A generic is a rule, not a stocked product

A generic groups interchangeable physical items and owns defaults they share. Inventory is received, counted, and traced against physical child items. Recipes and planning may refer to the generic when any eligible child is acceptable.

Why Use Generics?

One source of truth

Keep common UoM, precision, storage, cold-chain, and stock defaults in one family record.

Safe substitution

Let a recipe accept any approved child without listing every brand or package as a separate formula.

Better planning

Cost and availability can be evaluated across the permitted family while physical lots remain fully traceable.

How Inheritance Works

Items screen on the Generics tab with Create New Generic highlighted — Use the separate Generics tab so the new record is treated as a family rule, not physical inventory.

Create the generic. On Items, select the Generics tab and click Create New Generic.
Define shared defaults. Set its code, name, category, Base UoM, precision, stock defaults, storage rules, and other values that should be true for the family.
Create or edit a physical item. On the Items tab, select the generic in Parent ItemCode.
Inherit by default. Locked inherited fields continue to use the parent's effective value. If the generic changes, those children see the updated value.
Override only exceptions. Unlock a field on the child when that physical product truly differs. The child then owns that value until it is returned to inheritance.
Use the generic on a recipe. A generic material line means Any eligible physical child can satisfy that requirement when production starts.

New Generic draft with its identity fields highlighted — Define the generic's identity and the values that should be shared across the family.

New physical item draft with Parent ItemCode highlighted — On each physical child, select the family through Parent ItemCode.

Supplier offers, barcodes, physical package identity, lot quantities, and traceability stay on the physical item. They are not generic facts.

Butter Family Example

Generic Buttershared storage, UoM, conversion, and handling rules

Generic Unsalted Butterunsalted family rules

Brand A Unsalted 1 lb Brand B Unsalted 500 g

Generic Salted Buttersalted family rules

Brand C Salted 1 lb Brand D Salted 500 g

Recipe asks for	Eligible inventory	Excluded
Generic Butter	Any physical descendant in the Butter tree	Items outside Butter
Generic Unsalted Butter	Only physical descendants of Unsalted Butter	Every Salted Butter descendant
Brand A Unsalted, Preferred	Brand A first; another Unsalted sibling if needed	Salted Butter
Brand A Unsalted, Required	Only that exact physical item	Every substitute

Approved Multi-Level Hierarchy Direction

The current release supports one generic directly above physical children. The multi-level Butter → Salted/Unsalted → physical-item hierarchy shown above is the approved design direction and is not enabled yet.

The planned model uses one direct parent per record and allows any number of ancestors. This produces a clear, non-cyclic tree without the conflicting values that multiple direct parents would introduce.

A generic may inherit from another generic; a physical item may inherit from a generic.
Inheritance resolves from the root toward the physical item. The nearest explicit value wins.
Self-parenting and any change that creates a cycle are rejected.
A recipe targeting a generic may use physical descendants of that node, not cousins or ancestors.
Generic records never hold inventory. Availability is the usable stock of eligible physical descendants.
Existing Any, Preferred, and Required recipe behavior remains intact at every level.

Good Generic Design

Create a branch when...

substitution across the branch would be unsafe or change the product;
a recipe needs to name that subset, such as Unsalted Butter;
the subset shares meaningful rules or conversions; or
planning must measure its availability separately.

Keep a physical item separate when...

it has its own barcode, vendor offer, package, or lot history;
quality or regulatory identity must remain exact;
the operator receives and counts it as a distinct product; or
a recipe may require that exact item.

Generics and Item Families