined quantities separately, then reconcile the supplier’s remaining obligation and expected receipt. Do not automatically count a customer return as usable stock. The return-claim evidence guide supports a separate review of the returned unit; a planning shortage does not authorize its release.
When the supplier proposes a different SKU or version, retain the original order line and record the proposed change for review. Moving a quantity between stock codes can hide a configuration change. Reassess demand, open receipts and approval status before applying that proposed supply to customer requirements.
Keep a short review record for every released proposal
A distributor can begin with this record and adapt it to the definitions in its own stock system:
Review date / planner / stock location:
Internal SKU / supplier SKU / approved version:
Planning end date:
Usable stock U and source timestamp:
Eligible remaining receipts R: PO line, quantity, usable date, confirmation:
Demand D: customer requirements and non-overlapping expected demand:
Ending buffer B and approval basis:
Projected ending stock / proposed new quantity:
First date with a projected shortfall:
Order minimum / pack multiple / rounded quantity / excess:
Open product, date or stock discrepancies:
Decision: request quotation / expedite existing order / hold / no new order
Reviewer / approved action / next review date:
The finished planning output is a traceable quantity and timing decision for an identified SKU. Use the PIRANA power window switch catalogue to identify candidate references for an enquiry, and confirm the actual product and commercial requirements before placing the order.
References
- Oracle, How Min-Max Planning Replenishment Quantities Are Calculated, supply/demand scope and cutoff-date definitions; its policy is not the manual target exercise used here.
- PIRANA, HQ-6901 catalogue record and HQ-6913 catalogue record, product identity references only.
