# Prepare materials, exact units and policies

Build the reference and policy drafts production will use.

Source: https://help.smartfact.ai/manuals/storesflow/materials-and-policies

Review edition: 25 October 2026

Roles: author, reviewer

**Materials and policies** contains separate reference and policy drafts. Reference data defines materials and their approved quantity basis. Policies define decisions made using those materials and current stock facts. Save and prove both kinds before asking a reviewer to activate them.

## Define the material identity

Use a stable code, meaningful name and family, base unit and permitted decimal precision. Include only approved aliases and conversions. Specify lot tracking and expiry requirements according to the real material. A code that has already identified one material must not be redirected to another.

After stock or demand depends on an item, its base unit, scale and tracking choices are protected. A refusal to change these is a migration question, not an instruction to delete the item. Keep the old identity and ask the responsible supervisor and author to agree the correction path.

## Set replenishment parameters exactly

Open the reference draft and select its material. Choose **Reorder point** or **Target level**, enter an approved unit and amount, then choose **Check the exact base amount**. Read the resulting base quantity before **Save this parameter to the draft**. The target must be at least the reorder point.

**Remove this draft parameter** also affects only the draft. Neither saving nor removing a parameter changes current stock. The proved material release must be activated before the parameter affects review tasks.

## Prepare policy decisions

Use the available starter or saved policy source to express the intended receiving, put-away and allocation behaviour. Check destinations, eligible conditions and applicable material facts. Do not assume a suggested bin is merely advisory: some approved rules accept only that bin.

Where the condition-authoring panel is available, describe a specific condition with an unambiguous business meaning. Read the proposal and its target carefully. Adopting a proposal saves a new draft revision and requires proof again; it does not activate anything.

Before handover, include examples covering boundaries, missing information and refusals. Use realistic quantities in approved units. Ask a colleague to choose expected outcomes independently of the proposal. Continue with [examples and releases](/manuals/storesflow/examples-and-releases), preserving the exact saved revision throughout review.