NetSuite cross-subsidiary fulfillment: How to fulfill sales orders across subsidiaries

Category
July 12, 2022
7
min

NetSuite articles

netsuite-articles

Summarise the article with your AI:

Claude

ChatGPT

 Google AI

Grok

Perplexity

Written by:
Pauline
Here you can read:
Share this article on:

What is Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment in NetSuite OneWorld?

Cross-Subsidiary fulfillment is a NetSuite feature available on OneWorld accounts. Once the functionality is enabled, you will have the possibility to fulfill sales orders and receive returns across multiple subsidiaries.Therefore, an order made in the original subsidiary can be sent to different subsidiary at the moment of the fulfillment. It means that you will be able to fulfill sales orders not only from locations belonging to the original subsidiary but also from all the other locations present in your NetSuite environment. If you encounter a shortage of stock for a certain item in the original transaction subsidiary locations, it will be possible to select a location from another subsidiary where some stock is still available.Moreover, this feature allows you to choose more than one location per transaction. It means that a sales order can be fulfilled from locations in multiple subsidiaries and not only one as it is the case when the Intercompany Cross Subsidiary Fulfillment functionality is not activated.Additionally, the return process is also impacted. You can indeed create a return material authorization (RMA) linked to one subsidiary and receive the transaction lines in multiple locations belonging to other subsidiaries.

How NetSuite Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment works across multiple subsidiaries

How to set up Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment in NetSuite

Before using the cross-subsidiary fulfillment functionalities, you will need to enable a couple of features on your NetSuite environment. To do so, log in to NetSuite with an administrator role (you might be able to do it with another role, depending on its permissions). Then, go to Setup > Company > Enable Features. Under the Items & Inventory subtab, check the Multi-Location Inventory and Intercompany Cross-subsidiary Fulfillment boxes.Note: we advise you to make this setup in a Sandbox/demo environment first.

NetSuite Enable Features page showing the Multi-Location Inventory feature enabled under the Items and Inventory subtab
NetSuite Enable Features page showing the Intercompany Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment feature enabled
NetSuite Items and Inventory feature setup showing Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment configuration options

Then, specify the Global Inventory Relationships (Lists > Supply Chain > Global Inventory Relationship). Global Inventory relationships are rules that automatically select the locations items should ship from.

NetSuite Global Inventory Relationship record used to define shipping location rules across subsidiaries

On the sales order, the cross-subsidiary fulfillment feature will make available two new fields on the item lines:

  • Inventory Location
  • Inventory Subsidiary
NetSuite sales order item line showing the Inventory Location and Inventory Subsidiary fields for cross-subsidiary fulfillment

Step-by-step example: fulfilling a sales order from another subsidiary

The first step is to create a Sales Order (Transactions > Sales > Enter Sales Orders).In this example, we are using a customer belonging to the United Kingdom subsidiary.  As you can notice, there is no inventory available in the location (London) for the item in question.

NetSuite sales order for a United Kingdom customer showing no available inventory in the original London location

Therefore, you need to find another location where the item is available. The cross-subsidiary fulfillment feature allows us to choose a location (Dublin) belonging to another subsidiary (Ireland).

NetSuite sales order showing the selection of Dublin in the Ireland subsidiary as an inventory location for cross-subsidiary fulfillment

Now that you have a sales order with available inventory, you can fulfill the sales order (click on the Fulfill button).On the Item fulfillment generation page, review the relevant information and select the items you wish to fulfill. Then, click Save.

NetSuite item fulfillment page showing sales order lines selected for fulfillment from another subsidiary location

Looking at the GL impact on the item fulfillment, you will notice that NetSuite debits the cost of goods sold and credits the inventory. The cost of goods sold are recognized on the subsidiary where the order ships from and not on the subsidiary where the subsidiary was originally placed.

NetSuite GL impact of an item fulfillment showing cost of goods sold and inventory postings in the fulfillment subsidiary

After fulfilling the order, you will be able to bill it (click on the bill remaining button on the sales order).Note that the invoice takes place on the original subsidiary and location. Review the information on the invoice and save it.

NetSuite invoice created from a cross-subsidiary fulfillment sales order in the original subsidiary and location

Looking at the GL impact on the invoice, you will see that the trade debtors account is debited and the revenue account is credited. If any VAT was set up, the VAT account will be credited.

NetSuite GL impact of an invoice showing trade debtors, revenue and VAT postings for the original subsidiary

How intercompany cross charges are handled in NetSuite

You now have revenues in the subsidiary (United Kingdom) where the sale order was placed and costs in the subsidiary where the goods were shipped from (Dublin). Therefore, intercompany cross charges take place.To use the standard intercompany cross charges functionality, go to Transactions > Financial > Manage Intercompany Cross Charges.You will then see the list of transactions ready to be cross charged. You will have the opportunity to generate those using the Generate Transactions button.

NetSuite Manage Intercompany Cross Charges page showing transactions ready to generate cross charge journals

Once your Cross Charge Workbench is empty, go to your journal list (Transactions > Financial > Make Journal Entries) and find the cross charge journals (Filter the Type to Cross Charge Journal).Note that one cross charge journal per subsidiary involved in the transaction is created.One the one hand, a cross charge journal will be created to recognize revenues in the subsidiary that fulfilled the sales order. One the other hand, a journal will be generated to recognize costs in the invoicing subsidiary.The Cross Charges Workbench is a standard Cross Charges NetSuite process that generates Journal entries for the recognition of intercompany costs and revenues. At Novutech, we can build customized cross charging processes (created via scripts) that generate intercompany invoices and bills. If you wish to recognize cross charges directly on invoices and bills instead of journal entries, do not hesitate to reach out to us.Note: before using the intercompany cross charges, you should set up the NetSuite intercompany features.

Why use Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment for multi-subsidiary inventory management?

The Cross-subsidiary fulfillment feature enables your NetSuite account to handle sales orders and returns across multiple subsidiaries. In other words, you will not be limited to fulfill your sales orders from a location belonging to the originating order subsidiary. Regarding the recognition of your intercompany cross charges, Novutech offers the possibility to customize your process according to your needs. Do not hesitate to reach out to us and visit our website for more information.

Key takeaways on NetSuite Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment

  • You will have the opportunity to fulfill sales orders and order returns across multiple subsidiaries.
  • Novutech offers a custom-made process to recharge, via a set of predefined rules, the right amounts from one subsidiary to another one with intercompany bills and intercompany invoices (and not cross charge journal entries, as the standard functionalities would do).

Prerequisites: OneWorld NetSuite account & Intercompany setup (cross-subsidiary charges).

FAQ

Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment is a NetSuite OneWorld feature that allows companies to fulfill sales orders and receive returns across multiple subsidiaries. This means an order created in one subsidiary can be shipped from a location belonging to another subsidiary when inventory is available there.

A company should use Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment when it operates several subsidiaries and wants to optimize stock availability across entities. It is especially useful when the original subsidiary does not have enough inventory, but another subsidiary has the item available.

To use Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment, you need a NetSuite OneWorld account, Multi-Location Inventory enabled, and the Intercompany Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment feature activated. Intercompany setup is also required if cross-subsidiary charges need to be managed.

When an order is fulfilled from another subsidiary, the cost of goods sold is recognized in the subsidiary that ships the goods, while the revenue is recognized in the original invoicing subsidiary. This creates intercompany transactions that must be handled through cross charges or a customized intercompany process.

Yes. With Cross-Subsidiary Fulfillment, NetSuite can manage returns across multiple subsidiaries. A return material authorization, or RMA, can be linked to one subsidiary while the returned items are received in locations belonging to other subsidiaries.

Get in touch

Related articles:

netsuite-articles

NetSuite articles

The custom process described in this article aims at linking purchase orders in one subsidiary to projects in other subsidiaries, while handling the committed and actual intercompany impact of these transactions.

netsuite-articles

NetSuite articles

Choosing the right ERP isn't just a software decision, it's a strategic infrastructure. But here's what most companies miss: choosing the right NetSuite implementation partner matters just as much as choosing the platform itself. Poor set-up turns great software into a nightmare; the right consultant transforms it into competitive advantage.

netsuite-articles

NetSuite articles

Learn the steps and considerations for changing the parent company and adjusting the subsidiary hierarchy in NetSuite. Understand the potential impacts and required permissions to ensure a smooth transition.

Ready to accelerate your growth?

Let's discuss how we can help you move from complexity to clarity.