Harvest – Item Specifications for Food | User Guide

Background / Problem Statement

Food-related items often require detailed specifications that combine data from multiple areas of the system (item attributes, BOMs, routing, etc.), along with manually maintained information.

Without a centralized and standardized way to manage these specifications:

• Data becomes inconsistent across items
• Manual processes increase errors
• Reporting and compliance documentation become difficult to maintain

Solution Overview

The Item Specifications module provides a structured way to:

• Aggregate data from multiple Business Central tables
• Define reusable specification templates
• Apply specifications to individual items or groups of items
• Combine system-driven data with manually entered values

Key capabilities include:

• Template-driven specification management
• Automated data lookups from multiple sources
• Protection of manually entered, item-specific values during updates
• Built-in reporting with customizable layouts
• Image support within specifications

User Guide Name Setup

Item Card Configuration

A new field is available on the Item Card:

• Item Specification Template Code
  • Assigns a default specification template to the item

Specification Template Setup

A new page and table have been introduced:

• Item Specification Template

Template Header Fields

• Code – Unique specification code
• Name – Description of the specification
• Include Picture – Determines if an image is included
• Status –
  • New
  • Under Development
  • Certified

Only Certified templates can be used to create or update item specifications.

Template Structure

Each template supports:

• 8 Data Groups (Headers)
• Up to 10 Data Elements per Group

Data Groups

Data Groups represent logical sections of the specification.

Each group includes a Data Source, which determines where data is pulled from.

Available Data Sources:

1. Item
2. Item Attributes
3. Item Category
4. Item Reference Entries
5. Active BOM / BOM Version
6. Active BOM / BOM Version Line
7. Active Routing / Routing Version
8. Active Routing / Routing Version Line

Data Source Filters

Filters allow refinement of the selected data source.

Example:

• To retrieve only the Color attribute → apply a filter for Attribute = Color

Data Elements

Data Elements define the actual values displayed in the specification.

Required Fields

• Element Number – Must be populated

Data Type Options

• Table Value – Pulls data from a selected table
• Text – Allows manual entry

Field Usage

• Field Number
  • Used when Data Type = Table Value
  • Specifies which field to retrieve
• Text Value
  • Used when Data Type = Text
  • Stores manually entered content

Manual vs System Data Behavior

• Users can add manual entries directly in templates
• These entries are flagged as item-specific
• During specification updates:
  • Manual entries are NOT overwritten
  • Only system-driven values are refreshed

Finalizing a Template

Once configuration is complete:

1. Review all groups and elements
2. Set Status = Certified

Creating or Updating Item Specifications

1. Open a Certified Template
2. Select:
   • Create Specification, or
   • Update Specification
3. Complete the request page:
   • Select items or item filters
4. Run the process to apply the specification

Printing Specifications

• Use the built-in Specification Report
• Reports can be customized using Report Layouts

Business Impact

Implementing Item Specifications delivers:

• Consistency
  Standardized specifications across all items
• Efficiency
  Reduced manual data entry and duplication
• Data Integrity
  Controlled updates while preserving item-specific inputs
• Scalability
  Easily apply templates to large groups of items
• Compliance & Documentation
  Reliable, printable specifications for internal and external use