Module Description

The Encoder allows users to create speaking item codes following a guided configuration. The user will only have to select the values of the parameters for the chosen model and based on these the code will then be generated.

Templates can be configured to automatically populate fields and create attributes when the item is generated, simplifying the process of creating new item codes in the system and ensuring that fields are populated correctly.

Setup

Parameter setup

The first necessary setup will be the one related to the parameters, which will then make up the final code.

Find the “Item code parameter list” page.

Below is a definition of the fields present within the “Item code parameters list” page:

• “Code”: Identification code of the parameter.
• “Description”: Description of the parameter.
• “Type”: Select the type of parameter you want to build:
  • Table: Table type parameters refer to a Business Central table, on which the parameter will be based for the relative creation of the item master data.
    An example could be the one related to the “Item Categories” table: once the item category has been selected, the system, in addition to defining the parameter of the item itself, will also populate the field in the item master data.
• String: configurable parameters within the “List of item code parameter values”. For each string parameter, it will be necessary to define the values of the relative string parameter within the “Parameter Values” page
• “Length”: field that defines the length of the parameter, then reported at the Item code level.
• “Alignment”: if the value defined for a certain parameter is longer than the defined length, this field will define whether to resume the length starting from the right or left.
• “Table No.”: This field can only be filled in for Table type parameters and will indicate which table the parameter is linked to.
• “Value Type”: Select the field that will be reported in the item code. This field will show the list of fields present in the Table present in the “Table No.” field;
• Linked Attribute ID: In this field the system will assign the ID of the attribute linked to this parameter. This operation will be done automatically by the system the first time the parameter is used to generate a new item code.

Parameter Values

In the case of String type parameters, as previously mentioned, it will be necessary to set the relevant “Parameter values”.

From the “Item code parameter list” page, select the “Parameter values” action from the Ribbon and then set the different values that the parameter can assume.

Within the parameter values it is possible to assign a value to the global dimensions (Global Dimensions 1 and 2) and to the combined nomenclature (customs tariff). If assigned when these parameter values are used for the coding of a new item the system will assign to the created master data the values selected on the model value (it will therefore set the global dimensions and the combined nomenclature.

Model Setup

Once the various parameters have been set, it will be possible to create the item code templates. These will be the basis of the codes that will then be generated.

Use the search to open the “Item Code Model List” page.

Select “New” and fill in the line:

• Code: Enter the item model code.
• Description: Description of the model.
• Configuration Template Code: In this field you can select a configuration template from the list, where the values of certain fields are preset and which will automatically fill in the fields of the item code master data generated through this template.
• Nr. Parameters: This field will be automatically filled in indicating the quantity of parameters that make up the model.
• Code length: This field will be automatically filled in indicating the length of the codes that will be generated through the template.

Item Model Parameters

It will be possible to set the parameters that will allow the generation of an item code through the “Parameters” action, present within the “item code model list” page.

Below is a brief description of the reference fields:

• Code: This field indicates the model code.
• Position: Indicates the position of the parameter within the code.
  In the example in the image, the “Country” parameter will be reported on the first characters of the code, followed by the Item Category Code, then the color, length and finally the 4 characters of the customer code.
• Type: indicate whether the parameter you want to set in the template is of the “Parameter/Progressive/Numeric Progressive” type. If the “Parameter” option is set, the system will ask you to set a parameter in the “Code” field; if “Progressive” is set, the system will ask you to set a progressive and the management parameters for this progressive (*) (therefore a serial number). Numeric Progressive, on the other hand, means a real progressive that is triggered when a new code is generated, regardless of the parameters set on it.
• Code: Select one of the parameters created in the setup described above from the list.
• Parameter description: It will automatically fill in with the description of the chosen parameter.
• Parameter length: Will automatically fill in with the length of the chosen parameter.
• Parametric description: in this field you can indicate whether the model parameter must contribute to the creation of the item/variant description. This field can be filled with these 3 options:

1. Blank: in this case the model parameter will not contribute to the creation of the variant;
2. Value: in this case the value of the parameter will contribute to the creation of the description of the item/variant;
3. Value and description: in this case both the parameter and the parameter value will contribute to the creation of the item/variant description;

• Create item attribute: This option will be active only for string type parameters. If active, it will create an attribute with the value of that parameter for the items created through the encoder. The “Create item attribute” option can be activated only if the position is between 1 and 20 (so if it is the part of the model that defines the item code), the attributes will not be createable if the position is between 21 and 30 because this part of the code is used to form the variant (the attributes are not present for the variant).
• Variant code: this field will be automatically filled in by the system when the position is between 21 and 30. If the model contains parameters with a position between 21 and 30, during the creation of the item, the system will also ask for the parameters of the variants to be filled in. In this way, during the generation of the item, the system will use the parameters with a position from 1 to 20 to generate the item code and from 21 to 30 to code the variant of the item just created.
  (*) For progressive parameters, in addition to indicating which serial number must be used to generate the item code, we will also have to indicate which parameters trigger the progressive. In this way, during the item generation phase, the system will ask to indicate values for these parameters; based on the parameters indicated during the item coding phase, the system will detach a numerator. This means that if during the item coding phase for a progressive parameter I set values for the parameters that have already detached a numerator, the system will recognize the fact that that combination has already been used and will not detach a new numerator but will resume the numerator already detached.
  To indicate the parameters that detach the progressive, inside the model parameters page, select a row with the type “Progressive”. In the multifunction bar there is a button called “List of progressive parameters” in which to indicate the following fields:
• Code: Select one of the parameters created in the setup described above from the list.
• Parametric description: in this field you can indicate whether the model parameter must contribute to the creation of the item/variant description. This field can be filled with these 3 options:

1. Blank: in this case the model parameter will not contribute to the creation of the variant;
2. Value: in this case the value of the parameter will contribute to the creation of the description of the item/variant;
3. Value and description: in this case both the parameter and the parameter value will contribute to the creation of the item/variant description;

• Create item attribute: This option will be active only for string type parameters. If active, it will create an attribute with the value of that parameter for the items created through the encoder. The “Create item attribute” option can be activated only if the position is between 1 and 20 (so if it is the part of the model that defines the item code), the attributes will not be createable if the position is between 21 and 30 because this part of the code is used to form the variant (the attributes are not present for the variant). 
  

Once the model has been filled out indicating all the parameters that compose it (with all the related managements) you can proceed with the certification of the model. To certify there is a "Status" field with different options:

1. New: This is the initial state, no template can be used for encoding if it is in “New” state;
2. In Development: This is a modification state that will be used when a state is “Certified” and needs a modification. No template can be used for coding if it is in “In Development” state;
3. Certified: This is the only status in which the model can be used for item coding. In this status the model cannot be modified. For any modification, set the status to “In development”;
4. Closed: This status should be set when the model is obsolete, even in this case the model cannot be used during coding.

Functionality

After setting the parameters and templates you can start creating items through the encoder.

Open the “Item Code Generation” page.

Select the code template to generate at the top right. Once this is done, the lines will be filled with the parameters to be set for that template. At this point, all that remains is to select the “Parameter value” field for each line and select the value that the generated item will take from the list.

As the user sets the values to the model parameters, the system will fill in the “Item Code” and “Variant Code” fields with the code that will be created, so the user can see which item code to generate. In the “Item Description” and “Variant Description” fields, the system will fill in the relative descriptions based on how the model was created.

Finally, by selecting the “Generate item” action, the item master data will be created.

In addition to generating the item master data, since the model also included the variant, the system generated a variant linked to the item master data:

It can be noted that:

1. The item code is made up of the chosen parameters,
2. The fields that were set on the configuration template are automatically filled in
3. Parameters with the “Create attribute” flag enabled have created the attribute associated with the item.
4. If the model includes a variant, the system creates it (with the relative description based on how the model was created).

It will also be possible to check the history of all the item codes generated through the encoder on the “Coded Item History” page. Here we will find the model and parameters used in the creation of the codes.