Product Attributes Overview

Select product based on a combination of attributes and characteristics.

The Product Attributes module is used to group a significant number of items together based on one or more of the inventory's item attributes. An inventory group (category folder) may contain multiple items that are very similar but differ based on the attributes of the items. An attribute is defined as a common characteristic, such as color, size, style, etc.  Some examples:

• Furniture: A company may contain a group of wooden shelf inventory items that vary based on the type of wood, stain or finish color, and the length of the shelf. If the company offers the shelf in 5 different wood types, 8 different stains, and 6 lengths, there could be up to 240 inventory items in EBMS just to manage all the combinations of the selected shelf.

• Clothing: A store sells shirts in a variety of sizes and colors. An inventory item is created for each item that is sold within the store. All of the item IDs within EBMS are grouped in a single folder.

• Vehicles or Equipment: Another example may be a trailer with attributes such as Year, GVWR, Axles, Tires, Stock Number, and Bed Size. Select the attributes and the correct inventory items and serial numbers are returned.

Attributes are defined within the inventory folder. A folder may have one or more product attributes. For example, a specific folder that contains shoe inventory items may have four attributes: size, width, color, and style. All the items within an inventory folder must contain the same attributes. The number and type of product attribute can vary between folders. Review the Set Up Product Attributes section for more details.

Fixed Product Attributes contain a single attribute value for each attribute setting within the inventory item.  For example, the attribute may define the shoe as size 10, D width, black color, and classic style.  Each attribute setting helps define the inventory item.  Review the Entering Item Attributes section for more details.  A specific inventory item within a folder group containing hundreds or thousands of items can easily be identified by selecting the desired attributes rather than memorizing Product ID codes.

Custom Product Attributes may contain multiple attribute values within a single inventory item. For example, a custom piece of furniture may be stained using a list of stain options.  This list of attribute values can be used using Value Sets.  Review the Value Sets and Options section for more details.

Common use cases

Quickly Find Items in EBMS