Material Request use of Substitute Items

ERPNext Stock/Inventory
1

Hi,

I know ERPNext has the option to create substitute items (meaning if Coca Cola is sold out, you can substitute with Pepsi). But in Material Request, user A creates items that they require to inventory team (user A has no idea what is there and what isn’t). Inventory team takes a look at this and decides transfer a substitute item. Currently this option once submited isn’t allowed. Also, I don’t mind if this particular feature isn’t allowed, but what bugs me is that the original items keeps on showing as unfulfilled. This makes keeps the Status as “Partially Ordered” and even though the inventory team manually swapped out the item for an acceptable substitute, I have no way of “closing” the request.

Something similar happens in Purchase Orders when a supplier delivers the goods 99% and due to 1 unit shows as partially fullfilled. Luckily in PO i have the option to “Close” a PO.

This is even true if something that a user is asking for isn’t avaiable and there are no substitutes. Its as if any request must need to be fulfilled as requested and anything less is unacceptabe.

Can anyone help me understand the logic and a workaround?

2

Hi, first mark Allow Alternative Item checked in item master, then create Item Alternative for both items, then it will allow you to use the alternate item in stock entry.

https://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/user/manual/en/item-alternative

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3

Hi @Syed_Anas,

Thanks for writing, followed the steps but back to zero. Here is what I did:

  1. Create Item Alternatives.
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  2. Went into Material Request, clicked on the Create → Material Issue
  3. This created a Stock Entry. Then inside stock entry as I updated an item to its substitute upon saving it threw an error that item was not in material request. Also based on the documentation you provided I saw that other doctypes had a designated Allow Alternative button or checkbox. But Stock Entry doesn’t have them. Is this a design oversight or am I missing something?