Inventory Product Configuration: Product Preparation Products – Centegra

Introduction

This article contains information on creating products to use when declaring production within the kitchen via the Product Preparations feature, as part of the Inventory Management module.

This article is limited to product configuration for products to be used as part of this feature only. For details on other types of recipes, Click Here.

For use within the Product Preparations feature, there are two distinct types of products:

Preparation Products: Use these when transforming a single ingredient product from one state to another, based on an expected yield after preparation.
Made Products: Use these when combining several ingredients to create a new product, usually as part of a batch prepared in the kitchen.

Creating A "Product Preparation" Product

Although the setup process is similar both types of products listed above, there are some slight variations in the setup process. Refer to the relevant section below.

Preparation Products

Step 1: Create The Product

To create a brand new Preparation type product:

Head to Product Management > Products.
Select [NEW BACK OFFICE PRODUCT].

In the New Product page, enter:

Long Product Name: Enter the name of the product.
Short Product Name: Copy the name into this field.
Code: Enter your internal code for the product. (If not required, copy the PLU.)
Master Group: Select the master group that the product will report to.
Group: Then select the stock group that the product will report to.
Stock Type: Select Preparation.

Select [CREATE & ADD MORE DETAIL] the proceed onto Step 2 to set the product sizing.

Step 2: Set The Product Sizing

Next, you need to rename the sizes in the Product Sizing section of the Product Detail tab.

By default, these are all set to "Each", but it is recommended that these are renamed to match the Base Unit Size of the raw ingredient product that will be linked as the ingredient of this Preparation product.

Update the following:

Base Unit Name: Rename this to match the base unit name of your ingredient. (You'll see a warning about changing the base unit. As you are creating the yield product from scratch at this point, you can bypass this warning.)
Stocking Unit Name: Change the name to match the Base Unit Name entered above.
Receiving Unit Name: Change the name to match the Base Unit Name entered above.

You should ensure that the following settings remain unchanged:

Stocking Units: Leave this as 1.
Receiving Units: Leave this as 1.

Once all sizing has been entered, review the Product Sizing Sanity Check beneath to check that the product sizing makes sense and there are no errors.

Then, select [SAVE & REMAIN] before you link the ingredient to the yield recipe as covered below.

Step 3: Link The Ingredient & Set The Yield Ratio

Now that the sizing is set, the ingredient can be linked to the Preparation product.

Head to the Recipes tab within the product setup page. Before you make a start on linking ingredients, just make sure that the "Recipe In Size" label reflects the correct size as below. (This is per setup in Step 2.)

To link the ingredient:

Select [NEW RECIPE ITEM].

In the blank row that is added at the bottom, enter:

Recipe Component: Select the ingredient from the list. (This lists supplied products and other recipes.)
Quantity: Enter the yield ratio, based on the Recipe In Size and Unit Size labels shown. (See yield ratio calculations below.)

For reference, the following information is also shown:

Unit Cost: Displays the cost of one unit of the ingredient, based on the Unit Size shown.
Cost Net: Displays the total net cost of the ingredient within this recipe based on the quantity.
Type: Displays the ingredients stock type. (Ingredients can be supplied stock or other recipes.)

Then select [SAVE & EXIT].

The total cost will update as the ingredient is added. For more information on recipe costs, Click Here.

CALCULATING YIELD RATIOS

Before calculating yield ratio you need to know the yield percentage of your product. The formula is then:

Yield Ratio = 100 / Yield Percentage Value

Examples yield calculations:

A Beef Joint being only 65% of its original weight once it has been cooked.
- Yield ratio: 100 / 65 = 1.538
- Effectively saying that 1.538 KG of raw beef is required to make 1KG of cooked beef.
Rice being 160% of its original weight after it has been cooked.
- Yield ratio: 100 / 160 = 0.625
- Effectively saying that 0.625 KG of raw rice is required to make 1 KG of cooked rice.

Made Products

Step 1: Create The Made Product

To create a brand new product as a batch recipe:

Head to Product Management > Products.
Select [NEW BACK OFFICE PRODUCT].

In the New Product page, enter:

Long Product Name: Enter the name of the product.
Short Product Name: Copy the name into this field.
Code: Enter your internal code for the product. (If not required, copy the PLU.)
Master Group: Select the master group that the product will report to.
Group: Then select the stock group that the product will report to.
Stock Type: Select Made.

Select [CREATE & ADD MORE DETAIL] the proceed onto Step 2 to set the product sizing.

Step 2: Set The Product Sizing

Next, you need to set the batch sizes in the Product Sizing section of the Product Detail tab.

Some information on sizing is covered below, but you can also Click Here for more details on product sizing.

Base Unit

First, set the Base Unit. This defaults to "Each", but you'll need to change this to reflect your batch sizing.

Against the Base Unit Name setting (which should have default to "Each") select [Edit]. You'll then see a message warning you not to change the base unit. As this product is being created from scratch right now it is safe to change the base unit name, but it should not be changed again in the future.

Within this window:

Base Unit Name: Enter the new description of the products base unit.
Select [UPDATE UNIT NAME]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The products "Base Unit" should be a description of the smallest size required for this batch. This is typically something like "Each", "ML", "GRAM" or "OZ", depending on the type of product.

This becomes the products foundation which all other sizes are based off. You'll see this size when using this product as an ingredient within recipes.

Stocking Unit

Next, set the Stocking Unit:

Stocking Unit Name: Enter the description of the products stocking unit.
Stocking Units: Enter the number of Base Units that are in a Stocking Unit Name.

As a sanity check, using the values entered so far a message will show for you to check that the values make sense.

USEFUL INFORMATION

The products "Stocking Unit" is flexible and depends on the nature of the product.

For example, if the batch can be broken down into smaller pack sizes (e.g. a 10L batch of sauce, split into 1L bottles once made) then enter the intermediate pack size so that this size is available to users throughout the system. Or if it's a product that is often measured, enter a generic measurement size (e.g. KG or Litre).

Receiving Unit

Finally, set the Receiving Unit:

Receiving Unit Name: Enter the description of the products receiving unit.
Receiving Units: Enter the number of Base Units in the Receiving Unit Name.

As a sanity check, using the values entered so far a message will show for you to check that the values make sense.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The products "Receiving Unit" must represent the size of the batch that is made. The ingredients added in the next step will be based on the size defined here.

You must also ensure that the Display Unit setting is left as "Receiving".

Once all sizing has been entered, review the Product Sizing Sanity Check beneath to check that the product sizing makes sense and there are no errors.

Then, select [SAVE & REMAIN] before you link ingredients to the Made product as covered below.

Step 3: Link The Ingredients To The Made Product

Now that the product sizing is set, ingredients can be linked to the Made product.

Head to the Recipes tab within the product setup page. Before you make a start on linking ingredients, just make sure that the "Recipe In Size" label reflects your batch size as below. (This is per setup in Step 2.)

To link an ingredient:

Select [NEW RECIPE ITEM].

In the blank row that is added at the bottom, enter:

Recipe Component: Select the ingredient from the list. (This lists supplied products and other recipes.)
Quantity: Enter the quantity of the ingredient in the recipe, based on the Unit Size shown.

For reference, the following information is also shown:

Unit Cost: Displays the cost of one unit of the ingredient, based on the Unit Size shown.
Cost Net: Displays the total net cost of the ingredient within this recipe based on the quantity.
Type: Displays the ingredients stock type. (Ingredients can be supplied stock or other recipes.)

Repeat the process to add additional recipe ingredients, then select [SAVE & EXIT].

The total cost will update as ingredients are added. For more information on recipe costs, Click Here.

Updating Existing "Product Preparation" Products

Although the stock type of a product used within Product Preparation is either Made or Preparation, once configured, the general maintenance of the product is that same as a standard Recipe type product.

For details on how to update existing recipe products, Click Here.

Deleting "Product Preparation" Products

If a Product Preparation product is no longer required it can be deleted, but only once all ties to inventory have been removed.

This process is the same as deleting a standard recipe product. For details on this process, Click Here.