Inventory Concepts

Product Organization

Inventory is a listing of goods held in local storage or bailment, which may be organized by:

Data Name	Other descriptions or uses
IDENTIFIER	Master identifier used by inventory system
PRODUCT	Product code, stock number, catalog code, buyer’s number ...
CONTROL	Lot number, batch, job, production code, date code, ...
UNIT	Handling unit: pallet, roll, coil, bundle, bag, billet, ...
PACKAGE	Countable sub-unit: case, carton, box, sack, ...
INNER	Enclosed items: inner pack, each, piece ...

Each product and lot is categorized by an array of codes and values to describe the item. Links to the code lists for products and lot control follow:

Data Name	Code list
PRODUCT	Product Identification Codes
CONTROL	Lot Control Codes

Units of Measure

Product inventory is measured by countable packages (PACKAGE), which may be accumulated into handling units (UNIT), and subdivided into inner elements (INNER). The basis for inventory counts or measures is specified with Units of Measure (UOMs) particular to each product. For further reference, see this Table of Industry Standard Units of Measure.

The classic case of inventory is a pallet (unit) of cartons (packages), with each carton uniformly filled with inner packs or eaches. Products deviate from this ideal configuration, and so the dimensional analysis of UNIT, PACKAGE, and INNER, along with weights and measures, must be entered separately for each product. Further, the inventory of lots and units of a product may deviate from the product definition, and so inventory documents must record the exact counts and measures for every transaction.

When defining products, the units of dimension are built up from the smallest shippable quantity to the largest handling unit. The master product entries generate default values for content and unit weights and sizes as follows:

Qty	UOM	Count	Net Weight	Tare Wt	Dimension
INNER	EA,...	PCS	WGHT	(N/A)	ISIZE
PACKAGE	CA,...	CNT	NET = PCS X WGHT	TARE	SIZE = ISIZE X PCS
UNIT	PL,...	1	UNET = CNT X ( NET + TARE )	UTARE	USIZE = SIZE X CNT

Individual units may be received with unique values for the inner PCS count, WGHT, and ISIZE, the package CNT, NET, TARE, and SIZE, or handling/shipping unit UNET and UTARE weights and the USIZE.

Quantity Setup Considerations

Almost every product can be tracked with proper setup, with rare exceptions. The following table shows example product setup values for a variety of product categories commonly stored in warehouse inventory:

	INNER – – –			PACKAGE – – – – –				UNIT – – – –
Description	UOM	PCS	WGHT	UOM	CNT	NET	TARE	UOM	UNET	UTARE
innerpacked cartons	PK	12	1.2	CA	96	14.4	1.0	PL	1382	65
each packed cartons	EA	144	.12	CA	54	17.3	2.0	PL	1041	65
cartons on pallets	–	–	–	CA	48	21.0	1.0	PL	1056	65
knock-down cartons	–	–	–	CT	810	2.1		BD	1701	20
sack/bag product	–	–	–	BG	40	50.0	0.5	PL	2020	75
empty soda cans	–	–	–	EA	6000	0.1		PL	600	200
pails on pallets	–	–	–	PA	36	50.0	1.5	PL	1854	75
dbl-pack paper roll	FT	550		RL	2	1157		PK	2315	55
measured paper roll	–	–	–	FT	1100			RL	2315	55
flooring roll	–	–	–	FT	500	5.0		RL	2500
steel coil	–	–	–	FT	1000	6.0		CI	6000	200
liquid drums	GL	55	8.3	DR	4	457	47	PL	2016	75
liquid tote tank	–	–	–	GL	300	8.34		TE	2502	75
machinery	–	–	–	SF	30			EA	2913
bulk tank	–	–	–	GL	50000	8.34		BN
bulk pallets	–	–	–	EA		75		BN

Product Setup

A product’s Unit of Measure (UOM) entries are set on the Product masterfile record, but masterfile quantity entries (PCS, WGHT, CNT, NET, TARE, SIZE, UNET, UTARE, USIZE) are defaults of values which may be entered separately for each received unit.

Products and Varieties provides a detailed description for entering products.