Vendor Item Records are essential if you plan on automating the AP Process through EDI, where Vendors can send AP Invoices directly to R365. If you are planning not to utilize this service, Vendor Item records are not required.


 

A Vendor Item record ties directly to one Purchased Item while one Purchased Item can represent the same Item received from different Vendors. Because of this, Purchased Item records also need to be created.


Purchased Items are the items that are purchased from Vendors (not Vendor specific), counted during the Inventory Count process, and used as Ingredients in Recipe Costing



To understand more about Purchased Items and Vendor Items, view the 'Purchased Items' and 'Vendor Items' videos in the R365 Academy, located in the Help menu.



Step #1: Create Purchased Item Records


Since a Purchased Item needs to be tied to a Vendor item, it is important to make Purchased Item records first. Purchased Item records can be created in one of three ways: Manually, Copying an existing Purchased Item, or via the Import Tool. If multiple Purchased Item records need to be created, use the Import Tool method. 


To create Purchased Items manually or by copying an existing Purchased Item, follow the steps listed on the Purchased Item Record training article.



Open the Import Tool



To access the Import Tool, navigate to the 'Administration' menu in the top ribbon and select 'Import'.



Download the File and Enter Purchased Item Information



When the Import window opens, select 'Purchased Item' for the 'Options' field and 'Create New' for the 'Type' field and then click 'Download Template'. Open the file and complete the following fields for each Purchased Item. It is important to note that the required fields will be displayed in bold font.


A) Name - Enter the Name for the Purchased Item as it will appear throughout R365. Purchased Item Names should be unique, but it is not required

B) Measure Type - This will identify the manner in which this item is measured throughout the system (Vendor Items, Item Locations, Recipe, and Inventory  Transactions). Once set, Units of Measure can then be assigned. Ensure that the Measure Type is entered correctly because once the Item record is saved, the Measure Type will be locked and unchangeable. However, copying this item record will enable the Measure Type to be editable. Enter one of the following types include:

  • Weight
  • Volume
  • Each
    • Note: To connect different Measure Types, you must set an equivalency since equivalencies will not be automatically created

C) Number - Enter a Number value for the Purchased Item. This field is optional, but can be useful for filtering and sorting in the 'Items' list. All alphanumeric characters are accepted in this field

D) Cost Account - Enter the GL Account where the Costs associated with this Purchased Item will be recorded (on AP Invoices, Inventory Count Inventory Adjustments etc.)

E) Inventory Account - Enter the GL Account where the Inventory Asset Value associated with this Purchased Item will be recorded (on AP Invoices, Inventory Count Inventory Adjustments etc.)

F) Inventory U of M - Select the Primary Reporting U of M for the Purchased Item. Click here for more information on U of Ms

G) Inventory Cost - Enter the Cost associated with the Inventory U of M and will be updated based on the Cost Update Method set on the 'Purchasing' tab

H) Waste Account - Enter the GL Account that you want to Debit upon entering a Waste Log
I) Default Purchase U of M - Enter the default Unit of Measure for this Purchased Item and will automatically appear each time the Item is selected. It represents the most common way the Item is received
J) Cost Update Method - This method calculates the Inventory Cost value for each item and populates that value on the 'Inventory Cost' tab. Click here to learn more about the below Cost Update Methods, which include:

  • Weighted Average (Last Count) - R365 will use the item cost from the last approved Inventory Count and all subsequent approved costing transactions, which include Invoices, Item Transfers (Receiving Location only), and Commissary Fulfillments (Receiving Location only), for calculating an item's weighted average. Click here to learn more about Weighted Average
    • Note: Transaction line items with $0 or a negative quantity will be excluded
  • Weighted Average (Last 3) - R365 will use the item cost from the last three days of approved costing transactions, which include Invoices, Commissary Fulfillments (Receiving Location only), and Item Transfers (Receiving Location only). These costs will be taken from the unit cost of the transaction line items and calculated as a weighted average. Click here to learn more about Weighted Average
    • Note: Transaction line items with $0 or a negative quantity will be excluded
  • Last Invoice - R365 will use the item cost from the last approved transaction, which includes invoices, commissary fulfillments, and item transfers. If more than one transaction was approved on the same day, the item cost will be calculated as a weighted average. Click here to learn more about Weighted Average
    • Note: Transaction line items with $0 or a negative quantity will be excluded
  • Manual - No Cost updates will be made by R365. The Inventory Cost value must be manually updated. This option is rarely used

K) Key Item - Type in 'Yes' if this item is considered a 'Key Item', which can be filtered on various Inventory reports
L) Price Type - Enter 'Cost % Markup'

M) Markup % - Enter a Markup Percent for the price of this Item if this were to be sold
N) Commissary Item - Type in 'Yes' if this Purchased Item will also be available for ordering on a Commissary Order
O) Count U of M 2 - Set a secondary Count U of M for the Purchased Item. Additional count units of measure allows you to count by multiple U of M during an Inventory Count
P) Count U of M 3 Set a tertiary Count U of M for the Purchased Item. Additional count units of measure allows you to count by multiple U of M during an Inventory Count
Q) All Locations Type in 'Yes' if this item will be used for all Locations. Doing so will create one Purchased Item record per Location, allowing the system to default to the average Inventory cost across all Locations



Import the File



Return back to the Import Tool and click 'Upload File' to select your saved CSV file. Once uploaded, click 'Next' to complete the final steps.



Complete the Import



On the 'Map Fields' tab, click 'Next' since the required fields will be filled out for you, and then on the 'Import' tab, click the 'Import' button to upload the file to R365. For more details on this step, review the Import Step of the Import Tool training article.



Step #2: Create Vendor Item Records


Now that the necessary Purchased Item records have been created in R365, the final step is to create Vendor Item records. Since unmapped Vendor Items will appear in the Vendor Items List, open this list by clicking 'Vendor Items' under 'Inventory' in the Operations Module.



In the 'Item' column, click the space bar and click 'Enter' on your keyboard to load Vendor Item records for items with no R365 name. Click into one of the blank lines to open its unmapped Vendor Item record and enter the following required fields.

 

1) Item - Select the Purchased Item that this Vendor Item is connected to

2) Vendor - Update the Vendor name if needed. If the desired Vendor is not listed, create its Vendor record in R365 and return back to this Vendor Item record to select the correct Vendor

3) Purchase U of M - Select the Purchasing U of M for this Vendor Item. If you purchase this item from the same Vendor using different case packs or item numbers, you will need multiple Vendor Items representing the different purchase UofMs/Item Numbers


For more details on the Vendor Item record, view the Vendor Item Record training article.