Setting Product Buy Package Quantity and Divisibility

You can procure stock, whether by purchasing or by intra-branch transfer, in different quantities. Sometimes stock is limited to being procured in a fixed buy package quantity, for example, a six-pack is a buy package quantity.Other times, although an item is procured in a buy package quantity, the vendor or branch manager allows you to divide the buy package into different quantities. For example, a product is sold by case, with 4 boxes making up 1 case; however, the vendor will break the case quantity into 4 boxes and sell you the individual boxes.

Buy package quantity indicates the increment in which you can procure the item. For example, if set to 6, you can purchase or transfer the item in quantities of 6, 12, 18, and so forth. The system populates the unit of measure for the buy package quantity, using the unit of measure defined for purchasing.

Note: The buy package quantity setting affects how buy lines are purchased as well. For more information, see How the System Uses Package Quantities in Line Buy Calculations.

Divisibility indicates whether the buy package can be divided and the item procured in a quantity other than the buy package quantity. You can assign one of the following divisibility settings to a product's buy package quantity:

Allow the buy package quantity to be divided.
Do not allow the buy package quantity to be divided.
Allow the buy package quantity to be divided, but require the branch to take the remaining amount into stock.

For example, the buy package quantity is 50 and a user attempts to sell only 10 on the order. The system orders the buy package quantity of 50, tags 10 for the order, and brings the remaining 40 into stock.

Note: With this setting, if the order causes the product's projected inventory level (PIL) to exceed the maximum days' supply, a user must have the SOE.PIL.DAYS.OVRD authorization key to procure the partial amount for the order and bring the remainder of the buy package quantity in as regular stock. If the user is not authorized, the system changes the sales order quantity to reflect the full buy package quantity, forcing the customer on the sales order to buy the full package quantity.

The combination of the buy package quantity and divisibility produces different results for automated purchasing and transfers, depending on whether the vendor will divide the package quantity and whether a child branch expects a full or divided package quantity.

Note: The following procedure is a manual process for a single product. Use the Mass Load program to enter inventory parameters to groups of products.

To set the buy package quantity and divisibility for a product:

From the Maintenance menu, select Product to display the Product Maintenance window.
Display the product record for which to set the buy package quantity and divisibility.
From the Inventory menu, select Primary Inventory Maintenance to display the Primary Inventory Maintenance window.
From the Edit menu, select Additional Parameters to display the Additional Inventory Parameters window.
From the File menu, select Insert Branch to display the Additional Inventory Parameters dialog box.
In the Enter new branch or territory field, enter the branch or territory ID to assign to the product.
Click OK to populate the Branch/Terr field on the Additional Inventory Parameters window with the selected branch or territory.
Enable stock/nonstock determination for the product, if needed.
In the Buy Package field, enter the quantity integral in which the product is purchased or transferred.
In the Div field, enter one of the following:

Yes - The product can be sold or transferred in a quantity other than the buy package quantity.
No - The product can only be sold or transferred in the buy package quantity.
Only - One of the following:
For normal purchasing, Only functions the same as No.
For procurements, Only allows a branch to sell or transfer the product in a quantity other than the buy package quantity, but the branch must procure the remaining amount.

More Options in the Additional Inventory Parameters Dialog Box

The Additional Inventory Parameters window also offers these options:

To...	Select this menu option...
remove a branch from the Additional Inventory Parameters window, select the branch and select the menu option.	File > Clear Branch
find a branch that is not currently visible in the dialog box	File > Find Branch The Additional Inventory Parameters dialog box displays. In the Enter branch or territory to find field, enter the branch or territory ID and click OK to return to the Additional Inventory Parameters window. The cursor moves to the requested branch.
toggle between prompting for a branch to display branch-specific parameters and displaying all branches	File > Toggle Hierarchy The Additional Inventory Parameters dialog box displays. In the Enter hierarchy branch field, enter the branch or territory ID to which you want to toggle and click OK to return to the Additional Inventory Parameters window.