Units of measure may be expressed differently between Engineering, Inventory, Purchasing and Sales, depending on how or where the items are being used. The UOM Conversion Factors table provides the means to have different Units of Measure for the same item, always keeping them in sync with one another. For example, it allows the Engineering group to work in one Unit of Measure, while Inventory stocks the item in another Unit of Measure. The same item may be purchased from Vendors and sold to Customers in different units of measure as well.
Unit of Measure conversions are established in Rootstock using Inventory as the main UOM, with conversions from Engineering, Sales and Purchasing.
Application
EXAMPLE A Vendor sells a chemical in 55 gallon drums. Inventory keeps the same item in single gallons, and Engineering uses this item in ounces. The conversion factors involved will automate the process of purchasing, storing and using this item, while maintaining accurate inventory at all times. The user will not need to consider what portion of a gallon is needed by Engineering because the conversion will already be established. So, if the Bill of Material calls for 8 oz. of this item per unit (the Engineering unit of measure), and 4 units are being manufactured, the warehouse will not need to calculate 4 X 8 ounces = 32 ounces, or ¼ of a gallon (the inventory unit of measure) in order to accurately issue the amount needed. Instead, the picklist will tell the warehouse what to issue in the Inventory Unit of Measure, automatically converting the Engineering requirements to the issuing amount.
The formula is always stated as ‘how much of the ‘to’ Unit of Measure is required for one of the ‘from’ unit of measure. Divide the ‘from’ unit of measure quantity by the ‘to’ unit of measure quantity (expressed in the ‘from’ UOM) to find the conversion factor. For example, if the ‘from’ UOM is ounces and the ‘to’ UOM is ‘gallons’, first convert 1 of the ‘to’ UOM to how many units of the ‘from’ unit of measure are required so that both quantities are expressed in the ‘to’ uom. In this example, there are 128 ounces in a gallon, so the factor is 1 to 128. To find the actual conversion factor, divide 1 by 128. The result is .0078125. The system will round it to 6 decimal places, or .007813. For every ounce required by Engineering, Inventory will see a demand .007813 of a gallon.
Prerequisite
Units of Measure (UOM) must first be defined in Rootstock prior to creating conversion factors. Note that when a UOM is created, a Unit of Measure Conversion factor of 1-to-1 is automatically created for each conversion type.
Navigation
UOM Conversion Factors
Processing
Navigate to the List View screen, displaying all current Conversion Factors on the system.
Fields
Conversion Type: Select conversion type from pull-down list. The choices are: Engineering to Inventory, Purchasing to Inventory and Sales to Inventory.
From UOM: Depending on the choice made in the Conversion Type field, enter either the Engineering, Purchasing or Sales Unit of Measure.
To UOM: The ‘To’ unit of measure is always the Inventory unit of measure. Enter the unit of measure used for storing this item.
Unit of Measure Conversion Factor: How much of the ‘To’ unit of measure quantity equals 1 of the ‘From’ unit of measure quantity when the ‘to’ unit of measure quantity is converted to the ‘from’ unit of measure.
EXAMPLEAn item is purchased in 150’ rolls but inventoried in feet. The Purchasing (‘From’) UOM is RL, and the Inventory unit of measure is FT. To calculate the conversion factor, first answer how many feet make 1 roll? Since 1 roll is the equivalent of 150 of the Inventory uom, the conversion factor would be 150. Every time 1 roll was received into inventory from a purchase order, the system would automatically convert that to 150 feet.
If the Engineers used that same item by the inch, calculating the conversion factor would now ask, how many feet (Inventory UOM) make 1”, the Engineering UOM. The answer is 1 divided by 12, or .08333333. When a bill of material calls for 6”, the stockroom would be told to issue .5 (rounded) of a foot, or .083333 times 6.
NOTE A Unit of Measure Conversion Factor must exist between each conversion type, even if the units of measure are identical. For example, if EA (Each) is used for an item in Engineering and also in Inventory, there must be an Engineering to Inventory UOM conversion factor set up, and the factor would be ‘1’. The same is true for Purchasing to Inventory and Sales to Inventory. These 1-to-1 conversions are created automatically, but any others that may be required need to be created here.
