Default Units of Measure
Lesson 13 of 24 6 min read
Tell Supply Lens which unit to assume when an order doesn't say, at Product level, per Integration on a Product, and on the Integration itself.
Many orders arrive with a quantity and no unit. Web shops often don't send one at all, because to them everything is "one". Defaults are how you tell Supply Lens what to assume. In this lesson you will meet the three places a default unit can be set, and choose the right one for each situation.
Three kinds of default
| Default | Where you set it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Product default | The Product's Default unit of measure field | "This Product is normally sold in this unit." |
| Product default for an Integration | The Product's Default Units of Measure section | "When this Integration sends or receives this Product, use this unit." Overrides the Product default for that Integration. |
| Integration default | The Default Unit of Measure card on the Integration | "Quantities on this Integration are in this unit." |
Product default
You set this on the Add new product window or in the Product's Information section. When an order arrives without a unit of measure, this is treated as the ordered unit size.
Product default for one Integration
This lets you fine-tune one Product for one system, overriding its Product-level default.
- Open Settings → Reference data → Products and open the Product.
- In the Default Units of Measure section, click + ADD.
- Choose the Integration.
- Choose the Default unit of measure that Integration should use for this Product.
Integration default
On an Integration's tile, the Default Unit of Measure card sets a unit for that whole Integration. The help centre describes it as forcing all quantities received or sent on that Integration into that unit. Leave it unset if the Integration should use each Product's own defaults.
Good to know
The same card also shows Unit of Measure Conversions with Required and Optional options. Ask Support before changing these if you are not sure which your Integration needs.
Choosing between them
Hilltop's defaults
- Shopify only ever sells single bags. Priya sets the Shopify Integration's default unit to Bag, so no Shopify order can ever be read as cases.
- Every Hilltop Product has Bag as its Product default, because bags are the normal selling unit.
- Hilltop's Café Starter Kit is a wholesale line sold by the case, so its Product default is Case. Shopify also lists the kit, as single bags. Priya doesn't need a per-Integration default on the kit for Shopify: the Shopify Integration default already covers it, as you will see in the next lesson.
- Priya keeps the per-Integration Product default for the rare Product that one system counts differently from all the others.
- Greenleaf's orders carry barcodes, and the case barcode is marked as standing for a Case. You will see in the next lesson why that wins over the defaults.
Tip
Set defaults even if you think every partner sends a unit. One day a partner will leave it out, and a sensible default is the difference between a Document that flows and one that stops.
Recap
- A Product default is the unit a Product is normally sold in, used when an order has no unit.
- A Product default for an Integration overrides the Product default for that one system.
- An Integration default sets the unit for quantities on that whole Integration; leave it unset to use Product defaults.
- Use the narrowest default that matches reality: a whole system, one Product on one system, or one Product everywhere.
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