Unit of Measure Structures

You must define a unit of measure structure to process an item in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Warehouse Management system. A unit of measure structure describes the relationship between the smallest unit of measure and larger units of measure, such as each to box, box to case, and case to pallet. For example, if you lack bulk floor space and you receive a pallet of 500 items, the unit of measure structure enables you to convert a pallet to a smaller unit of measure automatically and to store the items in smaller locations. The system uses the unit of measure structure to select the most efficient unit of measure for picking, putaway, and replenishment.

You can define an unlimited number of unit of measure conversions for an item. For example, you can define conversions such as 24 items per case, 16 cases per pallet, and so on. However, the system limits the structure to 5 unit of measure levels. You assign a code (1 through 5) to each unit of measure level in the structure.

Each item must have a primary unit of measure. The primary unit of measure is the smallest unit of measure that the system can track. You should assign a structure code of 1 to the largest unit of measure, such as a pallet. The system automatically assigns the highest numeric structure code for an item (up to five unit of measure levels) to the primary (smallest) unit of measure.

The system uses the unit of measure conversions based on how you set the unit of measure conversion in System Constants. You can use conversions that were defined for the item in a specific branch/plant, or you can define conversions for an item that apply to all branch/plants. If you do not set the unit of measure conversion, the system searches for the item's conversion in the Item Master table.

The system overrides the Unit of Measure structures for each item that is tracked in the system by a serial number. For these items, the primary unit of measure is always in level one, with a quantity of one. The system tracks serial numbers using one record for each serial number. You cannot merge these records.