Units of Measure

In Deacom, unit conversion factors are stored centrally in the Unit of Measure table. The advantage of this setup is that the conversion factor can be noted once instead of multiple times in the Item Master setup. Additionally, since the conversion factor between units is established, the purchasing and sales functionality in Deacom is no longer limited to operating with the Item Master’s Unit of Measure. The setup of the unit of measure conversion factors affects Items Masters, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, BOM maintenance, and production Jobs.

In addition, the amount of time it takes in minutes to prepare a specific Unit of Measure for shipment, or the amount of time it takes to unload a specific Unit of Measure, can be specified on the Unit of Measure record. This feature supports the Dock scheduling capability within Deacom.

Base Units

Each type of unit (each, cube, length, volume, or weight) must have a single base unit of measure established in the form, which will be used for all conversion factors. This base unit is selected by checking the "Base Unit" flag on the Edit Unit of Measure form. All the base units should have the "Factor" set to 1. Additional units of measure created with conversion factors are known as derived units.

For organizations who work primarily in imperial units, the base unit for volume and weight will be gallons and pounds, respectively. For example, if the base unit for weight is pounds, then the conversion factor for the kilogram unit will be 2.2046 because there are 2.2046 pounds per kilogram.

For the purpose of purchasing and sales packaging where package items are not being used in Deacom, boxes, bags, drums, pails, and other types of packaging can be defined as containing a certain number of base units. For example, a Unit of Measure can be setup called “Box - 20 lb”. Every possible packaging type that requires conversion must be present in the Unit of Measure table.

Example setups

Below are examples of how the Unit of Measure table can be setup in Deacom for both Imperial Standard and Metric.

Imperial Standard				Metric
Name	Type	Factor	Base Unit	Name	Type	Factor	Base Unit
Each	Each	1	Yes	Each	Each	1	Yes
Box - 12	Each	12	No	Box - 12	Each	12	No
Case - 24	Each	24	No	Case - 24	Each	24	No
Feet	Length	1	Yes	Meter	Length	1	Yes
Yard	Length	3	No	Centimeter	Length	.01	No
Inch	Length	.08333	No	Kilometer	Length	1000	No
Gallon	Volume	1	Yes	Liter	Volume	1	Yes
Quart	Volume	.25	No	Centiliter	Volume	.01	No
Pint	Volume	.125	No	Kiloliter	Volume	1000	No
Pound	Weight	1	Yes	Gram	Weight	1	Yes
Gram	Weight	.00220462	No	Centigram	Weight	.01	No
Kilogram	Weight	2.20462	No	Kilogram	Weight	1000	No
MBF	Cube	1	Yes	Cubic Meter	Cube	1	Yes
BF	Cube	.001	No	Cubic Centimeter	Cube	.000001	No
Cubic Feet	Cube	.0120004	No	Cubic Kilometer	Cube	1,000,000,000	No

Lumber

Lumber is normally stocked by the stick, with pricing by the MBF. MBF is defined as the base unit for the Cube UOM. As the base unit, the factor is 1.00. The pricing factor is on the "Unit Cube" field of the Item Master Calcs tab. If a Pricing factor is set to show that each stick equals 0.012 MBF and 1,000 sticks are purchased at the cost of $420 per MBF, then the following two equations can be used to determine the correct extension:

Order Amount in Stock Unit x Pricing Factor from Unit Cube = Order amount in Stock Pricking Unit (In this case, 1,000 pieces x 0.012 MBF per piece = 12 MBF.)
Order Amount in Stock Pricing Unit x Purchase cost = Extension (In this case, 12 MBF x $420/MBF = $5040.)

This transaction would put 1,000 sticks into inventory, at the cost of $5,040 for the load. Divided by 1,000 sticks, the total shows that the individual Lot cost is $5.04 per stick. The GL transaction of the receipt would put the $5,040 into inventory, crediting AP Suspense for the same amount. If done in standard cost mode, and the purchase price are the same as the standard cost, so there would be no purchase price variance.

Weight to volume and volume to weight conversions

While the relationship between one weight unit and another, like pounds and kilograms, or one volume unit and another, like gallons and liters, is constant and can be stored in the Unit of Measure table, the relationship between weight and volume is different from one item to the next, and must still be stored on the Item Masters Calcs tab. The Calcs tab contains the conversion factors, for a specific item, between weight, volume, cube, and length. The five fields on the tab used for weight to volume and volume to weight conversions are as follows: Unit Weight, Unit Volume, Unit Cube, Unit Length, and Tare Weight.

System Navigation

Inventory > Maintenance > Units of Measure

Edit Unit of Measure form

Opened via the "New" or "Modify" buttons on the Units of Measure form.

General tab

Field/Flag	Description
Name	The name of the Unit of Measure.
Type	Pick list used to define the measurement type. Options are: Cube Each Length Volume Weight
Factor	Defines the conversion factor used by the UOM flagged as "Base Unit" for the same "Type". Example: A "Bag - 50lb" UOM with a "Type" of "Weight" would have a "Factor" of "50", representing 50 pounds per one bag.
Shipment Mins	Defines the time in minutes that it takes to load a "Sales Unit" defined on the Sales Order line. Used in connection with the Dock Calendar. Example: A tanker truck takes 30 minutes to load at the dock. This field provides the default for the "Dock Minutes" (or_dockmins) field on the Edit Sales Order Line General tab. Shipment Minutes may also be defined on Item Masters, Categories, and Sub-Categories, allowing companies to define a hierarchy for the minutes that will be required for shipping. When specifying Dock Minutes on a Sales Order line, the minutes are based on the "Sales Unit", not the "Stock Unit".
Receipt Mins	Defines the time in minutes that it takes to unload a "Purchase Unit" defined on the Purchase Order line. Used in connection with the Dock Calendar. Example: A tanker truck takes 30 minutes to unload while backed into the dock. This field provides the default for the "Dock Minutes" (pu_dockmins) field on the Edit Purchase Order Line General tab. Receipt Minutes may also be defined on Item Masters, Categories, and Sub-Categories, allowing companies to define a hierarchy for the minutes that will be required for receiving. When specifying Dock Minutes on a Purchase Order line, the minutes are based on the "Purchase Unit", not the "Stock Unit".
FedEx Unit	Pick list required if using the FedEx API used to select the unit that will be used to measure shipments. For Each type packages, select "Each". The unit selected in this field will also be visible in the "IATA Unit" pick list on the Item Master Calcs tab.
FedEx Factor	Defines the conversion factor. Required if using the FedEx API. For Each type packages, use a value of 1. Example: If using a UOM of "Box - 10lb", enter a value of 10 in this field.
EDI Code	Defines the standard EDI code used for the Unit of Measure. The most commonly used codes are indicated below. Please note this is not an all inclusive list. Bag = BG Barrel = BR Bottle = BO Box = BX Bucket = BC Can = CN Case = CA Dozen = DZ Drum = DR Each = EA Fluid Ounce = FO Gallon = GA Gram = GR Keg = KE Kilogram = KG Liter = LT Milliliter = ML Ounce Av = OZ Package = PK Pail = PA Pair = PR Pallet = PLT Pound = LB Quart = QT Unit = UN Note: The stockunitedi, pricunitedi and saleunitedi variables are available to sales order header triggers and sales printouts to represent the EDI codes defined in this field.
Base Unit	If checked, the selected UOM is the base unit for the designated measurement "Type". Example: If "Type" is set to "Weight", the base unit would most likely be one pound.
Active	If checked, this record is active. Only active records may be used in the system.
Default	If checked, the selected UOM is used as the default when new Parts are created.
Restrict Sales Picking to Container Units	If checked for a sales unit, the user will only be allowed to pick Lots with the matching container unit when reserving and shipping in both the main app and when reserving in WMS.

User Fields tab

Deacom allows the creation of user-defined fields that, once created are available in various master data records, such as Items, Vendors, Ship-To-Comapnies and many others. These fields allow companies to enter and store information outside of the fields provided in the system. User fields can also be used in connection with User Calculations to and are available for printing on the majority of Part Forms and Report Layouts throughout the system.