Assemblies

This document contains the following sections. Click on a link to jump to that section.

 

About Assemblies

Assemblies are used to build products from component parts or to break apart complete products and sell their individual components. Each assembly has its own SKU apart from its components' SKUs. The Assembly SKU must first be added in the Inventory screen. Refer to Entering a New Inventory Item for more information about creating a new SKU. Once you have created the SKU, you can define it as an assembly.

 

Assemblies are similar to kits in that both are composed of multiple items. However, assemblies are used by merchants exclusively to build or break apart the finished product; the customer never sees the individual line items that make up an assembly. Kits are collections of items that are assembled at the time the order is placed, such as a gift basket. In this case, the customer sees the individual line items that make up the kit on the order.

 

You can track the quantity on hand and cost of assemblies but not kits (the quantity on hand and cost of the kits' components are tracked instead). When you build an assembly, the quantity on hand of its components decreases while the quantity on hand of the assembly increases, so in effect you transfer inventory from the component SKUs to the assembly SKU. The cost per unit of the assembly equals the total cost of its parts plus such things as labor, packaging and handling fees, etc.

Example 1: Build an Assembly Out of Component Parts

You make and sell telephones. You make the telephones in advance of receiving any orders. When you build the assemblies in the Order Manager, the program reduces the quantity on hand of the component SKUs (i.e. the bases, headsets, etc.), increases the quantity on hand of the assembly SKU, and enables you to print a pick list. The pick list includes quantities and bin locations that you can use to pull the items from your inventory that you need to build the telephones.

Example 2: Break Apart an Assembly and Sell its Components

You buy used desktop computers and take them apart so that you can sell their hard drives, memory sticks, DVD-ROM drives, etc. When you break apart an assembly in the Order Manager, the program reduces the quantity on hand of the computer model and increases the quantity on hand of the individual components.

Define Assemblies

Note: You must first create Assembly SKUs in the Inventory window before you can assign its components. Refer to Entering a New Inventory Item for more information about creating a new SKU. Once you have created the SKU, you can define it as an assembly.

 

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  1. Go to the Main Menu> Maintenance Menu> Inventory and Suppliers tab> Assemblies. Click Define Assemblies.

  2. Select an assembly SKU from the Assembly SKU drop down list. Select All to see all SKUs in the drop down list or select Just Assemblies to see just those SKUs already defined as assemblies. Click the Search button to search for a particular SKU.

  3. Select the SKU you to wish to add to the current assembly from the SKU to Add drop down list. Click the Search button to search for a particular SKU.

  4. Enter the quantity of the item that you wish to include in the current assembly by typing the number in the Quantity to Add field or clicking on the Up and Down arrows next to it.

  5. Click Add.

  6. To change how many of a particular item is included in the current assembly, click in the row of the individual assembly component and edit the value directly in the Quantity field.

  7. To delete an item from an assembly, click in the row of the individual assembly component you wish to remove and click Delete.

  8. Click Close when finished.

Build Assemblies

  1. Go to the Main Menu> Maintenance Menu> Inventory and Suppliers tab> Assemblies. Click Build Assemblies.

  2. Select an assembly SKU from the Assembly SKU drop down list. Select All to see SKUs in the drop down list or select Just Assemblies to see just those SKUs already defined as assemblies. Click the Search button to search for a particular SKU.

  3. Above the Parts in this Assembly list box, the program displays the quantity on hand of the current assembly and the number of assemblies that can be built based on the quantity on hand of the assembly's components. Enter the number of assemblies that you want to build in the Qty to Build field, by using the arrows or typing the number in the field.

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  1. To change how many of a particular item is included in the current assembly, click in the row of the individual assembly component and edit the value directly in the Quantity field.

  2. To print a label for the assembly click the Print Labels checkbox. The default label is Barcode Label 1x3. To choose a different label template, go to Maintenance Menu> Set System Parameters> Parameter Group> Reports. Select AssemblyLabelTemplate parameter and choose a template from the drop-down list.

Note: The option to print a label for an assembly after you build it was added in the Order Manager 5.8XX Beta series.

  1. Click the Build Assemblies button.

  2. To print a pick list including quantities and bin locations for the person actually packaging the assemblies, click the Print Pick List button. (The report format used for printing is determined by the system parameter AssemblyPickListTemplate.)

Note: The program sends assemblies and their components to the pick list file until you clear it by clicking on the Clear Pick List button. Clicking on the Clear Pick List button allows you to completely empty the file and start over.

Break Assemblies

  1. Go to the Main Menu> Maintenance Menu> Inventory and Suppliers tab> Assemblies. Click Break Assemblies.

  2. Select an assembly SKU from the Assembly SKU drop down list. Select All to see SKUs in the drop down list or select Just Assemblies to see just those SKUs already defined as assemblies. Click the Search button to search for a particular SKU.

  3. Above the Parts in this Assembly list box, the program displays the quantity on hand of the current assembly.

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  1. Enter the number of assemblies you wish to break in the Quantity to Break field by typing the number or by clicking on the Up and Down arrows next to it.

  2. When breaking assemblies, you can choose to print labels for some or all of the parts. Click the Print Labels checkbox to print labels for the parts after you break the assembly. The Print checkbox is then selected for all the parts. Un-check the Print checkbox if you don't want to print a label for that part. The default label is Barcode Label 1x3. To choose a different label template, go to Maintenance Menu> Set System Parameters> Parameter Group> Reports. Select AssemblyLabelTemplate parameter and choose a template from the drop-down list.

Note: The option to print a label for assembly parts after you break it was added in the Order Manager 5.8XX Beta series.

  1. Click the Break Assemblies button.

 

Updated 11/11/09 from User Guide

Modified: 4/7/11