Siber:
Just to be clear... what does a hard or soft allocation mean?
A SOFT allocation means to "subtract from the available" for a given item/site combination (managed at the in_mstr record level); when a soft allocation is made, there are no specifics to the actual inventory "location detail" that should be used (e.g. location, serial/lot, reference, site... as found in the ld_det).
A HARD allocation goes further have a corresponding "lad_det" record, which holds the "allocation detail" linking an ld_det record (location detail) and the related "order" expected to use it.
In the case of a WO, hard allocations are created when the pick-list is generated. Once the "hard allocation" has been created it can only be replaced by picking/issuing components other than the ones "suggested".
To answer your question, the first approach to a "soft allocation" would be to not create a picklist and basically let the user pick during WO component issue (or backflush). Even if picked/allocated, you can also say "NO" to issue allocated or Issue Picked and let the user specify lot/serials.
Having the system tell you what to pick and save you the time to enter lots/serials and quantities is a nice feature. If your users are constantly getting "incorrect suggestions" to pick from, there is a chance that inventory is not being managed best. Causes for this symptoms are normally: there is a backlog in picking/issuing of components and reporting of intermediate products, picking logic set in 3.24 does not "reflect" or does not take advantage of the warehouse layout (aisle, location, bins, etc), people tend to pull other than what the system suggested or even hints of discrepancies between physical and system.
Areas to learn more from:
WO Status field
WO Picklist procedure help
WO component issue
Inventory Control file picking logic
Although not for WO, also take a look at SO Control File and SO allocations
Look at DB definitions for in_mstr, ld_det, lad_det
