Bid File Maintenance
This article is for administrators or users with access to maintain bid files.
Overview
Before you begin Bid File Maintenance, we recommend reading Bid File Multipliers to become familiar with the terminology used in this article and common use cases for defining multipliers. One of the most important functions in setting up new items (or modifying existing ones) is setting up correct multipliers for your item. Most reporting tools in DL – including COGS, IvA, TvA, etc. – are affected by what your multipliers are.
The multipliers you set also affect how you count your items during an inventory, use them in recipes, order and receive them, etc. Given how many facets of Decision Logic these multipliers impact, it’s easy to see the importance of correct multipliers for accurate, reliable data.
Alterations to multipliers require a COGS update.
Types of Bid Files
Two types of Bid File items exist based on the Distributors Maintenance Type.
Auto: used for electronically integrated Distributors. These will be displayed in black text. Item Number, Pack Size, and Price are controlled by the Distributor via the integration. The description is a free text field that can be edited in Decision Logic and will be displayed in your Order Guide.
Manual: used for non-electronic Distributors. These will be displayed in red text. All fields can be edited. Price updates are a manual requirement.
View Items
Begin by navigating to:
Maintenance > Product > Bid Files
Click the Bid File tab. This should be your landing page.
Select a Distributor from the drop-down.
Select a Category from the drop-down.
If no DC Items exist for the distributor, the category drop-down will be blank.
For Bulk Import and Mapping of 20 or more items, you may request a bid file import template from helpdesk@decisionlogic.co to import items.
The DC Item # that exists will appear listed by Category and DC Item #.
Category references the COGS Accounting Category based on the Account or Ingredient selected in the bid file item detail.
Items with Red text indicate that the item was entered manually (forced entry) through this page.
Items with Grey text indicate that the item was entered through the electronic integration. This allows only Description, Account, Ingredient, and Multiplier values to be edited. Any other desired changes to an item's configuration, such as making it a Case Break (split), Catchweight, or Pack/Size, would need to be requested through the distributor.
Show Existing Multipliers
This view can be helpful for seeing how existing items are defined to guide you on how to map ingredients and define Multipliers for replacement products as your item numbers change.
Begin by navigating to:
Maintenance > Product > Bid Files
Click the Bid File tab. This should be your landing page.
Select a Distributor from the drop-down.
Select a Category from the drop-down.
Click Show Multipliers.
Example Multipliers
DC Item # that need Multipliers defined will display as blank in the Recipe Multiplier (REC MX) and Inventory Multiplier (INV MX) columns.
Recipe Multiplier (REC MX) can be left blank for items that do not go in a recipe and will report as Actual in Theoretical vs. Actual reporting.
Download
This action will download the entire bid files as an Excel file for the selected distributor regardless of the category selected. Begin by navigating to:
Maintenance > Product > Bid Files
Click the Bid File tab. This should be your landing page.
Select a Distributor from the drop-down.
Click Download.
Add Bid File Item
For Electronic Distributors: You may need to add bid file items manually to electronic distributors to account for unassigned items when using Exception Based Receiving.
For Manual Distributors: You will add a new bid file item when you get a new product. It is a best practice to map new products to existing ingredients. You do not need a new ingredient each time a new item number is added to a bid file or if a pack size changes. Instead, map the new DC Item # to an existing ingredient. This will ensure the new DC item # is tracked and depleted from ingredients tied to existing recipes.
Begin by navigating to:
Maintenance > Product > Bid Files
Click the Bid File tab. This should be your landing page.
Select a Distributor from the drop-down.
Select Add Item
Define the following fields
Item #: This is a required field and should be filled out with the distribution center’s unique item identifier number
DC Item numbers that inventoried items must be mapped to an Ingredient with Inventory Multiplier (IMX) and Price greater than zero. Add the item # to the Order Guide.
When creating a manual bid file entry, ensure that the item number
does not have leading or trailing whitespace or tabs, and
matches the upper or lower case provided by the distributor.
DC Item numbers that are non-inventoried purchases do not need to be mapped to an ingredient. Instead, map those to an Acct Category and put them on the Order Guide.
Ingredient
Map Item # to Ingredient.
Recipe and Inventory Measure will appear once an ingredient is selected. This will help define what Multipliers should be applied.
Description: Enter Description from the Order Guide or Invoice.
Mfg: Optional. This field is not referenced in Decision Logic on any other reports.
Brand: Optional.
Pk/Sz: Indicate the package quantity and size the item is shipped in. This will display on the Order Guide and is helpful for defining Multipliers.
Inventory Multiplier (IMX): The total number of inventoried units based on price.
Recipe Multiplier (RMX): The total number of recipe units it takes to equal one inventory unit of measure.
Shrink: Applying shrink to bid file item in decimal format will shrink raw product immediately when received. We recommend not applying shrink to bid file items but instead visualize the product level of shrink in IvA and COGS reporting build-out Prepped Items indicating different levels of yield to reflect the stages of shrink.
Price: Can be entered as Case Price or Each Price depending on your Pk/SZ and Inventory Measure.
See Case and Each Price settings for Broken / Split cases below.
Margin: Optional
Freight: Optional. Not used.
When finished with item setup, select Save.
Add item to order guide.
Splits or Broken Cases
This is only needed if you are ordering this item electronically from Decision Logic or creating fake Orders for manual distributors via Enter Order. If you are not placing orders from Decision Logic for this item, you can skip this setting. If the Distributor is US Foods, please scroll down.
Here you may indicate whether this item can be ordered in broken cases by checking the Broken Case Box to enable Order By Options.
Electronic Distributors control this setting; therefore, it may not be available on all items. Contact your distributor to request they enable this setting in the Electronic Bid File they send Decision Logic if needed.
If this box is not checked, then the default is a case price.
Price: enter the cost of the item per case price for this item.
Catch Weight Items
Some items, such as meats, can be sold by average weight or “catchweight.” The item costs more if it weighs more. If you decide to make this item a catchweight, you must enter the average weight here and change the price field to the per-pound price. The total price field will then display the per pound price multiplied by the average weight.
Electronic Bid Files catch weight settings are controlled by your distributor.
For Inventory by the LB, set Catch Weight to 1 and Inventory Multiplier (IMX) to 1.
The price will update to the LB price on Electronic Bid Files when Catch Weight is changed to 1 or manually changed to the per lb price for manual bids.
Catch Weight Items Receive by LB or Case
For catch weight items, you may choose to define a Receive Method either by LB or Case.
Setting a Catch Weight item to Receive Method: Case will set the quantity (QTY) on the E-Invoice to blank.
When using How do I receive electronically placed orders with ‘Exceptions’ & what does that mean?, users will need to enter the correct Case Quantity (QTY) for catch weight items set to receive my case.
US Foods Broken Case Bid Files
If you are ordering from US Foods, they require that Broken Case bid files be set up to order by the Both so that it will clear the broken case flag on their end.
If they are only set to order by each or only set to order by the case, then US Foods does not fulfill the order for that item.
If set to Each and the ordered quantity is >= the number of each (EA) in 1 Case, then the item will be dropped by USF.
When you set the case to order by Both, then you will also need to set the case break multiplier. See below for those instructions.
Order by Both
To set up an item to be ordered by Case, Each or Both:
Select a DC item # to open the detail.
Select an Order By option.
Order by Each.
When ordering by Each, make sure to set the Inv Multiplier (IMX) = 1
Order by Case.
If set to Both, make sure that the Recipe Multiplier (RMX) and Inventory Multiplier (IMX) are representatives of a case of product.
Set the Case Break Multiplier field to be the same as the Inventory Mx for most items.
For items that are inventory by the pound (LB) reference the pack size (Pk/SZ) to know how to define the Case Break Multiplier.
Example A:
Example B:
Item is Inventory by LB.
Inventory Multiplier (IMX) is 20 lbs per case.
Pack size (PK/SZ) is 4-5 lb.
Order by Both.
Case Break Multiplier would be 5 as 5/20 lbs = 4 packs (packs).
Note: stores cannot choose a Case and an Each on the same order.
Archive or Un-archive
Select View All to view any existing archived items in orange.
Select a DC Item # to open the detail.
Check or un-check the Archived box to archive or un-archive an item.
Archiving a DC Item # will remove it from all Order Guides. You will need to add the item back to the Order Guide.
After un-archiving any DC item #.
Select View Active to return to a filtered item list excluding archived items.
Different Pack Sizes Ordered Within the Same Week
Decision Logic cannot accurately calculate different sized pack sizes of a product when they are both ordered (and the order is posted as received) within the same week when all of the following are true:
They are both mapped to the same ingredient.
They have different Recipe Multiplier (RMX).
They have different Inventory Multiplier (IMX).
If both pack sizes are ordered within the same week, then the ending inventory value will not be accurate.
If the items are ordered within different weeks, then we can calculate the ending inventory correctly.
© 2023 Knowledge Management Systems, LLC. Decision Logic. All Rights Reserved.
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