Creating Substrates Automatically

Before version 8.1, if your iQuote system was integrated with other ePS systems, such as Monarch or Radius, you had to manually create all the substrate raw materials in iQuote based on the inventory items sent by the integrated MIS.

This section details a enhancement introduced in Suite 8.1 that improves productivity by enabling you to both create several substrate raw materials at once. With this enhancement, iQuote automatically creates the appropriate substrates for each inventory item after you configure a few details.

 

Create Multiple Substrates

1. Navigate to Sales > Records > iQuote > Integration > MIS Substrate Integration or enter MIS Substrate Integration in the Quick Search field.

The MIS Substrate Integration screen displays all inventory items sent during the MIS integration that include a raw material type of Substrate Sheet, Substrate Web, Micro corrugated, or Generic.

Important
 ●Inventory items are not required for iQuote, but they connect iQuote’s substrate raw materials to substrates in various MIS systems. The substrates sent from MIS as inventory items are fully integrated only after they are linked to a substrate raw material in iQuote.

● Although the inventory item includes some substrate information, iQuote requires more data to create the raw material, such as a substrate type and line, and other iQuote-specific records.

● A green Status icon indicates the inventory item includes all necessary information and is ready for integration, while a red Status icon indicates the inventory item is missing data.

Note: By default, the MIS Substrate Integration Browser does not display items that are already integrated; however, you can use the Integrated parameter in the standard Search filter to display only integrated inventory items.

1. Select one or more inventory items with a red Status icon and click Link Substrate types.
2. In the Options To Select Or Create field, select one of the following values:

• Select New Substrate Type if none of the existing substrate types apply to the imported inventory items.
• Select Existing Substrate Type if you want to select a substrate type from those already available in iQuote.
• Select New Based On MIS Sub Group if you want to create a new substrate raw material using the imported MIS data.

Note: Refer to the Create A New Substrate From An MIS Subgroup topic for additional information on how to complete this process.

1. Complete the remaining fields on the screen, as applicable.
2. In the grid, select the inventory items to which you want to apply this configuration.
   
3. Click Apply Substrate Type To Selection.

Notes
● You can apply substrate types only if the display types in the corresponding substrate group matches the option in the inventory item (Grammages, Basis Size or Thickness).
● For items that use Basis Size, the configured basis weight must also match. Otherwise the system displays the following message:

1. Select the appropriate items and click Link Substrate Lines.
   
2. In the Options To Select Or Create field, select one of the following values, as applicable:

• Select New if you want to create a new substrate line.
• Select Select Existing if you want to use the lookup Substrate Type – Substrate Line feature to search and select the applicable substrate lines.

Note: You can select only substrate lines that are already created in the selected substrate.

1. Click Apply Substrate Line To Selection.
2. If you selected New in the Options To Select Or Create field, iQuote displays a message confirming the creation of a new substrate line. Click Confirm to proceed.
3. Click Save, then Exit.
4. Repeat this procedure until you link all inventory items to substrate types and lines.

Note: You can select multiple entries in the MIS Substrate Integration Browser, then assign each of them a different configuration by using this option to select inventory items on the Link Substrate Types screen.
In the example below, we selected multiple inventory items and assigned the sheet boards 4, 5, and 6 to the existing substrate type, Coated sheet board:

After applying the substrate type, we were able to define the substrate lines or change the items selected. In this case, we applied the Gold substrate line to items 4 and 5 first, then the Silver substrate line to item 6.
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We also selected items 7 and 8 and assigned a completely different substrate type and line:
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Finally, we used the New substrate type option to configure the last inventory item:
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Create A New Substrate From An MIS Subgroup

When you when link inventory items sent from your MIS to substrate types, you can create a new substrate based on the MIS subgroup.

The following two additional fields appear on the Link Substrate Types screen when you select New Based On MIS Sub Group in the Option To Select Or Create field:

• Cost Unit: Select the desired cost unit for the new substrate type record.

Note: You cannot edit a cost unit after you define it.

• Cost Account: Select the cost account to which you want to allocate the costs for the new substrate.

Notes
● The system populates this field by default, but you can modify the value as desired.

● You can use this option only for inventory items with an assigned MIS Sub group. Otherwise, iQuote displays an error message when you apply the substrate type to the selection.

MIS systems include some standard information when sending inventory items sent to iQuote, such as the item type and the raw material type. Some inventory items also include the MIS item group and MIS sub group data; in which case, iQuote automatically creates a new substrate type and substrate group at integration.

Note: iQuote does NOT link the substrate type and substrate group the system creates based on the MIS Subgroup record. Once created in iQuote, you can delete or edit these records without affecting the MIS original record.

For example, suppose an MIS sends the following inventory item containing both the MIS Subgroup and MIS Basis Weight information; in this case, “Bond” and “A1,” respectively.

Based on this information, iQuote creates a substrate type with the same name:

iQuote also creates the substrate group. If the inventory item uses basis weight values, this information also appears in the substrate group record.

If the inventory item used grammage, this information appears in the Display Types field, and the Basis Weight field is unavailable.

If the MIS sends multiple substrate inventory items with the same MIS subgroups but different basis weight, iQuote creates as many substrate groups as inventory items, since you can link each group to only one basis weight. However, this does not apply for grammages.

When you link an inventory item to a substrate by selecting the New based on MIS sub group value in the Option to Select or Create field, iQuote uses both the substrate type and substrate group records (automatically created) to generate the new substrate raw material.

 

Link Substrate Lines

iQuote records and saves any configuration changes you make, even if some information is still missing, such as the substrate lines. In this case, the MIS Substrate Integrations screen displays red Status icons for the incomplete inventory items, but you can select them and click the Link Substrate Lines button to navigate to the Link Substrate Lines screen and complete the configurations.

Tip: Refer to the Create Substrate Lines Within A Substrate Type topic for detailed procedural information.

 

Integrate Multiple Substrates

The MIS Substrate integration includes two different buttons for integrating multiple substrates at once: Integrate Selected Substrates and Integrate Filtered Substrates.

 

Select the applicable items with a green status on the screen, and click Integrate Selected Substrates to integrate only the highlighted (yellow) records.

Alternately, you can use the filter options on the right to specify the records you want to integrate, then click Integrate Filtered Substrates to integrate all the filtered items.

Notes
● If you do not apply a filter before you click Integrate Filtered Substrates, the system integrates all available items.
● Use the Searching Setup menu option to create a customized field.

In both cases, iQuote displays a warning message that prompts you to confirm the creation of new substrate raw materials:

Notes
● When you click Confirm, the system creates substrate types and substrate raw materials according to the configurations, including the cost unit specification.
● You cannot edit a cost unit after you select it for a substrate type.
● The system skips any items selected that cannot be integrated.
● You can link Inventory items to multiple substrate types, as needed. If an inventory item is linked and integrated a second time, the system creates new records without overwriting the original ones.

 

Radius Integration

Create Multiple Formats For Inventory Items

Inventory items can have multiple formats in Radius, while iQuote has only one format per item. When you integrate substrate inventory items with more than one format from Radius, iQuote generates one raw material for each different format.

For example, suppose Radius sends the following inventory item, which includes three different formats:

When the item is fully integrated, iQuote creates three different substrate raw materials.

 

Inventory Items With No Format

Inventory items can have no specified format in Radius. Since iQuote needs a format value to create a substrate raw material, you can complete the fields in the Default Dimensions For New Substrate area on the Integration Options screen in Radius.

In this configuration, you can set a default generic format for the inventory item sent to iQuote.

iQuote receives all new substrates created from imported inventory items in the “Normal” format configuration by default.

Select the Create Default Substrates From MIS As Generic Substrates? check box on the General Settings screen (navigate to Administration > General Configuration > System > General Settings > Integration) to change this behavior.

Note: This parameter is only available if you select the Enable Radius Integration check box.

When you select the Create Default Substrates From MIS As Generic Substrates? check box, the system configures a “generic” type of format for any new substrates created from Radius inventory items with the default format.

 

Generic Format In iQuote

iQuote applies one of the following four types of engineering selection configurations to every substrate format:

• Normal: This is the standard configuration, and the first option the engineering calculation references.
• Alternative: These formats are options used only when no normal format is available.
• Only if Required: Formats defined as Only if Required must be directly defined in the product specification to be used in the engineering calculation.
• Generic: The Generic engineering selection type is used if the company does not work with a variety of formats in stock. Instead, they buy the substrate by demand already in the appropriate format for each job.

Notes
● The generic formats are selected by engineering only when included in the estimate’s product specification, under Substrate Characteristic > Details.

The engineering then calculates all possible formats for that product and returns the most cost effective one, while considering the specified generic format as the maximum format possible.

● It is recommended that you define the generic format as the maximum format accepted by the largest printing machine in the plant.