Missing a delivery deadline is a nightmare for any business. But in IFS ERP, staring at a screen full of different date fields – Planned Delivery Date, Wanted Delivery Date, Planned Ship Date – can feel like trying to decode a foreign language. One wrong assumption, and a critical order gets delayed.
When those dates are misunderstood, the domino effect is brutal. Your production schedule goes out of sync, warehouse teams scramble, and frontline customer service reps are left guessing. Worst of all? You have to make that dreaded call to a frustrated customer to explain why their shipment is late. In the world of enterprise planning, a simple mix-up between a wanted date and a promised date can cost you serious trust and revenue.
It doesn’t have to be a guessing game. Mastering the key date fields on your IFS customer orders is the secret to unlocking flawless on-time delivery and crystal-clear customer communication. In this guide, we break down exactly what each major IFS date field means, how they calculate behind the scenes, and how you can use them to keep your supply chain perfectly on track.
WANTED DELIVERY DATE/TIME
This is the most important date on the customer order. All other dates flow from this field. This is the date on which the customer wants the order to be delivered their address. This field defaults to the current date (unless you setup a lead time). This date automatically flows to the order lines.
LINE DATES
Planned Delivery Date & Time
The date and time when the goods are planned is to be delivered to the customer’s address. The date can be manually updated but may not be set to a date earlier than the target date. This date can be adjusted automatically after the capability check is performed.
Target Date & Time
This is the date used by the system after any date adjustments are made or updated. By default this date is set to the same date as the wanted delivery date however the target date can be manually updated.
Planned Ship Date & Time
The date and time the delivery is planned to leave the your premises to meet the target date & time date. If the system has an external transit lead time this date will take that into account.
**A sum of Internal lead times **
Promised Delivery Date/Time
The date/time on which the goods are promised to be delivered to the customer’s address. This is defaults as the same as the planned delivery date/time but will change as dates change in the supply chain.
**A sum of internal lead times + external lead times**
First Actual Ship Date
The date of the first delivery. This date is set when the first set of products occurs. This cannot be modified.
Last Actual Ship Date
The date of the last delivery. This date is set when the first set of products occurs. This cannot be modified.
Supply Site Due Date
Used for internal transfers. This is the wanted delivery date minus total shipping time, where also weekends and holidays are considered when necessary.