Setting up ingredient information for Process Manufacturing

To set up components, or ingredients, to use in formulas:

  1. Set up each ingredient on the Items form. Include the item U/M and, for food or other process-tracked ingredients, ensure that Lot Tracking is selected.
  2. For each item, set up extended unit of measure information in the Process Manufacturing Item Extensions form. When you specify an item, a density, and a class, the information in the grid is automatically populated. All of the units of measure that can be used for this item in formulas are automatically calculated here. Specify this information:
    Item
    Select an item from the Items form.
    Density
    Provide the item density, which is needed if you want the system to calculate between volume and weight units for the item. Depending on the settings, this value might be populated automatically with the calculated formula density. If the item's base unit of measure is in weight, but the formula's unit of measure is volumetric, the process determines the conversion to the base U/M for the item, and then divides by the item's density. The reverse is applied when converting from volume to weight.
    Fill Quantity
    This value is usually required only for finished goods, to indicate how much WIP is needed to fill one finished goods container. For example, if you have a 15 oz bottle, you would fill it with 15 fluid ounces of the WIP item. For an item where the stock U/M is Case, you would specify the appropriate number of pounds to fill the case.
    Fill U/M
    This unit of measure, used with the Fill Quantity, is usually required only for finished goods.
    U/M Class

    Select the U/M class for the item. This populates the list of U/M conversions in the grid. The conversions are calculated using the provided information for the item, such as density and fill quantity.

    You can also manually add some conversions to the list. If you plan to add manual U/M conversions for the item that are not included in the U/M class, you must add the conversions in the grid before you create inventory or perform transactions.

    You can access any of the U/Ms in this list when you are creating a formula that includes this item, or issuing the item in production.

    Item U/M
    The item's stock unit of measure is displayed.
    Override Conversion Factor
    If this check box is cleared, the Conversion Factor to Item U\M and Conversion Factor From Item U/M values for the item and U/M are taken from the Unit of Measure Conversions form, and the values cannot be changed here. If this field is selected, you can edit either of the other two fields. If you change one of the fields, the other field is automatically calculated to hold the inverse value.

    Usually you should clear this field and let the conversion factor values default. However, there might be cases where density and location require a change from the stock conversions. For example, your main warehouse is located at sea level, and your stock conversion values are based on the conversions at sea level. However, you will temporarily produce this item out of a different warehouse at a high altitude, which affects the density of the product and thus the volume conversions.

    If this check box is selected, and you change the Fill Quantity or Density values for this item, the system attempts to update the conversion information.

    Example: For an EACH item, the U/M for the grid row is GA and you set the Conversion Factor to Item U\M to 5, meaning that it takes 5 gallons of the item to fill one EACH (container). For the inverse conversion, from EACH (container) to GAL for the item, the Conversion Factor From Item U/M is then automatically set to 0.2, meaning that 20 percent of the contents of the container would fill one gallon.

    Conversion Factor to Item U\M
    Optionally, specify a conversion factor to get from this U/M to the item's stock U/M. See the Override Conversion Factor field description for more information.
    Conversion Factor from Item U\M
    Optionally, specify a conversion factor to get from the item's stock U/M to this U/M. See the Override Conversion Factor field description for more information.
  3. Save your changes.