Items and UoMs the buy chain shares.
Governed SKUs — materials, consumables, spares, tools, equipment, finished goods, and services — with categories and units of measure so PO, receipt, and stock speak one quantity language.
MTR-Culvert bolt M16
MATERIAL · EA
CNV-Sealant 5L
CONSUMABLE · CAN
SVC-Crane hire day
SERVICE · DAY
SPA-Filter pack A
SPARE PART · SET
The buy chain needs one item identity.
Procurement fails when the warehouse, the PO, and the bill each invent their own SKU language. The catalogue is the spine — not a sideline spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet item master
SKUs live in a file that buyers, stores, and AP each edit differently. The same bolt appears under three names before quarter-end.
Unit drift
Order in boxes, receive in each, stock in kg. Nobody notices until the bill and the warehouse disagree on quantity.
Free-text requisitions
Without a governed catalogue, every requisition invents a description. RFQs and POs cannot compare like-for-like.
Name what the org can buy.
Item types and a stocked flag — warehouse items stay on balances; services and expense lines still ride the same buy chain with a governed identity.
MATERIAL
Material
Stocked · Usually
CONSUMABLE
Consumable
Stocked · Usually
SPARE_PART
Spare part
Stocked · Usually
TOOL
Tool
Stocked · Optional
EQUIPMENT
Equipment
Stocked · Optional
FINISHED_GOOD
Finished good
Stocked · Usually
SERVICE
Service
Stocked · Never
OTHER
Other
Stocked · Configurable
Structure buyers actually navigate.
Categories turn the catalogue into something requisitions and RFQs can start from — governed picks, not free-text chaos.
Category tree
- CIV412 items
Civil consumables
- MEP288 items
MEP fittings
- SPA156 items
Plant spares
- SVC64 items
Hired services
One quantity language across the chain.
UoMs are first-class — count, weight, volume, length, area, time. Order, receive, and stock without silent unit drift between buyers and the warehouse.
UoM classes
COUNT
EA · SET · BOX
WEIGHT
KG · TON
VOLUME
L · M3 · CAN
LENGTH
M · FT
AREA
M2
TIME
HR · DAY
Decide how tightly stock is known.
Tracking mode and valuation method live on the item — so stock, receipt, and cost control inherit the same rules instead of tribal warehouse policy.
NON TRACKED
Non-tracked
Quantity only — fine for bulk consumables where identity does not matter.
BATCH
Batch / lot
Lot identity for expiry, recall, and warehouse bin placement.
SERIALIZED
Serialized
Unit identity for tools and equipment that must be uniquely known.
SERIALIZED AND BATCH
Serialized + batch
When both unit and lot matter — plant assets with lot provenance.
Bring the master without the chaos.
Structured import paths prefer validation over spreadsheet paste — so unit and type errors surface before the buy chain depends on them.
1
Map the master
Bring SKUs, types, UoMs, and categories without rebuilding procurement around a new file.
2
Validate early
Catch bad units and missing types before buyers raise the first requisition.
3
Buy on the record
Requisitions, RFQs, and POs start from governed items — not free-text paste.
Govern the items the buy chain shares
Types, categories, UoMs, and tracking — one item identity for order, receipt, and stock.