Inventory items are requisitioned, purchased, received, and stocked in standard units of measure (UOM). Examples of units of measure include:
Each item in the Statewide Item File is assigned an SKU. The SKU for an item is found in the SKU field on the Item Short Name Lookup (ISN) screen in the Purchasing module.
There are serious implications for the Inventory module if an inappropriate SKU is assigned to an item. For example, an agency’s main warehouse buys safety goggles from vendors by the carton (of 20 items) and stocks the goggles on its shelves by the carton. In addition, the agency’s subwarehouses receive the item in cartons from the main warehouse. Therefore, the main warehouse manager requests that the item’s SKU be a carton of twenty when the OSC Client Support establishes the item. However, the subwarehouses issue goggles individually to the customer. The subwarehouses need a smaller SKU than the one required by the main warehouse. If the SKU for the item is already set as a carton, the subwarehouse must do one of two things:
Just as the SKU required by one warehouse can be inappropriate for another warehouse, a warehouse can choose an SKU that is inappropriate for its own needs. For example, a warehouse requests an SKU of BG (bag) for all-purpose enriched flour. The warehouse manager chooses this SKU believing that it will allow the warehouse to order any size bag of flour. One month the warehouse orders a five lb. bag of flour because it is more economical per pound than a larger bag. The vendor runs a special on larger bags the next month, so the warehouse orders 10 lb. bags of flour. Because the SKU is bag, the NCAS views a five lb. bag and 10 lb. bag of flour as equal. As a result, the unit cost is incorrect as well as the average cost per pound of flour. In addition, it is difficult to perform counts of this item. Because of the SKU, the warehouse must count the number of bags in stock. This method of counting does not recognize that the bags are different sizes. Therefore, it is unclear exactly how much stock of flour the warehouse maintains.
If the warehouse were to change the SKU for the flour to LB (pound), the average cost and counting problems would be corrected, but other problems could surface. Although the warehouse is no longer concerned with different bag sizes when counting, it can be difficult to count an item in pounds, particularly if the warehouse maintains a large inventory of flour. The warehouse employees must weigh the flour to determine how much stock is stored in the warehouse. It could also be difficult to issue the item to customers. If a customer orders seven lbs. of flour and the flour is stored in 20 lb. bags, the warehouse employee must break open a bag and weigh out seven lbs. of flour. It is apparent from this example that it can be difficult to assign an appropriate SKU to some items.
Many inventory items are stocked by more than one agency. Different agencies do not always use the same SKU for an item. One agency may require that the SKU be a case of 24 whereas another agency stocks the item in eaches. To support multiple agency needs, the OSC Client Support may establish the same item multiple times in the NCAS. Each time that the item is established, it will have a unique item number and SKU. When selecting an item from the Statewide Item File, be sure that you select the item with the appropriate SKU.
Because the SKU for an item is established when defining the item, it is necessary that the warehouse requesting the addition of an item to the item file provide the OSC with the appropriate SKU. If the value entered is inaccurate, only the OSC is authorized to change the item information. However, if there are outstanding orders for the item, the OSC cannot change the item information.