Fulfillment Units

In Alma, the Fulfillment Unit is the fundamental structural component that governs how items circulate within your institution. It serves as the logical container that connects physical locations with the rules and policies that determine how patrons can interact with those items.

Fulfillment Units Defined

A Fulfillment Unit is a logical grouping of one or more physical locations within your institution that all share and apply the same set of circulation policies.

Fulfillment Units can be found in Configuration > Fulfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Fulfillment Units

*Please note that Fulfillment Units can be configured for entire institutions, or for specific libraries. Changing the Configuring drop-down menu at the top-left corner of the screen will change your results.

Core Components and Their Roles

The Fulfillment Unit acts as a container for the following essential components, which work together to process circulation transactions:

Component	Where to find/configure in Alma	Role in Circulation	Key Details
Physical Locations	Configuration > Fulfillment > Locations > Physical Locations *only found when configuring a specific library in your institution)	Defines where an item is physically held.	Each location is linked to a specific library within your institution and is the base for assigning policies. All locations within the same Fulfillment Unit share the same set of rules.
Fulfillment Rules	Configuration > Fulfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Fulfillment Units	Determines when and which policy is applied to an item.	Rules evaluate a transaction against specific criteria (parameters) to select the correct TOU. Rules can use criteria based on both the Patron (e.g., user group, job category) and the Item (e.g., location, item policy, material type).
Terms of Use (TOU)	Configuration > Fulfillment > Physical Fulfillment > Terms of Use and Policies	Defines the what—the specific circulation policies and parameters.	A group of fulfillment policies organized by type (e.g., Loan, Request, Booking, Resource Sharing). Crucially, each Fulfillment Rule points to exactly one TOU.

Network Fulfillment Units (Consortial Environments)

In a consortial (shared) environment utilizing the Alma Network Zone (NZ), a Network Fulfillment Unit is used to manage circulation policies that apply across multiple institutions, such as consortial loan (CLS/AFN) transactions.

Function: It is possible for an Institution-only Fulfillment Unit to incorporate rules from a Network Fulfillment Unit (like the 'WRLC Fulfillment Network'). This allows for centralized management of shared policies.
Example: In your consortium, the 'WRLC Fulfillment Network' is the single NZ fulfillment unit containing all rules specific to CLS/AFN transactions.

To configure the use of Network Zone rules in a specific Fulfillment Unit, choose the WRLC Fulfillment Network from the drop-down menu in the Fulfillment Unit configuration page, under the option Use Rules From Network Fulfillment Unit. Do not checkmark 'Use Network Rules First.'

Understanding the Fulfillment Unit Hierarchy

The process of determining the final circulation policy follows a precise hierarchical order, which includes the evaluation of Network rules:

Start with the Location: When a patron attempts a transaction, Alma first identifies the Fulfillment Unit associated with the item’s Physical Location.
Determine Transaction Type: Alma immediately filters the relevant policies based on the type of transaction being performed (e.g., Loan, Request, or Booking). This restricts the evaluation to only the Fulfillment Rules associated with that category of Terms of Use.
Evaluate Institution Rules: Alma checks the list of Fulfillment Rules configured directly in the Institution-only Fulfillment Unit, evaluating them in their configured order.
Evaluate Network Rules: If no Institution Rule is met, Alma proceeds to evaluate the rules within the Network Fulfillment Unit (if one is configured for the Institution's unit). These rules are evaluated in their configured order.
Apply Default Rule: If no rule in either the Institution or Network unit is met, the system applies the final Default Rule at the end of the rule list.
Apply the TOU: The first Rule whose criteria are met (whether Institution, Network, or Default) will be triggered, and its linked Term of Use (TOU) will be applied to the transaction (e.g., a 3-week loan).

Policy Overrides: Item Policies

Item Policies are the mechanism used to create exceptions to the standard circulation policies defined by the Fulfillment Unit.

Item Policies (Item Policy 1, 2, 3, etc.): These are special codes that can be configured and added directly to an item record (e.g., "Library Use Only"). An Item Policy can be used as a parameter in a Fulfillment Rule to override the default TOU for that item's location, creating an exception for a specific piece of material, regardless of the patron's status.