Flexible Inventory Loading

The following sections are included in this help topic. Click the underlined text to take you to that procedure in the topic. For general information about flexible inventory loading click here to go to the Overview topic.

• Create a New Flex Format

• Create a Flex Format from Legacy DEF

• Save a Flex Format as a Template

• Create a Flex Format From a Saved Template

• Add, Update, or Delete Items in a Flex Format

• Delete a Flex Format

• Run RFL to Finalize Changes to Inventory Maintenance

• Tips on How RFL Updates User Codes

• Setting Fields to "blank'

Create a New Flex Format

Use the following procedure to create a new flex format.

1. From the Eagle Browser, click Inventory Menu and then click Flexible Inventory Load (FIL). The Flexible Inventory Loading window displays.

2. Click Clear and then click New to display the following dialog.

3. Complete this dialog.

4. Flex Name – Type a name for this flex format. The name can be a maximum of eight characters. The name cannot include the letters EFM or NEW in the 4th through 6th position (for example a name of FILNEW01 is not allowed, but NEWFIL01 is okay).

5. Store – This field defaults to the Lock-in store.

6. Fields – Select the inventory fields that you want to add to this flex format. A maximum of 50 fields can be selected. If you are using the flex format to add new items, you must select the Department field.

7. Add New Items? – If you will be using this flex format to add new items to your inventory file (Inventory Maintenance - IMU), set this field to Y.

8. New Item Stores – New Item Stores – If the Add New Items? field is set to Y, then in this field, type the stores or Store Group(s) in which the new items should be added. Click here for examples.

   • For example, you have Stores 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 on your system, but this flex format will only be used to add items to Stores 2 and 5, then type 25 in this field.

   • For example, you have a Store Group called "G25," and you want to add items to the stores in this group, type G25 in this field.

4. Click OK to close the dialog and save the flex format. A dialog displays for adding items.

Create a Flex Format From a Legacy DEF

If you've used a legacy version of flexible inventory loading (from Network Access, the functions DEF and FIL), you can transfer the legacy flex formats into the Eagle for Windows version of flexible inventory loading.

1. From the Eagle Browser, click Inventory Menu and then click Flexible Inventory Load (FIL). The Flexible Inventory Loading window displays.

2. Click Clear and then click Misc. From the Miscellaneous menu, select Load From DEF. From the drop-down list in the next dialog that displays, select the legacy DEF flex name that you want to use and click OK.

3. The Add New Inventory Flex Name dialog displays. Complete the dialog:

3. Flex Name – Type a name for this flex format. The name can be a maximum of eight characters. The name cannot include the letters EFM or NEW in the 4th through 6th position (for example a name of FILNEW01 is not allowed, but NEWFIL01 is okay).

4. Store – This field defaults to the Lock-in store.

5. Fields – Select the inventory fields that you want to add to this flex format. A maximum of 50 fields can be selected. If you are using the flex format to add new items, you must select the Department field.

6. Add New Items? – If you will be using this flex format to add new items to your inventory file (Inventory Maintenance - IMU), set this field to Y.

7. New Item Stores – If the Add New Items? field is set to Y, then in this field, type the stores or Store Group(s) in which the new items should be added. Click here for examples.

   • For example, you have Stores 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 on your system, but this flex format will only be used to add items to Stores 2 and 5, then type 25 in this field.

   • For example, you have a Store Group called "G25," and you want to add items to the stores in this group, type G25 in this field.

4. Click OK to close the dialog and save the flex format. A dialog displays for adding items.

Save a Flex Format as a Template

Use this procedure to save a flex format as a template. A template can be opened at any time and used as a basis to create a new flex format.

1. Display the flex format that you want to save as a template.

2. From the Eagle Browser, click Inventory Menu and then click Flexible Inventory Load (FIL).

3. At Flex Name, select the flex format from the drop-down list.

4. Click Display.

2. Click Save to display the Save Flex Name Parameters dialog.

3. At Desc, type a description for the template. Click Save.

Create a Flex Format From a Saved Template

Use this procedure to create a new flex format from a previously saved template. Using a template can save you time when creating a new flex format. The template is a basis for creating a new flex format and the new flex format can be modified before you save it.

1. Display the Flexible Inventory Loading window. From the Eagle Browser, click Inventory Menu and then click Flexible Inventory Load (FIL).

2. Click Open to display the Get Flex Name Parameters dialog.

3. Click to highlight the template you want to use.

4. Click Open. The Add New Inventory Flex Name dialog displays. Complete this dialog:

   3. Flex Name – This field defaults to the name of the flex format that the template was based on. Type a new name for this flex format. The name can be a maximum of eight characters. The name cannot include the letters EFM or NEW in the 4th through 6th position (for example a name of FILNEW01 is not allowed, but NEWFIL01 is okay).

   4. Store – This field defaults to the Lock-in store.

   5. Fields – Fields are already selected based on the template. Review the selected fields and add or remove the inventory fields that you want to use with this flex format. A maximum of 50 fields can be selected.

   6. Add New Items? – If you will be using this flex format to add new items to your inventory file (Inventory Maintenance - IMU), set this field to Y.

   7. New Item Stores – If the Add New Items? field is set to Y, then in this field, type the stores or Store Group(s) in which the new items should be added. Click here for examples.

      • For example, you have Stores 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 on your system, but this flex format will only be used to add items to Stores 2 and 5, then type 25 in this field.

      • For example, you have a Store Group called "G25," and you want to add items to the stores in this group, type G25 in this field.

5.  Click OK to close the dialog and save the flex format. A dialog displays for adding items.

Add, Update, or Delete Items in a Flex Format

Use the following procedures to work with items in the flex format. Items can be added to the flex format, using one of two methods. Add the items individually or use the Inventory Viewer to enter a range of items. Once the items are added, update the items to enter the changes you want to make to the items. You can also delete items that are posted to the grid.

Add

1. If  you just created a flex format, then the Item dialog is displayed. If the dialog is not displayed, do the following:

2. From the Eagle Browser, click Inventory Menu and then click Flexible Inventory Load (FIL).

3. At Flex Name, select the flex format from the drop-down list.

4. Click Add.

2. You can add items individually or you can add existing items from the Inventory Viewer.

3. Add items individually – In the Item dialog, at SKU, type the first item number that you wish to post to this flex format. If you are adding new items, then the Description field displays in this dialog. Type the description for the item. Click OK. Repeat the process. When done posting items, click Cancel.

4. Add items from the viewer – If the Item dialog is displayed, click Cancel to close it. Click Viewer to display the Inventory Viewer. Select a Lookup method and display a group of SKUs. Display the column of check boxes and check mark the items that you want to post to the flex format. Click Select to have the system post the items to the flex format.

3. Repeat step 2 to post additional items. The items you posted to this flex format display in the grid. If you are updating items and not adding new items (the Add New Items? field is set N), then you have the option to show the current values in the grid. Click the Show Current Values field to place a checkmark in the box. For each column in this flex format, another column is added. This column displays the current value for that field from Inventory Maintenance (IMU).

Update

1. Display the flex format that has a posted item that you want to update.

• From the Eagle Browser, click Inventory Menu and then click Flexible Inventory Load (FIL).

• At Flex Name, select the flex format from the drop-down list.

• Click Display.

2. Locate the item that you want to change, then click the field that you want to update. Type the new value in that field. If you are adding new items, then the Override Stores column is included in the grid. The Add New Items in Stores field above the grid indicates to which stores the items will be added. To change that, use the Override Stores column to specify which stores the item should be added to. For example, the Add New Items field is 12345. But for one or more of the SKUs posted to the flex format, you want to add only to Stores 3 and 5. In the Override column for the SKU, type 35.

3. Repeat this process for every item/field that you want to update.

4. After updating fields, click Change to save your work.

Delete

Remember, you are only deleting an item from this flex format, the workspace, not from your Inventory file.

1. Display the flex format that has a posted item that you want to delete.

1. From the Eagle Browser, click Inventory Menu and then click Flexible Inventory Load (FIL).

2. At Flex Name, select the flex format from the drop-down list.

3. Click Display.

2. For the items that you want to delete, click the check box to place a mark in the box.

3. Click Delete. Then click Yes when asked if you are sure. The items are removed from the grid.

Delete a Flex Format

If there is a flex format that you will never use again, you can delete the flex format.

1. Display the flex format that you want to delete.

1. From the Eagle Browser, click Inventory Menu and then click Flexible Inventory Load (FIL).

2. At Flex Name, select the flex format from the drop-down list.

3. Click Display.

2. If items are posted to this flex format, you must first delete the items from the grid before you can delete the flex format. Right-click the check box column and select the options to Select All. A mark is placed in all the check boxes. Click Delete. Then click Yes when asked if you are sure. All items are removed from the grid.

3. Click Delete. Then click Yes when asked if you want to delete the flex name.

Run RFL to Finalize Changes to Inventory Maintenance

Follow this procedure when you are ready to update Inventory Maintenance (IMU). Run the Flexible Inventory Loading Report (RFL) to do this.

Note that the "Valid Records" field and "Inventory Records Updated" field at the end of the report include items that are posted to the flex format, including items that may not have any changes. For example, you loaded 25 SKUs to the flex format from the Inventory Viewer, but only made changes to 5 of the items, and didn't delete the other 20 items from the flex format before running the report. Then these two fields on the report would read 25 (assuming there were no errors).

1. If not already displayed, display the flex format that you want to finalize.

2. From the Eagle Browser, click Inventory Menu and then click Flexible Inventory Load (FIL).

3. At Flex Name, select the flex format from the drop-down list.

4. Click Display.

2. Click Finalize. The Flexible Inventory Loading Report displays.

3. From the page, review the default entries in the fields and make changes if needed.  For a definition of each field, click here.

4. Click .  A page of fields displays. Fill in the fields on the page, as appropriate.  For a definition of each field, click here.

5. The system automatically fills in the Flex Name field.

6. For an edit list of the items that will not be updated due to errors, do not run the report with Option F. When running this report for flex formats created in the Flexible Inventory Loading window, the report does not print a complete list of all the items that will be updated. Only a list of errors will print. Errors are those items that could not be updated. Review the error messages, and if necessary display the flex format again and update the items to fix the errors.

7. When you are ready to finalize the changes and update Inventory Maintenance (IMU), run the report with Option F. When running this report for flex formats created in the Flexible Inventory Loading window, the report does not print a complete list of all the items that will be updated. Only a list of errors will print. Errors are those items that could not be updated. Review the error messages. These items are still in the flex format. Display the flex format again and update the items to fix the errors or delete the items from the flex format.

5. (Optional) Click .  A page of fields displays. Fill in the fields if you want to fax the report. For a definition of each field, click here.

6. Click Run if you are running this report now, or click Queue if you are adding this report to a queue.  For more information about creating queues, click here.

Tips

•  RFL will do the following if you have any of the 20 user codes that exist on the Flex Format you used:

• If the value you entered in a particular user code is #, then that user code will remain as is--in other words, # tells the system to preserve the existing value. Note: If you leave a user code blank in FIL, the system automatically sets it to # (so that it remains as is).

• If the value you entered in a particular user code is ?, then that user code will be blanked out (in other words, ? tells the system to blank out the existing value)

• If the value you entered in a particular user code is something other than # or ?, then that user code will be updated with that value.

Setting Fields to Blank

Set option 1651 "Flexible Inventory Loading allows setting fields to blank" to Yes if you want to be able to tell the system to blank out the existing value of a field. You control which fields you want to set to blank by entering a "?" (question mark) in the field. 

Note: Leaving the field blank tells the system to leave it ‘as is’. Entering a question mark to blank out a field works in both FIL and also in Inventory Import where you’ll enter a question mark (?) for that field/column in the import file.

Some of the fields which can be changed to blank by entering a "?" are: Class, Fineline, Primary Vendor, Manufacturer, Mfg Part Number, Catalog Page, Location Codes 1-6, all 20 User Codes, Tax Code, Seasonal Sales Code, and the PO Season. To determine if the system supports the entry of a "?" to blank out a field, click on that data cell in the FIL grid.