78 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
78 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
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If you already have a full-fledged business with a number of physical items,
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you would have probably coded your items. If you have not, you have a choice.
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We recommend that you should codify if you have lot of products with long or
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complicated names. In case you have few products with short names, it is
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preferable to keep the Item Code same as Item Name.
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Item codification has been a sensitive topic and wars have been fought on this
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(not joking). In our experience, when you have items that cross a certain
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size, life without codification is a nightmare.
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### Benefits
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* Standard way of naming things.
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* Less likely to have duplicates.
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* Explicit definition.
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* Helps to quickly find if a similar item exists.
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* Item names get longer and longer as more types get introduced. Codes are shorter.
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### Pain
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* You have to remember the codes!
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* Harder for new team members to pick up.
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* You have to create new codes all the time.
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### Example
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You should have a simple manual / cheat-sheet to codify your Items instead of
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just numbering them sequentially. Each letter should mean something. Here is
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an example:
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If your business involves wooden furniture, then you may codify as follows:
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Item Codification Summary Sheet (SAMPLE)
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First letter: "Material" Third letter: "Size"
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- W - Wood - 0 - less than 1mm
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- H - Hardware - 1 - 1mm - 5mm
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- G - Glass - 2 - 5mm - 10mm
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- U - Upholstery - 3 - 10mm - 10cm
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- P - Plastic
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Second Letter: "Type"
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For Wood: For Hardware:
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- S - Sheet - S - Screw
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- B - Bar - N - Nut
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- L - L-section - W - Washer
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- M - Molded - B - Bracket
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- R - Round
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The last few letters could be sequential. So by looking at code **WM304** \-
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you know its a wooden molding less than 10cm in size
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### Standardization
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If you have more than one person naming items, the style of naming items will
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change for everyone. Sometimes, even for one person, he or she may forget how
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they had named the item and may create a duplicate name _"Wooden Sheet 3mm" or
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"3mm Sheet of Wood"?_
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### Rationalizing
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It is a good practice to have minimum varieties of items so that you keep
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minimum stock, housekeeping is simpler etc. When you are planning a new
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product and you want to know if you are already purchasing a part in some
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other product, the item codes will help you quickly determine if you are using
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a similar raw material in another product.
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We believe if you do this small investment, it will help you rationalize
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things as your business grows, though its okay not to codify if you have less
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items.
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