The item library is a database that contains all of the products that you could potentially use in your steel fabrication company. These products can be steel items or non-steel items.
§ Steel items
Structural steel has a profile of characteristics, specifically a Section Type, and is classified
in STRUMIS as a steel item. I-beams, HSS (hollow
structural section) shapes, and angles are examples of steel items. Standard
structural steels vary between regions (for example, the standards are
different between the UK and the USA). STRUMIS, therefore uses the following
hierarchy to describe and group steel items:
Region (for example, UK) > Section Type (for example, UB) > Item (for example, 254X146X31UB-S275JR)
The STRUMIS Section Wizard makes it easy
to populate the item library with standard steel sections and grades.
§ Non-steel items
If a product does not fall into the hierarchy described above, it is classed
as a non-steel item (even though it may actually be made from steel).
Non-steel items can include bolts, insulation, paint, guttering, plant
hire, and so on. There are many choices of items that can be added to
your non-steel library and this will vary depending on how your business
operates.
The information stored in the item library includes the following:
§ Section properties for steel items.
§ How the item is treated during nesting and ordering and production.
§ A list of suppliers, the lengths of steel they can supply
and cost prices.
The exception to this is when the supplier is a steel mill. In this case,
standard steel lengths are specified when you add a line to a purchase
order, or on the AutoCut
Settings form during nesting and ordering. However, for the purposes
of Estimating, a mill rate can
be established against the steel size in Enquiries
and Estimating>Materials Costs.
§ Selling prices for individual customers.
§ Alternative names for the item.
§ Timings for items that are used in fabrication.
Items that are in the item library are not necessarily held in inventory.