Matrix Items: Implementation Activity

In the following implementation activity, you will learn how to create attributes, template items, and matrix items. In addition, you will learn how to delete matrix items and apply changes to multiple related matrix items.

Attention: This activity is based on the U100 dataset. If you are using another dataset, or if any system settings have been changed in U100, these changes can affect the workflow of the activity and the results of the processing. To avoid any issues, restore the U100 dataset to its initial state.

Story

Suppose that SweetLife Fruit & Jams company has decided to extend the assortment of items it sells, and to sell various packed nuts of two brands: Bronko's Nuts and Merry Squirrel. Packed nuts of the Bronko's Nuts brand have multiple variants, with each variant defined by the type of nut, the package weight, the specialty (salted, spicy, roasted, raw, yogurt-covered, or chocolate-covered), and the state of the shell. The Merry Squirrel brand has the same variants of packed nuts as the Bronko's nuts brand excluding the shell state because all nuts of this brand are always shelled. For now, sales managers are going to sell Merry Squirrel nuts in packages of 4 ounces; depending on sales, other sizes may be available in the future. The following combinations of specialty and nut type will be available initially:

  • Raw almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts
  • Roasted pecans and peanuts
  • Salted pistachios
  • Spicy peanuts
  • Chocolate-covered almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, and peanuts

Further suppose that according to the naming policy of matrix items, the identifier of each matrix item must contain segments with values that represent all attributes, separated by hyphens. The descriptions of the matrix items must contain descriptions of the same attributes, separated by spaces.

You as an implementation manager have a task to prepare the system for these nuts to be purchased and sold. You will use the functionality of matrix items.

Configuration Overview

For the purposes of this lesson, the following features have been enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form:

  • Matrix Items
  • Inventory

The following entities, which you will use in this activity, have been predefined in the system:

  • The WHOLESALE warehouse on the Warehouses (IN204000) form
  • The MNUTS item class on the Item Classes (IN201000) form
  • The following attributes on the Attributes (CS205000) form: WEIGHT, SPECIALTY, and SHELL.

Process Overview

As you create matrix items and specify the related settings to prepare the system for matrix items to be purchased and sold, you will do the following:

  1. On the Attributes (CS205000) form, create an attribute that you will use for the matrix items you will create
  2. On the Attributes form, review the settings of the existing attributes, which you will also use for creating matrix items
  3. On the Item Classes (IN201000) form, add the required attributes to the item class (which has been predefined for your convenience) that you will use to provide the default settings for the needed template item, and specify the appropriate category for each attribute
  4. On the Template Items (IN203000) form, create a template item for Bronko's Nuts
  5. On the Template Items form, create another template item for Merry Squirrel to be used to create the matrix items
  6. On the Create Matrix Items (IN203500) form, create the matrix items from the second template item
    Tip: You can also create matrix items on the Template Items form.
  7. On the Stock Items (IN202500) form, review the settings of a matrix item
    Tip: In production implementation, you do not need to review the settings of each matrix item. In this activity, you will do this to become familiar with the viewing of matrix items on this form.
  8. On the Template Items form, delete a matrix item
  9. On the Template Items form, modify the settings of the created matrix items through the template item

System Preparation

Before you start creating template items and matrix items, do the following:
  1. Download the Matrix_Items_Nutype_Attribute file, which holds the values of the NUTYPE attribute; you will create this attribute in this activity and upload the values.
  2. Sign in to a company with the U100 dataset preloaded; you should sign in as a system administrator with the gibbs login and 123 password.

Step 1: Creating an Attribute

You will first create the attribute for nut types, which you will later add to the item class and use for the creating matrix items. Do the following:

  1. Open the Attributes (CS205000) form.
  2. On the form toolbar, click Add New Record.
  3. In the Summary area, specify the following settings:
    • Attribute ID: NUTYPE
    • Description: Type of nuts
    • Control Type: Combo
  4. On the table toolbar, click Load Records from File.
  5. In the File Upload dialog box, which opens, select the file path to the Matrix_Items_Nutype_Attribute file, and click Upload.
  6. In the Common Settings dialog box, which opens, leave the default settings, and click OK.
  7. In the Columns dialog box, leave the current mapping, and click OK.
  8. On the form toolbar, click Save.

You have created the attribute for nut types that will be used for creation of matrix items and uploaded the values of the attribute.

Step 2: Reviewing the Settings of Existing Attributes

Review the settings of the WEIGHT, SPECIALTY, and SHELL attributes, which have already been defined in the dataset, as follows:

  1. While you are still viewing the Attributes (CS205000) form, in the Attribute ID box, select WEIGHT.
  2. In the Control Type box, make sure that Combo is selected.
  3. In the table, review the list of attribute values and their settings (listed below) and make sure that the 04OZ value exists.
    Value ID Description Sort Order
    04OZ 4 oz 1
    08OZ 8 oz 2
    16OZ 16 oz 3
    1LB 1 lb 4
  4. In the Attribute ID box, select SPECIALTY.
  5. In the Control Type box, make sure that Combo is selected.
  6. In the table, review the list of attribute values and their settings (listed below).
    Value ID Description Sort Order
    RAW Raw 1
    RST Roasted 2
    SLT Salted 3
    SPC Spicy 4
    CHT Chocolate-covered 5
    YGT Yogurt-covered 6
  7. In the Attribute ID box, select SHELL.
  8. In the Control Type box, make sure that Combo is selected.
  9. In the table, review the list of attribute values and their settings (listed below).
    Value ID Description Sort Order
    Shelled No shell Empty
    Unshelled Whole nuts Empty

All attributes required for creating the matrix items for nuts have been defined.

Step 3: Adding Attributes to the Needed Item Class

In this step, you will add the attributes to be used for matrix items to the MNUTS item class, which will provide default settings for the template item, as follows:

  1. Open the Item Classes (IN201000) form.
  2. In the Class ID box, select MNUTS.
  3. On the Attributes tab, add the following attributes to the table:
    • NUTYPE
    • WEIGHT
    • SPECIALTY
    • SHELL
  4. In the Category column, select Variant for each attribute. This option indicates that the attribute will be used for generating matrix items of the item class.
  5. On the form toolbar, click Save.

You have added the attributes to the item class and specified the Variant category for the attributes.

Step 4: Creating a Template Item

Now you will create the template item that for the Bronko's Nuts brand. Do the following:

  1. Open the Template Items (IN203000) form.
  2. On the form toolbar, click Add New Record.
  3. In the Summary area, specify the following:
    • Template ID: NUTSBRONKO
    • Description: Nuts: Bronko's Nuts
    • Stock Item: Selected
  4. In the Item Class box of the General tab, select MNUTS. The system copies the default settings from this item class to the corresponding boxes of the current form for the template item.
  5. On the Configuration tab, make sure that the Type of nuts, The type of the shell, Specialties, and Weight attributes are displayed in the table of the Attributes section.
  6. In the Default Column Attribute ID box (below the table), select NUTYPE. The values of this attribute will be displayed in the matrix columns by default when you create the matrix items.
  7. In the Default Row Attribute ID box, select SPECIALTY. The values of this attribute will be displayed in the matrix rows by default when you create the matrix items.
  8. In the Inventory ID Segment Settings table, add the inventory ID segments and settings listed below.
    Segment Type Attribute ID Number of Characters Separator
    Attribute Value NUTYPE 3 -
    Attribute Value SPECIALTY 3 -
    Attribute Value WEIGHT 4 -
    Attribute Value SHELL 9

    Below the table, you can view the example of the inventory ID generated according to these settings.

  9. In the Description Segment Settings table, add the description segments and settings listed below.
    Segment Type Attribute ID Number of Characters Use Space as Separator
    Attribute Caption NUTYPE 10 Selected
    Attribute Caption SPECIALTY 12 Selected
    Attribute Caption WEIGHT 5 Selected
    Attribute Caption SHELL 10 Selected

    Below the table, you can view the example of the description generated according to these settings.

  10. On the form toolbar, click Save.

You have created the template item that will provide default settings for the matrix items representing the variants of nuts.

Step 5: Creating Another Template Item

Now you will create the template item that for the Merry Squirrel brand. Do the following:

  1. While you still on the Template Items (IN203000) form, click Add New Record.
  2. In the Summary area, specify the following:
    • Template ID: NUTSMERRY
    • Description: Nuts: Merry Squirrel
    • Stock Item: Selected
  3. In the Item Class box of the General tab, select MNUTS. The system copies the default settings from this item class to the corresponding boxes of the current form for the template item.
  4. On the Configuration tab, make sure that the Type of nuts, The type of the shell, Specialties, and Weight attributes are displayed in the table of the Attributes section.
  5. Clear the unlabeled check box for the The type of the shell attribute.
  6. In the Default Column Attribute ID box (below the table), select NUTYPE. The values of this attribute will be displayed in the matrix columns by default when you create the matrix items.
  7. In the Default Row Attribute ID box, select SPECIALTY. The values of this attribute will be displayed in the matrix rows by default when you create the matrix items.
  8. In the Inventory ID Segment Settings table, add the inventory ID segments and settings listed below.
    Segment Type Attribute ID Number of Characters Separator
    Attribute Value NUTYPE 3 -
    Attribute Value SPECIALTY 3 -
    Attribute Value WEIGHT 4

    Below the table, you can view the example of the inventory ID generated according to these settings.

  9. In the Description Segment Settings table, add the description segments and settings listed below.
    Segment Type Attribute ID Number of Characters Use Space as Separator
    Attribute Caption NUTYPE 10 Selected
    Attribute Caption SPECIALTY 12 Selected
    Attribute Caption WEIGHT 5 Selected

    Below the table, you can view the example of the description generated according to these settings.

  10. On the form toolbar, click Save.

Step 6: Creating the Matrix Items

Now that you have configured the template item that contains the settings for the group of matrix items, you will create the matrix items as follows:

  1. Open the Create Matrix Items (IN203500) form.
  2. In the Template ID box of the Summary area, select NUTSMERRY.
  3. In the Additional Attributes table (which is immediately below the Summary area), in the only row of the Weight column, select 04OZ. The system will use this value to generate all items of this group.
  4. In the Matrix table (the bottom table on the form), select the check boxes according to the following table. The system will create items with the selected combinations of attributes in columns and rows.
    Attribute Value Almonds Cashews Hazelnuts Pecans Pistachios Peanuts
    Raw Selected Selected Selected
    Roasted Selected Selected
    Salted Selected
    Spicy Selected
    Chocolate-covered Selected Selected Selected Selected
    Yogurt-covered
  5. On the form toolbar, click Create Matrix Items.
  6. In the Create Matrix Items dialog box, which opens, review the items to be generated (shown in the following table).
    Selected Inventory ID Description
    Yes ALD-RAW-04OZ Almonds Raw 04 oz
    Yes CHW-RAW-04OZ Cashews Raw 04 oz
    Yes HZT-RAW-04OZ Hazelnuts Raw 04 oz
    Yes PCN-RST-04OZ Pecans Roasted 04 oz
    Yes PNT-RST-04OZ Peanuts Roasted 04 oz
    Yes PHS-SLT-04OZ Pistachios Salted 04 oz
    Yes PNT-SPC-04OZ Peanuts Spicy 4 oz
    Yes ALD-CHT-04OZ Almonds Chocolate-covered 04 oz
    Yes CHW-CHT-04OZ Cashews Chocolate-covered 04 oz
    Yes HZT-CHT-04OZ Hazelnuts Chocolate-covered 04 oz
    Yes PNT-CHT-04OZ Peanuts Chocolate-covered 04 oz
  7. Click Confirmation. The system creates the items and closes the dialog box.
  8. Open the Template Items (IN203000) form, and select the NUTSMERRY template item.
  9. On the Matrix Items tab, view the list of matrix items.

You have created all of the matrix items that are based on the NUTS template.

Step 7: Reviewing the Settings of a Matrix Item

Review the settings of the ALD-CHT-04OZ matrix item as follows:

  1. While you are still viewing the Matrix Items tab on the Template Items (IN203000) form with the NUTSMERRY template item selected, click the link in the Inventory ID column for the ALD-CHT-04OZ row. The system opens the Stock Items (IN202500) form in a new window.
  2. On the General tab, make sure that the NUTS template item is specified in the Template ID box.
  3. On the Attributes tab, view the list of attribute values specific to this matrix item.
  4. Close the window with the Stock Items form.

Step 8: Deleting a Matrix Item

Suppose that you were told that spicy peanuts cannot be supplied by the vendor, so this item is not needed. To delete the stock item for the spicy peanuts, do the following:

  1. While you are still viewing the Matrix Items tab on the Template Items (IN203000) form with the NUTS template item selected, select the check box in the unlabeled column for the PNT-SPC-04OZ row.
  2. On the table toolbar, click Delete. The item is deleted.

Step 9: Changing the Settings of the Template Item

Suppose that you were told that by default, all nuts will be stored in the wholesale warehouse. You will specify the warehouse in the template item settings and apply this change to existing matrix items based on this template. Do the following:

  1. While you are still viewing the Template Items (IN203000) form with the NUTSMERRY template item selected, open the General tab.
  2. In the Default Warehouse box of the Warehouse Details section, select WHOLESALE.
  3. On the form toolbar, click Save.
  4. On the form toolbar, click Update Matrix Items.
  5. On the Matrix Items tab, click the link in the Inventory ID box for the ALD-CHT-04OZ row. The system opens the Stock Items (IN202500) form.
  6. On the General tab, make sure that the WHOLESALE warehouse is selected in the Default Warehouse box of the Warehouse Details section. This means that the default warehouse has been updated for this matrix item (and for other matrix items, too).

You have successfully created a template item and then created, deleted, and modified the settings of the matrix items based on this template item.