Step IDs and transactions

Step IDs

A step ID is a unique key that identifies the combination of a trace object and the action that is performed on this object. The action is represented by the M3 Business Engine transaction type. The step ID contains information about the performed action, the warehouse, and the trace object.

An example is a step ID that identifies the receipt of a purchased (PO) lot into a specific warehouse:

Step ID: PO.Whs.Item.Lot

See Interfacing with M3 Business Engine.

Transactions

Transactions are accepted by M3 Graphical Lot Tracker through a data queue:

1. The transactions are placed in the M3 Graphical Lot Tracker data queue.
2. The transactions are validated.
3. The transactions are accepted or rejected.

Before a transaction can be accepted, these conditions must be met:

• The transaction must have a link between two valid trace steps.
• The transaction must link to an already existing step ID, unless the transaction is the start of a trace.

When the transaction has been accepted, the To-Step ID is added to the trace data in addition to a link between the From-Step ID and the To-Step ID. The transaction is then removed from the data queue.