The Pro's & Con's of Item Numbering Conventions
Posted on: May 17, 2017 | By: Craig Thompson | QAD Business Process
Authored By: Andrew Hall
Purpose
This blog will provide a summary of the pro's and con's of the three types of these item numbering conventions: intelligent, non-intelligent, and semi-intelligent.
Definitions
Intelligent Item Number – The individual characters of the item number have a specific meaning, typically relating to the form, fit, and function of the item. As an example, the following convention could be used for a piece of tubing: ABBCCDDF, where “A” defines if the item is a Tube, “BB” is the ID, “CC” is the OD, “DD” is the length, and “F” is the color. Specifically, item number T121830C could represent a tube with a 12 mm ID, an 18 mm OD, 30 mm long, clear in color.
Non-Intelligent Item Number – The individual characters of the item number have no meaning. However, each unique physical item, based on form, fit, and function, has a unique item number. Using the above example, the tube could have any number, typically assigned in sequential number. Therefore, by way of example, the above tube could be numbered 12345, while the next new item, 12346, could be a piece of bubble gum.
Semi-Intelligent Item Number – A certain segment of the item number has a meaning, while the remaining characters are not meaningful and are typically assigned sequentially. For example, a prefix may be used to identify the product family the part is used in. Using the tube example, a two-digit prefix could be used to represent the family, yielding a TC-12345 item number, where “TC” represents the Clear Tube family, and “12345” represents the next number in the sequence.
Pro’s and Con’s of Each Convention
Intelligent Item Number
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Perceived Benefit |
Actual Benefit or Cost |
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Faster identification of item by users |
Intelligent numbering systems quickly become complex due to the numerous physical characteristics related to form, fit, and function. As complexity increases, users are unable to rapidly translate the item number into a physical description. |
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More accurate identification of item by users |
As the numbering system becomes more complex, the easier it is for the user to take their memory for granted and will misidentify the item. Additionally, to capture all item configurations, alpha characters are often required. This often results in transposition errors when, for example, a B is mistaken for an 8. |
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Improved transaction speed |
The length of intelligent item numbers is typically lengthy to support all the possible configurations. Therefore, whenever an item number is manually keyed, such as in purchasing or order entry, transaction time is increased, not decreased. |
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No need to rely on a description that is often too short in existing computer systems |
Modern ERP systems provide extensive description fields while item number fields are typically limited in length. Therefore, the description fields, and related data fields in the item master, should be utilized to identify the physical properties of the item. |
Non-Intelligent Item Number
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Shorter than intelligent numbers |
Even a simple product can see rapid lengthening of its item number as new configurations are developed. For example, once more than ten options exist for a specific characteristic, the item number must be increased to accept a two-digit number. The other option is to use alpha characters to allow 36 possible combinations, leading to the transposition errors noted earlier. |
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Numbers utilized rather than alpha characters |
The use of numbers only removes the transposition problem related to mixing numeric and alpha characters. |
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Improved transaction speed |
Shorter numbers are faster to enter when manual data entry is required. |
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Improved transaction accuracy |
Since users are aware that the item number is not related to the physical properties of the item, they will not attempt to “guess” at item numbers. They will rely on paperwork, labeling, drawings, etc. to identify the item. This approach is more accurate and easier to train, than the “memory” method. |
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More flexible than intelligent numbers |
Intelligent numbers become rigid and complex due to the complexity required to |
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Leverages modern database technology |
Intelligent numbers were often required to provide sorting and filtering functions not supported in earlier systems. Current relational databases and ERP systems provide flexible sorting a filtering based on multiple fields, and typically support longer description fields. |
Semi-Intelligent Item Number
|
Perceived Benefit |
Actual Benefit or Cost |
|
Improved and simplified filtering capability |
Does allow for quick movement to a group of item numbers, assuming a prefix is used. Assuming a short prefix with the remaining numbers assigned sequentially, most of the downfalls of intelligent numbering are avoided. |
Recommendation
Due to the inherent complexity, inflexibility, and length of intelligent item numbers, and the resulting speed and accuracy of transactions, it is recommended that item numbers contain little, if any intelligence. Additionally, there is little perceivable difference between a semi-intelligent number and a non-intelligent number, assuming the application of very broad and general logic in the form or prefix of suffix. Therefore, either a non-intelligent or semi-intelligent item number is deemed acceptable, and preferable to an intelligent number convention.
However, there are numerous realities that must be addressed prior to migration from one numbering convention to another. For example, existing numbers are prevalent inside the company (CAD systems, labels, documents, etc.) and outside the company (marketing literature, price sheets, purchase orders, etc.). Therefore, an attempt to convert existing intelligent item numbers is a complex and difficult task that impacts all aspects of the business.