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Item Numbers of Items with Varieties

When you use an Item that has Varieties in a transaction of any kind, you should use a combined Item/Variety Number. This consists of the Item Number itself, from the Item register, and a suffix that indicates the Variety. This suffix is divided into sections, one for each Variety Group.

You can separate the various constituent parts of a combined Item/Variety Number using full stops, or you can specify the length (number of characters) of each part. The full stop method can be easier to manage if you will be typing combined Item/Variety Numbers in to your transactions, as you will not need to remember how many characters are required in each part of the Number. This method also produces Item/Variety Numbers that are easier to read. However, the length method might be preferable if you are using certain types of bar code reader.

If you want to use full stops, you should enter a full stop in the Length field in the Variety Masks setting and in the Code Length field in each Item Variety Group record.

If you want to specify the number of characters of each part of the combined Item/Variety Number, you should enter the length of the first part (the Item Number) in the Length field in the Variety Masks setting, and the number of characters of each section of the suffix in the Code Length field in each Item Variety Group record.

The example combined Item/Variety Numbers illustrated in the diagram below uses the Varieties, Variety Groups and Variety Masks illustrated on their respective pages. Item 10141 is one where we have specified the length (number of characters) of each part. The Item Number is five characters, the first Variety is three characters, and the second and third Varieties are two characters each. Item 10144 is one where the various constituent parts of the combined Item/Variety Number are separated using full stops: the numbers of characters in the Item Number and the Varieties do not matter:

The following points are important:
  • The order of the Variety Groups (Colour, Size, Style in the case of Item 10141; Waist Size, Fit, Leg Length in the case of Item 10144) is the same as was listed on flip A of the Variety Masks setting.

  • If you are specifying the length (number of characters) of each part, as in Item 10141, the number of characters in the first part (the Item Number) must be the same as recorded in the Variety Masks setting. This must therefore be the number of characters in the Item Number in the Item register. Similarly, the number of characters in each section of the second part must be the same as recorded in the Item Variety Groups setting. If there is any variation, Standard ERP will not be able to interpret the combined Item/Variety Number correctly.

  • If you are separating each section with a full stop, the number of characters does not matter.

  • It is recommended that you do not mix the two separation methods. In the example above, the Variety Group for Colour cannot be used with the full stop separator, and so cannot be used with Item 10144.

  • Bear in mind when entering your Varieties that the maximum number of characters that can be used in a combined Item/Variety Number is 20. This includes full stops if you are using that separation method. Depending on the length of your Item Numbers, this imposes a practical limit of three or four Variety Groups for each Item.
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Varieties in Standard ERP:

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