Outbound Delivery Processing
The outbound delivery
The delivery is the logistics document that executes a sales order. Its type (for example LF, standard outbound delivery) and item category (DLN) control picking, packing, goods issue and billing relevance. Deliveries are created from confirmed schedule lines only; copy control between order type and delivery type decides which items are copied and which requirement routines must pass.
Three determinations dominate this topic:
- Shipping point: derived from shipping condition (order or customer), plant and the material's loading group.
- Route: derived from departure zone (shipping point/plant), destination zone (ship-to), shipping condition and shipping type/weight group; it drives transit time and therefore the planned delivery date.
- Availability check (ATP): runs at delivery creation; partially confirmed quantities can be split into several schedule lines and deliveries.
Execution steps
Pick (VL02N), pack into handling units, then post goods issue. Goods issue reduces inventory, creates material and FI documents, sets the goods-issue status, and - when billing relevance refers to goods issue - makes the delivery billable. The delivery due list (VL10) is the worklist for creating deliveries in bulk.
Traps
- Delivery date, goods issue date and billing date are three different dates; the billing date rule decides which is proposed on the invoice.
- Header delivery blocks (for example credit or a manual block) stop goods issue, not picking.
- Over- and under-delivery tolerances come from the item category, not the delivery type.
- Reversing goods issue (VL09) is not the same as cancelling the delivery; to return to a clean order you must do both, in the right order.
Rule of thumb
Ask what blocks billing and follow the chain: item not delivery-relevant → not goods-issued (when billing is GI-related) → billing block → billing date not reached.