In NetSuite, an issue was recently observed while reviewing an inventory item record. The system indicated a “Quantity on Hand” for the item at a specific location, yet the “Quantity Available” field remained empty. Upon further investigation, it became clear that no physical stock of the item existed at the location.
Initially, identifying the root of the problem proved challenging, as there were no open transactions—such as purchase or sales orders—associated with the item. However, a closer examination revealed that the item was linked to an Item Fulfillment record with a status of “Picked.” In NetSuite, when an Item Fulfillment record is set to “Picked” or “Packed” but the order has not been fully fulfilled (i.e., shipped), the system designates the item as “committed” to that location. This commitment results in the item appearing as “On Hand” while not being reflected as “Available” for other purposes.
The difficulty in detecting this issue stemmed from the fact that the related sales order had been closed. Once a sales order is closed, the associated Item Fulfillment record becomes locked.
To resolve this discrepancy, two steps are required. First, the closed sales order must be reopened. Following this, one of two actions can be taken: the Item Fulfillment record can be deleted to release the item entirely, or the fulfillment process can be completed by finalizing the shipment. Either approach will remove the commitment and align the inventory data with the actual stock.