Grade and Potency Qualifications

Manufacturers in the process industry need full control over the quality of products that they make or buy. Examples of process industries include the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Grade and potency qualifications enable you to categorize products more specifically and trace their movement through the manufacturing and distribution processes.

Grade identifies the particular specification makeup of an item and enables the system to separate one lot from other production lots without changing the item number. Examples of items that have grades are diamonds, lumber, and raw turquoise. Potency refers to the percentage of active ingredient within a solution, such as a 40 percent solution of hydrochloric acid, 3.2 beer versus beer with standard percentages of alcohol, and coffee with varying amounts of caffeine.

In the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne systems, grade and potency are mutually exclusive. You can use only one or the other to categorize an item. All items that are grade- or potency-controlled must also be tracked by lot number. Grades and potencies divide items by their specific makeup or characteristics without changing item numbers. Programs that calculate on-hand and available quantities use the grade or potency for each lot.

For grade- and potency-controlled items, you can enter a standard (preferred) value for each item. You can also enter a range of acceptable values that enable you to continue operations with grades or potencies that are outside of the standard value, but are still acceptable for use. A range helps to establish and maintain quality levels in products, but is flexible enough to keep operations running when the standard level of product is unavailable. The system records grade or potency and lot transfer transactions in the item ledger and the general ledger, so that accounting is incorporated into the tracking.

Only items that meet the grade or potency range requirements stated in the bill of material are issued to the shop floor for production. Components that are outside of the range do not appear as available or on-hand in material inquiries for JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Shop Floor Management. You can order only a certain grade or potency of an item. Sales order and purchase order systems accommodate grade and potency standards and ranges.