What are Locations & Items?
Locations
Locations are the manufacturing facilities that produce the ingredients and materials that are supplied to customers. There are specific document types and document requirements that can be set up for location-level quality documents (such as 3rd party audit certificate and letter of guarantee).
Items
Items are the ingredients, packaging materials, etc. that customers purchase. There are specific document types and document requirements that can be set up for item-level quality documents (such as COA and Specification Sheet).
A few things to note about locations and items:
- Items must be associated to a location that manufacturers that item.
- TraceGains customers require users to accept location connections THEN item connections to start fulfilling documents at both levels.
- Non-TraceGains customers require users to associate locations and items to a customer to start fulfilling document requests.
- Setting Locations or Items to Visible indicates that they will be displayed in the public Marketplace and accessible to new potential buyers.
- Once a Location or Item is created, click it any time to add related information and associate customers, items, and documents.
Locations
Why add locations?
Adding Locations is the first step to creating a company’s presence on the TraceGains Gather® network and enabling document request fulfillment.
TraceGains customers need to know the location of supplier manufacturing facilities to submit a connection request that will enable document requests. Connecting to the correct location is a critical step since required documentation is tied to the manufacturing location.
Adding locations will also enable users to start sharing location-level documents with all customers proactively.
For additional information, please refer to this article: Managing Customers
How to add locations individually
Step 1: Select Locations from the Customer Management dropdown.
Step 2: At the top of the Locations page, select + New Location .
Step 3: Fill out the required address fields, and any optional information you have under the Additional Information category.
A best practice naming convention for any Plant / Location Name is "Company Name - Physical Location". For instance, if a company is called Acme Milling and the plant location is Decatur, the Location should be titled Acme Milling - Decatur. When adding a second plant in the same city, add a suffix to its name, such as "Acme Milling - Decatur - 02", or " - Parker St".
Step 4: To save, click Save.
Step 5: Repeat these steps until all your locations have been added.
Remember to add a Location for any manufacturing facility that produces items that customers may source. That may mean adding locations for distributors or other suppliers that you source materials from on behalf of your customers.
How to add locations in bulk
Step 1: Select Locations from the Customer Management dropdown.
Step 2: Click the Actions button.
Step 3: Under Upload actions, select Get Excel template. Use the official template to import location data.
Step 4: When complete, click the Actions button again and select Upload Locations. Upload the completed excel template.
Step 5: If entered correctly, all of your locations will populate in the Locations list.
Items
Why add items?
Adding items is a crucial step in launching a company’s presence on the TraceGains Gather® network and enabling item-level document request fulfillment.
After a Location connection is accepted, TraceGains customers will submit item level connection requests for any items that they purchase from that location. This will enable them to request specific item documentation. Items must also be associated to a non-TraceGains customer to facilitate the sharing of item level documentation.
Adding items also greatly enhances a company’s presence on the TraceGains Gather® Marketplace. Setting newly added items to visible allows them to be discoverable in Marketplace search by potential buyers.
Clicking on any created item will allow users to update general information, associate customers, locations, and documents. The Marketplace tab allows users to update and enhance that item’s presence in the public marketplace by adding additional attributes, tags, and public listing name.
How to add items individually
Step 1: Select Items from the Customer Management dropdown.
Step 2: At the top of the Items page, click New Item.
Step 3: Input the appropriate information for all required fields.
Step 4: Once finished, click Save.
Item ID is an internal field to help track items within a catalogue. Item Name is the customer-facing name that is also displayed within Marketplace if the item is set to visible.
How to add items in bulk
Step 1: Select Items from the Customer Management dropdown.
Step 2: Click the Actions button.
Step 3: Under Upload actions click Get Excel template. Use the official template to import the item data.
Step 4: When complete, click the Actions button again and select Upload items. Upload the completed excel template.
Step 5: If entered correctly, your items will populate in the Items list.
How to add items to one or more location(s)
Step 1: Select Items from the Customer Management dropdown.
Step 2: From the Items grid, click the desired Item to add to one or more new locations.
Step 3: Select the Locations button.
Step 4: Click Add Location.
Step 5: Click the checkbox for each desired Location.
Step 6: Click Add Locations to confirm.
How to add items through a connection request
An item can be created directly following an item-level connection request from a customer.
Step 1: Select Connections from the Customer Management dropdown.
Step 2: Select Items tab.
Step 3: Select the request and click Choose Action.
Step 4: Click Connect to new item to open the modal to create an item.
This item will now be added under Listings > Items and will be connected to the customer who submitted the request. Use that item to fulfill other requests and add additional attributes under Listings > Items to better promote it to new buyers on the Marketplace.