Unit-of-measure mismatches show up quickly in purchasing and receiving. You might buy wire in feet, but issue it to jobs in inches. If your system cannot handle that conversion cleanly, inventory counts become hard to trust and receiving becomes a manual calculation step.

Cetec ERP handles this with unit conversion rules tied to your UOM list and your part’s default UOM. Once set up, you can order in a vendor’s unit and convert at receipt into the unit your team actually uses day to day.

Set Up Unit Conversion Rules

Start by creating a conversion rule in Cetec ERP. Go to the Admin tab, then navigate to Maintenance and select Unit Conversions. If you already have conversions defined, you will see them listed.

To add a new conversion, click Show Create. Select the From UOM (the unit you buy in) and the To UOM (the unit you want inventory tracked in), for example feet to inches. Then click Create to add the conversion to the list.

Next, define the actual conversion rate. The conversion row includes two input fields. When you enter a value on one side, Cetec ERP will populate the other side to reflect the conversion.

Set the Default UOM on the Part Record

Once the conversion rule exists, set the part’s default UOM to the unit you consume in production. Open the part record, go to the edit screen, and locate the UOM dropdown. Choose the unit your team issues to jobs (for example inches), then click Update to save the change.

Use the Conversion During Purchasing and Receiving

When a vendor quotes or sells the part in a different unit, create the purchase quote and purchase order using the vendor’s UOM. At receipt, Cetec ERP will detect that the received UOM differs from the part’s default UOM and prompt you to convert based on the conversion rule you defined.

Confirm the conversion and set it. The receiving screen will then reflect the converted quantity and cost in the part’s default UOM, which keeps inventory and downstream usage aligned with how you actually consume the material.

Add Missing Units in UOM Data Maintenance

If the units you need are not available in your system yet, add them before creating the conversion rule. Go to Admin, then Data Maintenance. Find UOM and follow the link to the Data Maintenance for UOM page to see existing units.

Scroll to the bottom and click Add Record. Enter the Name (for example feet or in) and an optional Description for clarity, then click Submit. After the unit exists, return to Unit Conversions and create the conversion rule.

Key Takeaways

• Define a From and To UOM conversion rule in Admin > Maintenance > Unit Conversions.
• Set the part’s default UOM to the unit your team consumes in production.
• Create purchase quotes and purchase orders in the vendor’s UOM, then convert at receipt when prompted.
• Use UOM Data Maintenance to add missing units before building conversion rules.

Conclusion

UOM conversion is a small configuration step that prevents a lot of receiving math and inventory confusion. When your conversion rules and part defaults are set, Cetec ERP can receive material in the vendor’s unit and record it in the unit your team actually issues and consumes.