Information Systems:Web Orders - Identify Item

When a number is keyed into an item number field in Web Orders, RPG program ? in library WEBPRDP is called to get all information for that item. The first things that has to be done is to identify the item; the number could be a UWD item number, UPC, vendor item number, etc.

WSFINDITM is called to figure this out. It is possible for the same number to point to different items, so this program tries to identify the most likele. For example, the vendor item number for 02437614 'CG Outlast Nail Non-Stop Stone' is 00875815; which is also the UWD item number for 'Swiss Chelated Cal/Mag 2:1'. As any number is more likely to be a UWD item number, that is looked at first. Then cross reference type 'BC' - if the number is 10 digits, the 12 digit version will be searched for. Stores in Alberta could still possibly be using numbers from Prairie Supply Co-op, so they are checked next. After that, vendor item numbers - which are cross reference type 'VE' - are checked. If a match still hasn't been found, and the number passed is 12 digits, the leading and trailing digits are dropped, and that 10 digit code is checked for reference type 'BC'.

We have come across a problem with this last. We don't know how many stores have this issue, but at Pender Island Pharmacy, their system that prints shelf labels is expanding the 10 digit codes we send them into 12, by adding a leading zero and a trailing check digit. If that is not the actual full code, checking for the middle 10 digits was correctly matching. But these 10 digit codes are being deleted as we get the 12 digit ones, so this matching is now failing.

The source of this problem is that we are only sending 10 digit bar codes (the field is 20 characters). This is done in RPG program ECRUP010. If it is okay with all POS vendors, we could change this.