In SIX ERP, Units serve a critical function in standardizing how quantities are measured and understood across different modules—such as inventory management, manufacturing, logistics, and procurement. Proper setup of units ensures that the system can translate quantities between various formats automatically and accurately, avoiding inconsistencies that could affect operations or reporting.
Navigate to Settings > Various Settings > Units. This is where you'll manage system-wide unit configurations and opens the unit management interface where you can view, add, disable, or configure different unit types.
Units are categorized to maintain logical groupings, which helps streamline selection and management:
Mass Units
These are used for items measured by weight - such as grams, kilograms, or pounds. Mass units are commonly used in industries like food production, logistics, and materials handling.
Area Units
Useful when tracking dimensions of surfaces or land - such as square meters or square feet. These units are often employed in facility management or real estate-related modules.
Volume Units
Ideal for liquids or bulk goods measured by volume - such as liters, cubic meters, or gallons. Volume units are especially relevant in warehousing or chemical inventory.
Length Units
Applicable when measuring linear distances - such as meters, centimeters, or inches. These units often come into play in construction, design, or dimensional product management.
Custom Units
These units are user-defined to suit specific operational needs. For instance, you might define a "Unit" to represent a pack of 12 bottles. However, you must assign a conversion factor to ensure it translates correctly into a measurable unit (e.g., weight or volume) for use in manufacturing or logistics.
Each unit type includes a conversion factor, allowing it to be translated into a system-defined base unit for consistency across modules. Custom Units do not require a conversion factor!
To extend your unit configuration:
Click on Add
This opens the unit creation form, where you can define a new unit entry.
Fill in the Required Fields
Unit Name: Enter a descriptive, user-friendly name for the unit (e.g., "Box of Nails").
Unit Type: Choose from the available categories such as Mass, Area, Volume, Length, or Custom depending on the nature of your unit.
Unit Short Representation: Provide a symbol or abbreviation that will represent the unit in forms and reports (e.g., "kg" for kilogram).
Conversion Factor: Define how this unit relates to the base unit of its type. For example, if your unit is "ton", the conversion factor might be "1000" if the base unit is "kilogram".
Order: Set the unit's display priority in dropdowns or forms to enhance user experience.
Press Submit
Save the new unit to make it available throughout the system.
Conversion factors are central to how units work within SIX ERP. They allow the system to understand equivalency and perform conversions between units. For instance:
If an inventory item is listed as 50 grams, and a report needs to present values in kilograms, the system uses the conversion factor (1 kg = 1000 g) to show 0.05 kg instead.
For custom units, defining a conversion factor is crucial. If a "Unit" represents 12 cans of soda, and each can weighs 0.33 kg, your conversion factor might be 3.96 kg per unit. This ensures proper weight calculation during shipping or manufacturing.
To keep your system organized and relevant:
Default Units Cannot Be Edited
These are system-defined for consistency and are locked from modification. However, you can disable any unit that doesn’t apply to your operations to keep lists concise.
Custom Units Can Be Modified
Units you've added yourself can be freely edited or deleted as business requirements evolve.
Disabling Units
You can disable any unit (including defaults) to prevent it from appearing in user-facing selections. This is useful for de-cluttering or ensuring only valid units are used in transactions.
By correctly managing units and their conversion factors, you ensure data accuracy and streamline operations across multiple departments. Always review your units regularly to adapt to any changes in business needs or workflows.