This topic describes the concepts behind supplier items, viaLink Items, and the family tree structures that can be generated from each.
Prescient applications are based on two types of items: The supplier item and the viaLink Item. This portion describes the concepts behind these two types of items and outlines some of the practical benefits derived from this system. Please note that the term "Provider Item" is synonymous with "Supplier Item."
Supplier Items (SI)
A supplier item is the item that a provider sells to its trading partners (subscribers). The item as it is sold to subscribers (such as retailers), is called the Vendor Unit (VU), and is usually a case or other bundled set of an item. The provider's descriptions make up the content of this information in Item & Cost.
Supplier Item Families
A supplier item family consists of the item as sold to the subscriber, such as by case or by pallet, and the item as it is sold to the consumer, such as by 6-pack or individual can. The provider supplies all of the information in a supplier item family.
The item as it is sold to the consumer is termed the Consumer Unit (CU). If a supplier item family has more than one consumer unit, the consumer unit included in an export is the smallest quantity that is set in the service agreement under Default Sellable Units.
viaLink Items (VI)
Prescient has assembled a database of items that we call the viaLink Item Database. This database is a collection of item descriptions, UPCs, and other data for a number of items within the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. The items contained in this database are also termed viaLink Items. viaLink Item information is consistent and standardized, and can include details that may be missing from a provider's descriptions, such as brand, flavor, and packaging.
The way each provider enters product descriptions and item information tends to vary from provider to provider. When a subscriber reviews exports sent from different providers, it could be difficult to determine if individual items are the same in terms of content, size, and consumer-unit quantities. Since the viaLink Item Database provides item descriptions, sizes, and other information in a uniform manner, we can include this information in an export as an added value.
A viaLink Item must be "linked" with a supplier item before the additional family tree information can be included. This linking process is performed internally by Prescient, and is dependent on the item being present in our database. As we continue to grow our master database, more viaLink Items will become available for linking.
The viaLink Item Family
The viaLink Item structure is an extended family structure built from the smallest retail-selling unit. This item family consists of all of the different ways an item is packaged. For example, an item can be packaged by the pallet, case, inner-pack, and individual item. As such, the UPC on an inner-pack (such as a 12-pack) is different from the UPC on an individual item (such as a can). Through the viaLink Item family, the range of UPCs and other information associated with an item can be provided.
When item family information is available and the subscriber requests it, Prescient includes this information within exports to the provider's subscribers. The exported family information is based on the way the provider has packaged or bundled the item (as listed in Item & Cost). This means that item information is included for each level that is equal to or lower than that item in the family tree. For example, if the supplier item is a 12-pack and the next lower level is the can, only the 12-pack and can information will be included.
This information is provided in different fields within the item-record fields of a generic export.
Supplier items must usually be linked to viaLink Items for use in Item Movement and Inventory & Shrink, although other configurations can be used. distribuLink works best when the supplier items are linked. Item linking is not a requirement in Item & Cost, but the exports produced are more useful to a retailer if it can contain the item family information associated with a provider's item. Item linking is performed internally by Prescient.
viaLink Item families consist of both vendor units and consumer units. Normally, the vendor unit (VU) in a supplier item is a "case" or any other pack for which the supplier sells their product. The consumer unit (CU) is normally the pack that is sold to the consumer.
In viaLink Items, the essential item is the "each," which is the smallest sellable unit for the item. For example, a 12-pack of soda is normally sold as a 12-pack, but can be opened and sold by the can. The can is the "each" in this example.
Pack, inner-pack, and order shipping unit quantity (OSUQ)
Prescient's Data Content Management Department uses a numbering system to identify the packs within an item. Each item is divided into the pack, inner-pack, and the order shipping unit quantity, and is written in the format 2/12/24.
The pack is the largest bundle of items within a vendor unit (such as a case). For example, a case of candy bars might contain 10 packs of individual bars.
The inner-pack is the next bundled-level within the vendor unit. Each box of candy bars could contain 25 bars (25 inner packs). An individual bar is the single or "each" in this example, and is generally the consumer unit.
The order shipping unit quantity (OSUQ) is the total number of consumer units within the vendor unit. A case of 10 boxes with 25 bars per box has an OSUQ of 250.
The example would be written as 10/25/250.
Beverage cases are a good example.
A case of two 12-packs is written as 2/12/24 to show that the vendor unit contains two packs of 12. Each pack contains an inner-pack of 12 units. The total number of units - the OSUQ - is 24.
Note that the normal sellable unit in this example is the 12-pack, but the inner-packs (the cans) could also be sold individually.
A case of four 6-packs is written as 4/6/24. (The case, the 6-packs, the cans.)
A single can is written as 1/1/1. The single can is the each, or smallest sellable unit. .
Updated 4/8/2003