Understanding Standard Units of Measure

You must define units of measure for each inventory item. Use the standard unit of measure information as a template for configuring the unit of measure information. You specify the primary unit of measure and unit of measure conversions for:

• Each item or item/branch combination.

• All items using standard units of measure.

Specify the primary unit of measure information for individual items or item/branch combinations when you set up item or branch information. The system stores unit of measure information in the Item Units of Measure Conversion Factors table (F41002).

The system stores unit of measure conversions that are not item specific in the Unit of Measure Standard Conversion table (F41003). You can also use unit of measure conversion information that you set up here for non-stock items in other distribution systems.

After you enter a transaction, the system uses this hierarchy to determine the unit of measure for an item:

1. The system first searches the Item Master for records that have item-specific unit of measure conversions.

2. If no records are found in the F41002 table, the system checks for system-wide standard UOM conversions for the item or item/branch in the F41003 table.

3. If no records are found in either the F41002 table or the F41003 table, the system displays an error message.

When you define standard units of measure, you can create any number of conversion factors for any number of units of measure, but they must all be able to convert to primary through either a direct path—for example, 1 box equals 2 each where each is primary—or an indirect path—for example, 1 crate equals 2 boxes equals 4 each. You can also set up conversion factors that associate each unit of measure with the primary unit of measure.