INVENTORY (INV)

1. What is item import? How is it done?
A) The process of converting inventory items from another inventory system, migrating assembly and component items from a legacy manufacturing system, converting purchase items from a custom purchasing system and importing new items from a product data management package into Oracle Inventory. This import mechanism is achieved through a concurrent program called Open Item Interface.
Custom programs are executed prior to item interface and this gets data from the external systems into the interface tables such as MTL_SYSTEM_ITEMS _INTERFACE and MTL_ITEM_REVISIONS_INTERFACE. Item Interface program is then run which actually imports the items and revision information from the above mentioned interface face tables into the base tables such as MTL_SYSTEM_ITEMS_B, MTL_ITEM_REVISIONS. Item Interface assigns defaults and validates the data to ensure data integrity before feeding data into base tables.

2. What are Interface and Base Tables?
Interface Tables : MTL_SYSTEM_ITEMS_INTERFACE
MTL_ITEM_REVISIONS_INTERFACE (Oracle Defaults)
MTL_ITEM_CATEGORIES_INTERFACE (Oracle has Provided certain default categories, if not specified)
MTL_INTERFACE_ERRORS
Base Tables : MTL_SYSTEM_ITEMS_B (Segment 1 stores Model # of Item)
MTL_ITEM_ATTRIBUTES, MTL_ITEM_CATEGORIES, MTL_ITEM_LOCATIONS, MTL_ITEM_REVISIONS
MTL_ITEM_STATUS (Status Active/Engineer etc)
MTL_ITEM_SUB_INVENTORIES

3. What are Item Attributes?
A) Attributes are the specific characteristics associated to every item, namely order cost, item status, revision control, COGS account etc.

4. What are Templates?
Templates are the defined set of attributes that can be used over and over to create similar items. Templates initial definition of items easier. Oracle has provided certain predefined templates such as (ATO MODEL, ATO OPTION CLASS, and FINISHED GOOD etc). Templates can also be User defined .

5) What are Status Codes?
A) Statuses are used to provide default values to certain item attributes to control the functionality of an item. Statuses typically default 8 item attributes namely, BOM allowed, build in WIP, Customer orders enabled, internal orders enabled, invoice enabled, transactable, purchasable, stockable.
Different status types include Active, Inactive, Engineer, obsolete, Phase-out, Prototype, OPM.

6. What are Categories and Category Sets?
A) Category is a code used to group items with similar characteristics such as plastics, metals or glass items etc.
A subset of categories grouped together is termed as a Category set. Typical category sets include purchasing, materials, costing and planning.

8. What are Lot Numbers and Serial Numbers?
A) Lot number is a number that identifies a specific batch of items.
Serial Number is a number assigned to each unit of an item and used to track the item.

9. What are Locators?
A) A locator is a physical area with in the sub inventory where you store material such as a row, aisle, shelf, or a bin etc.

10. What is a Sub Inventory?
It is a subdivision of an organization representing a physical area or a logical grouping of items such as store room or a receiving dock.

11. What are the flexfields in Inventory module?
A) Item Key Flexfield, Category Key Flexfield.

12. While importing items from the legacy system through items interface what profile options do u set.
There are two profile options that we need to check, before running the Item Import. They are
i) PRIMARY_UNIT_OF_MEASURE from INV: Define Primary Unit of Measure
ii) INVENTORY_ITEM_STATUS_CODE from INV: Define Item Status