Putting old items to rest with less digging.
Deleting items from the BPCS item master file deserves recognition as the “most frustrating process ever invented by SSA.” It’s terrible and almost seems as if the principle design objective for the item deactivation option was user frustration. If you’ve ever tried to delete an item from BPCS, you know all about this. Even BPCS experts have been forced to admit defeat with the item deactivation process. The first time it is turned loose on an item, the product checks for all of the roadblock categories that require manual analytical attention. It then produces a detailed list of all “manual attention” roadblocks discovered and all of the references within each of those roadblock categories. This is a very powerful piece of software with an enormous/quantifiable labour-savings ROI vis-à-vis vanilla BPCS.
The user-friendly features of Item Undertaker were suggested by BPCS experts that are intimately and painfully familiar with INV100 frustrations and disappointments. The product has been designed to completely replace all BPCS item deactivation functionality.
First of all, Item Undertaker makes it easier to find the most likely candidates for item deletion. The product displays items that merit analysis for removal based on a detailed database scan. The best auditors in the world couldn’t invent the database mining approaches employed by the product unless they were BPCS experts.
Next, the “nominate-candidate-items-for-analysis” functionality of the product has been segregated from the “deactivate-items” functionality. A password is needed to proceed from the nomination stage to the item deactivation stage. This password hook should be employed to enforce a workflow process which solicits review/approval from a product-savvy individual who has Engineering Change Management responsibility.
Once the password holder authorizes an item for removal, Item Undertaker performs a 100% scan for roadblocks; the search is more thorough than INV100’s edit checking. The first time it is turned loose on an item, the product checks for all of the roadblock categories that require manual analytical attention. It then produces a detailed list of all “manual attention” roadblocks discovered and all of the references within each of those roadblock categories. For those “need-to-go-look” roadblocks, reports from Item Undertaker efficiently guide the user right to the item references that must be evaluated.
When Item Undertaker determines that all “need-to-go-look” roadblock categories have been cleared for a given item, then the password holder can turn the product loose to finish the job. The product will then automatically overpower/clean-out all of the other roadblock categories and immediately soft delete it in the item master file.
The free demonstration copy of this product is very persuasive. Although the demo limits the number of items that can be taken through the deactivation process, it will present the entire list of candidates nominated for deactivation analysis. That list will enable your company to compare the Item Undertaker license fee with the scope and scale of the deactivation opportunity.
