Definition
A unit of measure (UoM) is the unit in which an item's quantity is counted, bought or sold, such as pieces, kilograms, metres, boxes or hours.
Unit of measure meaning: base units and packs
Problems start when the same item moves in different units: bought by the carton, stocked by the piece and sold by the box. Each item needs one base unit for stock and cost, plus conversions for the other units it’s traded in.
Example: a supplier sells cable in 100 m drums, the warehouse stocks it in metres and a customer orders 3 drums, so the system must convert 3 drums to 300 m.
Units of the same type, such as kilograms and grams, convert by a fixed factor; a pack size, such as “box of 12”, is specific to each item in the item master.