Allowing Negative Stock

A negative stock occurs when you post a goods issue with a quantity that is larger than the book inventory. Negative stock balances may be required if, for organizational reasons, you enter goods issues before the corresponding goods receipts and the material is already physically located in the warehouse. Negative stocks always indicate that physical movements have to be entered in the system at a later stage. 

To work with negative stock, you must allow it in Customizing and also for the material concerned.

Negative stock is possible for the following stock types and special stocks.

• Stock types:

  unrestricted use stock, blocked stock

• Special stocks:

  Vendor consignment (K), Stock of material provided to vendor (O), Consignment stock with customer (W), Sales order stock (E), Project stock (Q), Returnable packaging with customer (V), Returnable transport packaging (M)

If you work with negative stock balances, ensure that you do not have negative stocks on the balance sheet key date or when you carry out a physical inventory.

For materials that are valuated with the standard price, there are no special features to note for negative stocks. However, for materials with a moving average price, it is possible that a price difference account may be posted to at goods receipt.

If you have a negative stock of a material, the system shows it in the material master record in the accounting view, the plant stock view, and the storage location stock view. The negative stock also displays in the stock lists (GUI transactions and SAP Fiori apps).

To determine which materials have negative stocks, for example, use the Display Warehouse Stocks of Material report. To do so, on the SAP Easy Access screen, choose Logistics→Materials Management→Inventory Management→Environment→Stock→Warehouse Stock (MB52). Or, on the Fiori launchpad choose the Display Warehouse Stock app.

For example, you can execute the selection for several materials or for a storage location that allows negative stocks. For the system to display only the materials with negative stocks, select the Only display negative stocks checkbox on the selection screen.