EXO Difference between stock item statuses??

[suretek]

We are wondering when and why you would ever use the stock item status of "lookup item". We believe that some of our stock items are assigned as lockup items when they shouldnt be, but want to make sure before changing them. 

ie: STOCK_ITEMS table: 

The stock item's status. Will be one of:
S = Stock item
L = Lookup item

[CarlBrooks]

@suretek 

We are wondering when and why you would ever use the stock item status of "lookup item".

For example, if you sell bottles in crates of six, you may have a "Bottle" stock item and a "Crate of Six Bottles" item - in this case, enter the Bottle item's stock code into the Link stockcode field for the Crate of Six Bottles item. This means that whenever a crate is sold, the transaction is recorded against the Bottle stock item as well.

Hope that makes sense.

Carl

[suretek]

Yes exactly. Seems to be that some stock items are setup using "lookup" incorrectly due to poor intial implementation. 

Items such as FREIGHT, MISC, ADMIN FEE, etc might be assigned as "lookup" as they are not technical stock items. But we actually have products which have been assigned this which is clearly incorrect in our system. 

[Steve_Marriott · Accepted solution]

Hi @suretek  & @CarlBrooks 

Lookup items in Exo are a very useful device as it allows you to Buy and Sell things that are not physically stocked, an Hour Labour being a good example, your other one of Freight is very popular.

If you look back in Exo history far enough you will find that to put something on an Order it had to be a Stock Item and so they had items that were stocked and others that were just "lookups". Having a stock item means that GL Codes can be changed quickly and easily and in 1 place when you make GL Chart changes, another advantage.

A Stock Item also has 1 place to hold prices and allow Exo to Best Price processing for the item and client (an hour of consulting sold to me would be $190 while to Carl it could be $150, all automatically calculated by Best Price).

Hope that adds a bit of historical knowledge to your understanding of Exo, it still wont fix badly assigned items.

Regards

Steve

[Will_SolnX]

Hi @suretek 

Late to the party I know, 2 extra bits of knowledge I'm leaving here for people who need them.

Reasons for Lookup (In addition to the ones you've listed):

To keep low value/high throughput items as Lookups, rather than tracking their exact stock levels. (Uncommon in the modern age, but not everyone wants to track exactly how many individual screws they have, for example.  )

To keep manufacturing parts (again, certain kinds of manufacturers don't want to track the exact levels of stock, but just need to process things through).

Labour (most common use)

Warranties

To change lookup items:
AS of Exo 8.7 you can't change the lookup item flag for items that have transactions.  Your business partner will be able to change these for you. (I don't recommend playing with the SQL Yourself).  The main consideration is making sure the stock levels are correct. (I usually recommend having stock level at 0 if you're going to change the flag, then stocktaking in the required amount.  But it's up to the individual partner/situation.)