Item (3PL)
One record per product a customer stores with you. It is not an item of your own: it never appears on sales, purchasing or stock screens. It gives the receipt and release lines a name, a unit and the batch rule to follow.
What it is for
A 3PL receipt line must name an item. This screen is where those items are kept, per company. The Required Batch tick here is the one setting that changes what a receipt or release accepts.
The Customer on the item is recorded only. The Item lookup on a receipt or release line offers every 3PL item of the company, not only the items of the customer on the document. Put the customer's code at the start of the item code, such as ACME-0001, so the right item is easy to find.
Every field in plain words
General tab
| Field | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Item | The item code | A code such as ACME-0001. Required |
| Customer | The customer who owns the goods | Pick the customer. Recorded only |
Basic Data tab
| Field | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The item's short name | Required. Kept per language. Copied onto document lines |
| Discription | A longer description | Free text |
| Notes | Anything else | Free text |
| Inventory Unit | The unit the item is counted in | Pick a 3PL unit. Required. Picking it adds a line for that unit with Factor 1 on the Units tab, if there is none yet |
| HS Tariff Code | The customs tariff code | Such as the HS code on the customer's import papers. Recorded only |
| Manufacturer | Who makes it | Free text code. Recorded only |
| Class | A grouping of your own | Free text code. Recorded only |
| Price | A declared value per unit | A number. Recorded only |
| Currency | The currency of Price | See If something looks wrong: this lookup is mis-set |
| Weight Unit, Weight | The weight of one unit | Pick a unit and type the weight. Recorded only |
| Required Batch | Every receipt and release line of this item must carry a batch number | Tick it for goods with lot numbers or expiry |
| Required Serial | Every line must carry a serial number | See If something looks wrong: this check does not work today |
| Volume Unit, Volume | The volume of one unit | Recorded only |
| Dimension Unit, length, Width, height | The size of one unit | Recorded only |
Units tab
One line per unit the item is handled in, such as a carton of 12.
| Field | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory Unit | The item's counting unit | Fills in from the header when you add a line |
| Movement Unit | The unit goods arrive or leave in | Pick a unit, such as Carton |
| Factor | How many inventory units one movement unit holds | 12 for a carton of 12 |
| Rounding | How quantities in this unit are rounded | Recorded only |
| Purchase, Sales | Marks for which side uses the unit | Recorded only |
| Reporting Index | Order of the units in reports | Recorded only |
| Gross Weight, Tare Weight, Net Weight, Gross Depth, Gross Width, Gross Height, Volume | The size and weight of one movement unit | Recorded only |
The Factor is what a receipt or release line uses. When a line is in a movement unit, the line keeps the quantity in inventory units as well: Movement Quantity times Factor.
How to configure it
- Create the item with the customer's code in front, and pick the Customer.
- Pick the Inventory Unit, usually the smallest unit the customer counts.
- On Units, add each carton, pallet or case the goods arrive in, with its Factor.
- Tick Required Batch if every movement must name a batch.
Scenarios
- A pharmaceutical importer stores medicines with you. Tick Required Batch on each item. A receipt line without the batch number is refused on Save.
- Goods arrive in cartons of 24, leave in single packs. Inventory Unit Pack; on Units, Carton with Factor 24.
What it is connected to
- Unit (3PL) - the units picked here.
- Warehouse Receipt, Warehouse Release - each line names an item and brings its name, unit and batch rule.
If something looks wrong
- The Currency lookup lists units, not currencies. As shipped, the Currency field looks up the unit list. Treat Price and Currency as notes until this is corrected.
- A line without a serial number is saved although Required Serial is ticked. The serial check does not look at the serial number today, so it never refuses. Check serial numbers by eye.
- There is no Block tick or Country of Origin. The layout has places for them, but the screen has no such fields configured, so they are never shown.