Multiple Unit Coordination (MUC)

The MUC structure

In its form, an M3 company consists of one legal unit or one division. There is one general ledger for financial purpose and there can be an optional number of facilities and warehouses used for physical flows. For many customers, however, one legal unit is not sufficient.

Instead of setting up parallel companies, which requires double maintenance, you can set up M3 as a multiple unit coordination installation using the MUC.

All financial transactions take place at the division level, which means there is one general ledger per division. One or more facilities are connected to each division, and each division in turn is connected to one or more warehouses.

All physical transactions in M3 take place in a facility and warehouse. The connection to the division ensures that all financial transactions end up in the correct general ledger automatically. This diagram shows a sample structure:

Division AAA has one facility with two warehouses. Division BBB has two facilities, each with one warehouse.

Division CON is used only for consolidation purposes, and primarily for sales statistics. You cannot specify transactions in the CON division.

The blank division is used for central data, which is the central for the company, for example, the item file, customers, suppliers, central currencies, central exchange rates, central number series, etc..

Using divisions and facilities

Typically each division is a separate legal unit with its own general ledger and finances. It does not have to be set up that way, but the maintenance of the finances is simpler.

These are the example setups, where divisions and facilities are used for different purposes based on their different roles within a group of companies:

• Sales for one division, delivery for another

  The case illustrated in this diagram is used when warehouses in one division sell to customers while goods are manufactured and delivered by another division. Delivery is made either from a distribution unit or directly from the manufacturing unit. If goods are delivered from a distribution unit, some kind of distribution must take place from the manufacturing unit to the distribution unit.

  In this example, there are internal invoices and claims between the divisions. The MUC functionality in M3 takes care of this automatically.

  There is no limit to the number of different types of units used for these transactions as long the relationships among them have been defined.

• Distribution from one division to another

  This setup is used when a manufacturing or distributing warehouse in one division supplies the sales warehouse in another division with the goods before they are sold. In this case, the transactions involved in the sales to the end customer are not affected by the MUC functionality. Instead the MUC transactions take place only between the units involved.

• An example of which the MUC functionality is not used

  The case in this diagram shows a transaction, which takes place within one division with different warehouses or facilities. In this case, no MUC functionality is involved.