Products
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The product record is the keystone that connects sales, purchases and stock control. All sales are derived from products being sold to customers and all purchases and stock control are related to a Product and a Branch. The name Product is somewhat misleading as a product record may often be used to represent a service or some other chargeable activity or entity that the company wishes to sell or control. Use of the words Product and Item are interchangeable throughout this documentation, the word Item is used to remind the reader that product records have a wider scope.
Access to product codes in the Acumen system is typically provided via five methods. Most obvious is the use of the product code. The product code is a unique ten character alphanumeric identifier for the product. This is the primary means of identifying a unique product but is also the most inconvenient for human use when dealing with large product ranges.
Because the product code is often difficult to remember the system provides product description search facilities. Product descriptions can be searched by entering partial descriptions and having the system jump to the closest matching product. Further product description search can be made by entering a portion of the description unique to the types of product you are searching for (eg. a size or a colour). The system can then be instructed to locate or list products that contain this portion anywhere within their description.
When barcode devices are in use, products can be located by reference to their barcode identification. This allows a company to use their own internal product coding sequence but to still take advantage of manufacturers barcode labelling such as APN, EAN, UPC and other barcode symbologies. The barcode field can also be used to record a supplier identifier for the product.
The fourth method of product location is to use the product group structure. Product groups can be located by name or by the tree structure that they represent (see Product Groups for details). Once a product group is located the products for that group can be easily accessed.
Finally you may come to a situation where the only thing known about a product is a style or model code found on the item. This code may not be unique as different suppliers may happen to use the same model numbers by chance, or a style of garment may come in several colours or sizes. The Style code field allows the location and listing of products in this order.