Overview
Inventory Commodity Codes (ICC) are a powerful tool in Rootstock. For example, they are used to group Inventory Items with common attributes. When a new item is created using the Engineering Item Master, the selected Commodity Code pre-populates many of the required Item fields for the new Item Masters being added, including the Inventory and Purchasing Item Master records. When the new Engineering Item Master is saved, an Inventory Item Master record is automatically created if the item’s status is “active”. A Purchasing Item Master record is automatically created as well if the Item Source is set to “Purchased" or “Subcontracted" using default fields from the ICC. Commodity Codes simplify and streamline the item creation process. Commodity Codes are required when items are created manually or when new items are loaded into Rootstock via a CSV file import.
NOTE There are two types of Commodity Codes: Inventory and Purchasing.
The Purchasing Commodity Code is created automatically upon the creation of the Inventory Commodity Code and has an identical Code and Description. Many of the field values on the Purchasing Commodity Code are set to defaults based on the Purchasing section of the Inventory Commodity Code.
Many attributes assigned to an item through the Commodity Code can be overridden on the item record itself – thus, attributes on individual items can be defined as required. However, if not overridden, the default fields on the Commodity Code itself can be changed, eliminating the need to change individual Item Master records.
NOTE One of the benefits of Commodity Codes is: If there are certain item attributes that need to be changed for all items using a given commodity code, changing the value on the Commodity Code will change that value for all items using the ICC, as well as all new items created with that ICC. For a few Commodity Code attributes, the data is used only to initialize the field when the record is first created, so changing the ICC value will only affect new items (not existing items). These attributes are noted later in this document.
The ICC assigned to items can be changed after the item is created on the Inventory Item Master; however, once the item has had transactions performed, it is important to fully explore the impact of changing a Commodity Code. Certain attributes – like financial accounts – could change the accounts associated with the item’s transactions.
When an item is manually added to Rootstock, the user specifies the Commodity Code, so the values for Engineering fields (Source Code, Responsible Engineer, Part Status, and Part Type) are initialized from the ICC. Many of the fields on the Commodity Code are default values that are ‘referenced’ by the Inventory Item Master and Purchasing Item Master (where applicable) unless overridden. Such is the case with Lead Times and MRP Policies.
Rootstock requires that at least one Commodity Code be created upon system start-up. It is common to have at least two Commodity Codes: one for “make items and one for “purchased items. Commodity Codes can be added or modified at any time – it is not necessary to define all possible Commodity Codes when Rootstock is first deployed.
NOTE A “default" Commodity Code needs to be entered on the Division Master. When subsequent Commodity Codes are created, the values of the new Commodity Codes automatically match the default Commodity Code’s values so that the user only needs to change those values that need changing for that new Commodity Code. This is useful when creating several Commodity Codes to handle variations in groups of items, such as hardware or electrical components. The Division Master Commodity Code can be changed as different variations are referenced.
Commodity Codes are assigned by Division. If the user views the Inventory Item Master Maintenance or PO Item Master Maintenance or the Inventory Account Code Maintenance, those fields that reference the Commodity Code default will have the fields’ associated Commodity Code set to 'True'. If the user decides to override the Commodity Code value for a specific field, they will uncheck the box and enter the value desired.
How many Commodity Codes should be created?
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Evaluate all of the fields (attributes) available for Commodity Codes. The Commodity Code attributes are grouped by tabs or sections.
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Determine where commonalities exist among the items in the item master. Common examples include:
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Serial or Lot Control
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MRP Planning policies (Re-order point, etc.) Item Source (manufactured, purchased, etc.)
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Item Accounts or Accounting ((finished Goods account, WIP account, etc.)
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Estimate how many items are likely to be in each Commodity Code. Typically, Commodity Codes are created when there is a “one-to-many" relationship between the Commodity Code and items in the item master.
What type of codes should be used?
The actual code assigned is alphanumeric and free-form text and can have embedded blanks. Ideally, the code is a “smart" (i.e., self-descriptive) code to make it easier to choose the correct ICC when adding new Engineering Item Masters. Once a code is created, the description can be changed at any time, but the code itself cannot be changed.
To change the actual ICC identifying code, the Commodity Code must be deleted and then re-created. In order for the Commodity Code to be deleted, any items assigned to the code must be reassigned to a different code first.
EXAMPLES of Commodity Codes
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SHEET-METAL-P-LL
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Sheet metal, purchased, lot-for-lot planning
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CONNECTORS-P-DC
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Connectors, purchased, days cover planning
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MAKE- G
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Manufactured items, finished goods
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PURCHASED
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All purchased items
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PCB-ASSY-M-LL
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Printed circuit boards, assembled, make, lot-for-lot planning
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PCB-ASSY-P-LL
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Printed circuit boards, purchased, lot-for-lot planning
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MAKE-SBASSY-SERIAL
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Manufactured sub-assemblies, serialized
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MAKE- G-LOT
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Manufactured items, finished goods, lot controlled
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To modify an existing record, switch to the Edit function. Use field-level help for further definition of each data field on the screen.
Fields - Header Section
Commodity Code: User-defined identifier (up to 20 characters in length) used to identify a given Commodity Code representing a grouping of items by similar attributes.
Description: User-defined (meaningful) description of the given Commodity Code up to 100 characters in length.
Resp Planner: The Planner responsible from an inventory management standpoint for Items associated with the given Commodity Code.
Buying Division: The Division from which items associated with the given Commodity Code will be purchased (based on Buying Division setting on Company Master). When not using Centralized Buying, this is the same Division as the Commodity Code’s Division.
Inventory UOM: The Unit of Measure that is set on a given Inventory Item Master when it is associated with the given Commodity Code. The Unit of Measure can be overridden at the Inventory Item Master level if desired.
ABC Class: The default ABC Class that will be given to newly added items using the given Commodity Code. Used for cycle counting.
Default Container Class: The Inventory Container Class to be assigned to Inventory Items created using this Inventory Commodity Code by default.
Default Qty per Container: The Default Qty per Container to be assigned to Inventory Items created using this Inventory Commodity Code.
Tab Sections
