Inventory FAQrsquos

Q Once an item is assigned to an organization is it possible to remove this association at

a later time

A If you have assigned an item to an organization it can only be deleted from that

organization if the item has NOT been transacted If it has been transacted against you

cannot delete the item from the organization You can however make the status of the

item ldquoinactiverdquo on the main region of the Item Define form INVIDITM in bdquoItem Status‟

field This will prevent users from transacting against the item although the item will

continue to be included in LOV‟s

Q How do you setup Unit of Measure for an item

A When transacting an item it will always default to the defined Primary Unit of

Measure so if you need to use another UOM you must select it from the List of Values

when you transact it This implies that you want the Primary Unit of Measure to be that

which is used most often and which is likely to be the smallest unit of that type of item

Once you have set the primary UOM for an item it CANNOT be changed

Q How do I change an item‟s locator control method once I have transacted against it for

example from No Control to Prespecified

A You cannot change this attribute if there is onhand quantity for the item You must

first perform a miscellaneous issue of all quantity Then the attribute can be changed and

once the locator(s) are set up you can perform a miscellaneous receipt to receive the

quantity back into a specified subinventorylocator

Q How do I change an item‟s Unit of Measure

A You CANNOT change the UOM for an item once the UOM is assigned to the item The

suggested solution is as follows If the item has not been transacted you can delete the

item and then re-add it with the correct UOM If the item has been transacted and has no

outstanding orders purchase orders or WIP jobs you can do the following if approved by

your management

1 Rename the existing item bdquo123prime to bdquo123-Bad UOM‟ and save the item Any prior history

for item bdquo123prime will now be associated with item bdquo123-Bad UOM‟

2 Add a new item bdquo123prime with the correct UOM

Q How do I delete an Item Template I no longer use

A Suggested steps to follow to delete unwanted Item Templates

1 Navigate Setup Items Templates ndash Find Item Templates form appears

2 Click on the LOV and select the Item Template that is to be removed

3 Click the [Find] button on the Find Item Templates form The Item Templates

Summary form appears with the Item Template selected

4 Click the [Open] button on the Item Templates Summary form and the Item

Templates form appears

5 From the menu select Edit | Delete Record then select Action | Save and Proceed 6

Close the Item Templates Summary form Be careful not to delete Item Templates you

may need again as they are not retrievable once deleted

Q Is there a way to create custom item attributes

A No but you can create and define the descriptive flexfield for this form This will allows

you to associate additional data with an item such as an attribute See the Oracle System

Administrators

Users Guide and the Oracle Flexfields Manual for information on creating Descriptive

Flexfields

Q Why does the application prompt you for Organization when you enter the Master

Item form for the very first time even though you have only one Master Organization

A Once you setup a Multi-Org environment and you enter the form for the first time

there is the possibility there can be more than one Master Organization The application

therefore prompts you for an organization which is then used to determine the Master

Organization associated with it In other words you are choosing the Master

Organization by choosing one of the Orgs that belongs to it

Q How do you change the control level for item attributes from master level to

organization level for example When I try to change this in the Attribute Control Form I

get the message frm-40200 field protected against update

A First change value of the field called ldquostatusrdquo to ldquonot usedrdquo You should then be able to

change the control level of the attribute from master level to org level Make sure and

change to status back to what it was before the change and save the record

Q How do I inactivate an item

A On the Master Item Form (Inventory-gtItems-gtMaster Items) change the item status

field to ldquoInactiverdquo or any another defined status which disables all attributes that make an

item usable (stockable shippable orderable etc) The ldquoInactivaterdquo status comes pre-

seeded with the Application and is for this purpose

Q What characters can I use in an item name (including special characters)

A The only hard fast rule is not to use the character designated in the segment delimiter

for the System Item Flexfield Also you will not be able to enter any characters not

allowed by the valueset associate with the flexfield It is recommended that you avoid the

use of any char that can be used as a delimiter to avoid future problems It is best to not

use special characters like amp if at all possible as these may have a negative impact

down the road Some characters like percent () underscore (_) and pound() have

special meaning when performing queries by form as do the query operator characters

(=gtlt)

Q Can you change the costing enabled and inventory asset flags on an item that has

already been transacted against even if there is no on-hand quantities for the item

A Yes you can change the flags If you are changing the flags from checked to unchecked

you will receive a warning that the associated cost records will be deleted alerting you

that the Cost of Goods will not be calculated any longer for transactions of this item In

effect what you are doing is changing the item from an asset item to an expense item If

you are changing the flags from being unchecked to checked then a database

trigger will fire and cause cost records to be added for this item There is no warning that

is given

Q When I create a new item and choose to assign to All orgs the application allows me

to even though some of those organizations are restricted to my responsibility Is this the

way it is supposed to work If I assign in an Organization by Organization fashion I am

not allowed to assign to the restricted organizations

A The situation described is standard functionality Even if a responsibility has limited

access to a certain number of organizations the ldquoAssign to All Organizationsrdquo check box

will assign the item to all orgs not just the ones limited to the user‟s responsibility

Q How do you tell that an item is an expense item or asset item

A Navigate to the Organization Items form Inventory-gtItems-gtOrganization Items

Query up the item in question Change to the ldquoCostingrdquo alternative region The value of

the ldquoInventory Asset Valuerdquo flag determines this If checked the item is an asset item

Q Is there a way to delete or disable an item revision once entered

A There is no way to delete a revision nor is there a way to disable it It must remain

there for historical data The suggested workaround is to create a new item transfer any

Quantity on-hand from the old item to new item and delete the old item The only down

side is you will lose some transaction history

2 Click on the LOV and select the Item Template that is to be removed

3 Click the [Find] button on the Find Item Templates form The Item Templates

Summary form appears with the Item Template selected

4 Click the [Open] button on the Item Templates Summary form and the Item

Templates form appears

5 From the menu select Edit | Delete Record then select Action | Save and Proceed 6

Close the Item Templates Summary form Be careful not to delete Item Templates you

may need again as they are not retrievable once deleted

Q Is there a way to create custom item attributes

A No but you can create and define the descriptive flexfield for this form This will allows

you to associate additional data with an item such as an attribute See the Oracle System

Administrators

Users Guide and the Oracle Flexfields Manual for information on creating Descriptive

Flexfields

Q Why does the application prompt you for Organization when you enter the Master

Item form for the very first time even though you have only one Master Organization

A Once you setup a Multi-Org environment and you enter the form for the first time

there is the possibility there can be more than one Master Organization The application

therefore prompts you for an organization which is then used to determine the Master

Organization associated with it In other words you are choosing the Master

Organization by choosing one of the Orgs that belongs to it

Q How do you change the control level for item attributes from master level to

organization level for example When I try to change this in the Attribute Control Form I

get the message frm-40200 field protected against update

A First change value of the field called ldquostatusrdquo to ldquonot usedrdquo You should then be able to

change the control level of the attribute from master level to org level Make sure and

change to status back to what it was before the change and save the record

Q How do I inactivate an item

A On the Master Item Form (Inventory-gtItems-gtMaster Items) change the item status

field to ldquoInactiverdquo or any another defined status which disables all attributes that make an

item usable (stockable shippable orderable etc) The ldquoInactivaterdquo status comes pre-

seeded with the Application and is for this purpose

Q What characters can I use in an item name (including special characters)

A The only hard fast rule is not to use the character designated in the segment delimiter

for the System Item Flexfield Also you will not be able to enter any characters not

allowed by the valueset associate with the flexfield It is recommended that you avoid the

use of any char that can be used as a delimiter to avoid future problems It is best to not

use special characters like amp if at all possible as these may have a negative impact

down the road Some characters like percent () underscore (_) and pound() have

special meaning when performing queries by form as do the query operator characters

(=gtlt)

Q Can you change the costing enabled and inventory asset flags on an item that has

already been transacted against even if there is no on-hand quantities for the item

A Yes you can change the flags If you are changing the flags from checked to unchecked

you will receive a warning that the associated cost records will be deleted alerting you

that the Cost of Goods will not be calculated any longer for transactions of this item In

effect what you are doing is changing the item from an asset item to an expense item If

you are changing the flags from being unchecked to checked then a database

trigger will fire and cause cost records to be added for this item There is no warning that

is given

Q When I create a new item and choose to assign to All orgs the application allows me

to even though some of those organizations are restricted to my responsibility Is this the

way it is supposed to work If I assign in an Organization by Organization fashion I am

not allowed to assign to the restricted organizations

A The situation described is standard functionality Even if a responsibility has limited

access to a certain number of organizations the ldquoAssign to All Organizationsrdquo check box

will assign the item to all orgs not just the ones limited to the user‟s responsibility

Q How do you tell that an item is an expense item or asset item

A Navigate to the Organization Items form Inventory-gtItems-gtOrganization Items

Query up the item in question Change to the ldquoCostingrdquo alternative region The value of

the ldquoInventory Asset Valuerdquo flag determines this If checked the item is an asset item

Q Is there a way to delete or disable an item revision once entered

A There is no way to delete a revision nor is there a way to disable it It must remain

there for historical data The suggested workaround is to create a new item transfer any

Quantity on-hand from the old item to new item and delete the old item The only down

side is you will lose some transaction history

Q What characters can I use in an item name (including special characters)

A The only hard fast rule is not to use the character designated in the segment delimiter

for the System Item Flexfield Also you will not be able to enter any characters not

allowed by the valueset associate with the flexfield It is recommended that you avoid the

use of any char that can be used as a delimiter to avoid future problems It is best to not

use special characters like amp if at all possible as these may have a negative impact

down the road Some characters like percent () underscore (_) and pound() have

special meaning when performing queries by form as do the query operator characters

(=gtlt)

Q Can you change the costing enabled and inventory asset flags on an item that has

already been transacted against even if there is no on-hand quantities for the item

A Yes you can change the flags If you are changing the flags from checked to unchecked

you will receive a warning that the associated cost records will be deleted alerting you

that the Cost of Goods will not be calculated any longer for transactions of this item In

effect what you are doing is changing the item from an asset item to an expense item If

you are changing the flags from being unchecked to checked then a database

trigger will fire and cause cost records to be added for this item There is no warning that

is given

Q When I create a new item and choose to assign to All orgs the application allows me

to even though some of those organizations are restricted to my responsibility Is this the

way it is supposed to work If I assign in an Organization by Organization fashion I am

not allowed to assign to the restricted organizations

A The situation described is standard functionality Even if a responsibility has limited

access to a certain number of organizations the ldquoAssign to All Organizationsrdquo check box

will assign the item to all orgs not just the ones limited to the user‟s responsibility

Q How do you tell that an item is an expense item or asset item

A Navigate to the Organization Items form Inventory-gtItems-gtOrganization Items

Query up the item in question Change to the ldquoCostingrdquo alternative region The value of

the ldquoInventory Asset Valuerdquo flag determines this If checked the item is an asset item

Q Is there a way to delete or disable an item revision once entered

A There is no way to delete a revision nor is there a way to disable it It must remain

there for historical data The suggested workaround is to create a new item transfer any

Quantity on-hand from the old item to new item and delete the old item The only down

side is you will lose some transaction history

For more interview Question click

here httpknoworaclewordpresscom20080626oracle-applications-technical-

interview-questions

1What is item status Name the related table

INVENTORY_ITEM_STATUS_CODE is the Colum in table MTL_ITEM_STATUS will tell you the

different status for item while you defining the item in item master form (INVIDITM) You can

have different status as shown in below also u can define your own custom status in status

code form in item setups (INVSDOIS)like ldquoeasyappsrdquo

Active

Inactive

Engineer

Obsolete

Phase-Out

Prototype

OPM

Lease

Production

Concept

Design

DEM_Status

Pending

2Define steps of assigning items to an organization

Create an item in Item master from and select the template to assign the corresponding item

attributes from tools menu Now save the item After saving the item select the organizational

assignment option from tools menu for that item and organizational assignment item form

popups Now u can select the organizations from the list by ticking in check box save the

work

3In which table subinventory related information for item is stored

MTL_ITEM_SUB_INVENTORIES

4What are the prerequisite set ups for interorganization transaction

Prerequisites

Define an inventory item that is common to both organizations See Defining Items and

Assigning Items to Organizations Define at least two organizations one of which is valid to

receive material from the other See Creating an Organization Oracle Human Resource

Management Systems Userrsquos Guide and Defining Organization Parameters Set up interndash

organization relationships and their corresponding accounts See Defining InterndashOrganization

Shipping Networks For direct transfers if the item to transfer is under serial number control

the item must have the same unit of measure in each organization See Defining Items

5Where to define interorganization transaction charges and what are the different options

Depending on the interndashorganization transfer charge that applies between the organizations

a percentage of the transaction value or a discrete amount that Oracle Inventory uses to

compute transfer charges

6What are stock locators and how to define them

Stock locators are an optional entity that may be used to represent physical locations within a

subinventory You may choose to use stock locators for selected subinventories or selected

items within selected subinventories If locators are used subinventory and locator track on-

hand balances Therefore if locators are defined to represent a shelf within a stockroom on-

hand balances on the system would show the item and quantity down to the physical location

within the facilityU can derfine them in stocklocator from (INVSAFDH) in inventory setups

MTL_ITEM_LOCATIONS is the main base table for this locators

7Name the tables where the stock locator information is stored At least two

Refer above QOne more table is MTL_ITEM_LOC_DEFAULTS

8What is unit of measure classes Give atleast two examples Name the underlying table

9What is the prerequisite for difining unit of measure

10In which tables the transaction details stored Atleast two

11What are centralized and decentralized level of control of item attributes

12Name all status attributes

13Differentiate between intra amp inter uom class conversion with examples

14Is uom maintained at master level or organization level or both

15Mention the interface tables for item open interface and open transaction interface and

also their respective production tables

16Name atleast five reports in oracle inventory related to transaction

17What are the prerequsites for costing transactions

18Which is the table for storing organization information

19How to get the on hand quantity of an item across all organizations Name the underlying

tables

20What is the purpose of standard cost update

21Mention the navigational steps for abc analysis

1) Which are required steps in Inventory module set up

Answer

a) All the 6 key flexfields ie Items Item Catalog Account Alias Sales Order

Locator and Item Category

b) Organizations

c) Change Organizations

d) Intercompany Relations

e) Unit of Measure Classes

f)Subunventories

g)Item Attribute Controls Categories

h)Default Category set

i)Item Statuses

j) Cost types

k)Profile Options

l)Inventory Accounting Periods

2) What do you mean by Required with Defaults Steps

Answer

Required Step With Defaults means that the setup functionality comes with pre-

seeded default values in the database however you should review those defaults

default values and decide whether to change them to suit your business needs

3)Which are Required with Defaults Steps in Inventory module

Answer

There are no such steps in Inventory module

4)There is no stock locator control in your Inventory organizationDo you still need

to configure it

Answer

You need not to configure the flexfield in a specific way but you must still compile

the Stock Locators key Flexfield because all Oracle Inventory transaction and on-

hand inquiries and reports require a frozen flexfield definition

5) What is the use of a picking rule

Answer

When you pick release a sales order in Order Management module Order Shipping

Execution module ( which is a part of Order Management) submits requests to

Oracle Inventory module which uses the information given in picking rule to give

priority to pick units of an items and then it generates pick lists for sales orders

6) Can you apply material overheads to Average Costing Organization

Answer

No you can not apply it to Average Costing Organization However you can apply it

to Standard Costing Organization

7) What is a Transaction Action

Answer

A transaction action is a predefined method of changing the quantity andor

location andor cost of an item It is used in Transaction Type form

8) How many Predefined Transaction Actions are available in Inventory module

Answer

You may use one of six predefined transaction actions --issue from stores

subinventory transfer direct organization transfer intransit shipment cost update

and receipt into stores

9)Can you do Inventory transactions in prior periods

Answer

Yes you can do by setting the profile option INV Transaction Date validation to

Provide warning when date in past period or Allow date in any open period It

allows entry of a past date

10) Can you change customer item name or Item after you save it

Answer

Yes you can change it if you have set the profile option INV Updatable Customer

Item to Yes and INV Updatable item to Yes respectively

Q) What is the difference between lot control and serial control A) In general Items are serial controlled where each single unit need to be tracked like a

laptops Each laptop will have its own serial making easy for tracking where as Lot

controlled items are produced in bulk and sold in bulk amounts like pens A bunch of pens will be assigned to one lot number instead of having a unique lot number to each pen

Lot controlled items can have expiration date where serial controlled items do not have

expiration dates

1) Which are required steps in Inventory module set up

Answer

a) All the 6 key flexfields ie Items Item Catalog Account Alias Sales Order

Locator and Item Category

b) Organizations

c) Change Organizations

d) Intercompany Relations

e) Unit of Measure Classes

f)Subunventories

g)Item Attribute Controls Categories

h)Default Category set

i)Item Statuses

j) Cost types

k)Profile Options

l)Inventory Accounting Periods

2) What do you mean by Required with Defaults Steps

Answer

Required Step With Defaults means that the setup functionality comes with pre-

seeded default values in the database however you should review those defaults

default values and decide whether to change them to suit your business needs

3)Which are Required with Defaults Steps in Inventory module

Answer

There are no such steps in Inventory module

4)There is no stock locator control in your Inventory organizationDo you still need

to configure it

Answer

You need not to configure the flexfield in a specific way but you must still compile

the Stock Locators key Flexfield because all Oracle Inventory transaction and on-

hand inquiries and reports require a frozen flexfield definition

5) What is the use of a picking rule

Answer

When you pick release a sales order in Order Management module Order Shipping

Execution module ( which is a part of Order Management) submits requests to

Oracle Inventory module which uses the information given in picking rule to give

priority to pick units of an items and then it generates pick lists for sales orders

6) Can you apply material overheads to Average Costing Organization

Answer

No you can not apply it to Average Costing Organization However you can apply it

to Standard Costing Organization

7) What is a Transaction Action

Answer

A transaction action is a predefined method of changing the quantity andor

location andor cost of an item It is used in Transaction Type form

8) How many Predefined Transaction Actions are available in Inventory module

Answer

You may use one of six predefined transaction actions --issue from stores

subinventory transfer direct organization transfer intransit shipment cost update

and receipt into stores

9)Can you do Inventory transactions in prior periods

Answer

Yes you can do by setting the profile option INV Transaction Date validation to

Provide warning when date in past period or Allow date in any open period It

allows entry of a past date

10) Can you change customer item name or Item after you save it

Answer

Yes you can change it if you have set the profile option INV Updatable Customer

Item to Yes and INV Updatable item to Yes respectively

Q) What is the difference between lot control and serial control A) In general Items are serial controlled where each single unit need to be tracked like a

laptops Each laptop will have its own serial making easy for tracking where as Lot

controlled items are produced in bulk and sold in bulk amounts like pens A bunch of pens will be assigned to one lot number instead of having a unique lot number to each pen

Lot controlled items can have expiration date where serial controlled items do not have

expiration dates

6) Can you apply material overheads to Average Costing Organization

Answer

No you can not apply it to Average Costing Organization However you can apply it

to Standard Costing Organization

7) What is a Transaction Action

Answer

A transaction action is a predefined method of changing the quantity andor

location andor cost of an item It is used in Transaction Type form

8) How many Predefined Transaction Actions are available in Inventory module

Answer

You may use one of six predefined transaction actions --issue from stores

subinventory transfer direct organization transfer intransit shipment cost update

and receipt into stores

9)Can you do Inventory transactions in prior periods

Answer

Yes you can do by setting the profile option INV Transaction Date validation to

Provide warning when date in past period or Allow date in any open period It

allows entry of a past date

10) Can you change customer item name or Item after you save it

Answer

Yes you can change it if you have set the profile option INV Updatable Customer

Item to Yes and INV Updatable item to Yes respectively

Q) What is the difference between lot control and serial control A) In general Items are serial controlled where each single unit need to be tracked like a

laptops Each laptop will have its own serial making easy for tracking where as Lot

controlled items are produced in bulk and sold in bulk amounts like pens A bunch of pens will be assigned to one lot number instead of having a unique lot number to each pen

Lot controlled items can have expiration date where serial controlled items do not have

expiration dates

Q) What is the difference between lot control and serial control A) In general Items are serial controlled where each single unit need to be tracked like a

laptops Each laptop will have its own serial making easy for tracking where as Lot

controlled items are produced in bulk and sold in bulk amounts like pens A bunch of pens will be assigned to one lot number instead of having a unique lot number to each pen

Lot controlled items can have expiration date where serial controlled items do not have

expiration dates