Distribution Group

The Distribution Group table is used for different kinds of groupings for distribution locations.
Grouping distribution locations together in various ways, depending on the physical location of the stores, their size and so on, can be useful if there are many locations in your business and you need to control the distribution of your data.

The Distribution Group table is the highest level of distribution location grouping.

The Distribution Subgroup table is the second level of grouping and contains the groups belonging to a distribution group.

The Distribution Group Member table is the lowest level in the grouping and contains the locations that belong to a distribution subgroup within a distribution group.

These three tables form the basis for the Table Distribution Setup in the program.

When you start using LS Retail and before you start entering data in the program, it is necessary to create one distribution group that denotes all locations. You do that by creating one distribution group marked No Filter and one subgroup under the distribution group also marked as No Filter.

You can have one Distribution Group as a default group for your Distribution Location by checking the Default Group field for that group. This means that each time you create a Distribution Location, it will automatically be assigned to that group.

Each time you assign a Distribution Location to a Distribution Group, the system creates a Distribution Subgroup in that Distribution Group representing that Distribution Location. This combination of Group and Subgroup can be used to distribute data to that location only, since the only member of this Subgroup is the Distribution Location.

Distribution locations cannot be present in more than one distribution group at a time, other than the group representing all locations. However, the location can be present in many subgroups in that distribution group.

A Distribution location can be in one to all distribution subgroups within its distribution group (not the one denoting all locations).

Example - Single Branch Grouping:
There is one distribution group called Store. Subgroups in Store are; General, Super Markets, Mini Markets. All store locations belong to the member list of one to all subgroups in this distribution group.

Example - Double Branch Grouping:
There are three distribution groups; called General, Super Markets and Mini Markets. There are four subgroups under each group, called East, West, South and North. A store belongs to one to all subgroups in one distribution group, but not to other distribution groups.