FAQs - Base Unit of Measures

Here are common questions to help you decide which Base Unit of Measure to use or whether to create multiple items for each Unit of Measure:

1. What Unit of Measure do you use for purchasing, stocking, selling, consumption, and forecasting?

   • Consider how you handle these processes across your business when choosing the Base Unit of Measure (UOM).

2. What is your trading partners' preference?

   • For example, Walmart prefers to use EACH for EDI 850 orders. If you keep inventory in CASE, you’ll need to break down CASE quantities into EACH to meet demand or have your EDI provider convert EACH to CASE in GoldFinch. Both options are complex and not ideal.

3. Do you need to break bulk often?

   • If breaking bulk is infrequent, it might make sense to create separate items for each UOM instead of managing breakbulk manually.

4. How does Unit of Measure affect item costs?

   • If you frequently break bulk and set up multiple items for different UOMs, there’s a risk of incorrect costing between the items, so plan carefully.

5. How is the Supply Plan calculated?

   • The Supply Plan is based on the Base Unit of Measure, not any other UOMs you’ve set up for the item. This is important to keep in mind when defining your Base UOM.

Recommendations for Base Unit of Measure Setup

• Raw Material Items: Use the most commonly used stocking UOM as the Base Unit of Measure, even if it’s not the smallest or largest UOM. Additional UOMs should be set up for purchasing and consumption purposes.

• Finished Goods Items: Set the most commonly used selling UOM as the Base Unit of Measure.

• Batch Manufactured Items: Use the default weight UOM (e.g., KG or LB) as the Base Unit of Measure. You can define various batch UOMs for different batch sizes, and it’s possible to pack the output (e.g., KG or LB) into different UOMs like Case or Carton.

By carefully considering your processes and trade partner requirements, you can optimize your UOM setup and avoid unnecessary complexity.