Units of Measure

MAC-PAC maintains four units of measure for each item on the Part Master File.  These units of measure are specified on the Description screen in the Part Master Maintenance conversation.  Once these units of measure have been specified for an item, and the item has activity, they are very difficult to change.  Consequently, you should choose the units carefully. 

·     Stockkeeping (or standard) unit of measure.  The unit of measure used for inventory balances.  For example, an inventory balance of 120 may mean 120 items, 120 boxes, 120 dozens, 120 gallons, etc., depending on the stockkeeping unit of measure. 

·     Selling unit of measure.  The unit used when the item is sold.  For example, you might stock an item individually but sell it in boxes of 12.  When the selling unit of measure is different from the stockkeeping unit of measure, you must enter the factor to be used for converting selling units to stockkeeping units.  If you do not enter a selling unit of measure, the field defaults to the stockkeeping unit of measure.

·     Supplementary unit of measure.  The unit used when imports and exports of the item are reported to the government.  For example, you may track inventory for wine in bottles but the government may require reports to be expressed in liters.  When the supplementary unit of measure is different from the stockkeeping unit of measure, you must enter the factor to be used for converting supplementary units to stockkeeping units.  If you do not enter a supplementary unit of measure, the field defaults to the stockkeeping unit of measure.

·     Purchasing unit of measure.  The unit used when ordering the item from a supplier.  For example, an item may be stored individually but purchased in boxes of 50.  When the purchasing unit of measure is different from the stockkeeping unit of measure, you must enter a number to be used to convert from the purchasing unit of measure to the stockkeeping unit of measure.  Purchasing unit of measure is only relevant for items that are purchased.  If no purchasing unit of measure is defined, the field defaults to the stockkeeping unit of measure. 

A fifth unit of measure, the pricing unit of measure, is defined for items that are sold to customers.  It is stored with other pricing information on the item's Warehouse Balance File record, rather than on the Part Master File.  The Warehouse Balance File is maintained within Inventory Control or Order Processing.