Add a new unit of measure

Adding new measurement types is easy to do. For example, users want to collect the weight or mass of a part during a receiving process.

1. Log into the NPI client application.

2. Select Templates and Standards  > Units of Measure.
   
   
   
   

3. Select the Add  button in the upper-left corner of the Units of Measure window.
   
   
   
   

4. Enter Mass, then select OK.
   
   The new unit is added to the list and selected automatically on the left side of the window.
   
   

5. Under the Units section, select the Add  button, then enter add a new unit named Gram that will display in the Name column.
   
   Note that the very first unit added will automatically become both the Base Unit and the Default. (You can change this later if desired.)
   
   

6. Select the Abbreviation column next to Gram, then enter one or more abbreviations, for example g, grams.
   
   

   Important

   The Abbreviation column maintains a comma-separated list of abbreviations that map to the selected unit when importing from a BOM. Abbreviations must be unique and cannot match any existing unit name or any other abbreviation across all of the units of measure.

7. To add another unit, select the Add  button under Units , name the unit Ounce, then select OK.

8. Using your favorite Internet search engine, search for "How many <base unit> are in 1 <new unit>" (in this case, how many grams are in 1 ounce) which yields the result 28.3495.

9. Enter 28.3495 in the Scale Factor column for the newly added Ounce unit.
   
   Using these steps, you can add as many units and scale factors as you need. For example, Milligram would have a scale factor of 0.001; Kilogram would have a scale factor of 1000.
   
   

10. Select Save in the lower-right corner of the window to save the new units of measure.
    
    

    Note:

    Changing the Base Unit will recalculate all of the scale factors automatically.