Feature Data and Pick Lists Perfion Value List Guide
One clean list for every colour, category and brand, used by every product.
Feature Data is where Perfion keeps its pick lists. A Selectable feature holds values that users choose from a list instead of typing: categories, colours, materials and brands, and also images, files and saved searches. Feature Data is where those lists are maintained. Each product points to a value in the list, so a correction made once shows on every item that uses it. Lists can have a hierarchy and their own order, carry data of their own, limit each other through Filtered Values, and show where every value is used through Item Relations.
At a glance
- Perfion name
- Feature Data
- Where
- The Feature Data menuWeb clientWindows client
- Maintained by
- Super users and administratorsOther users once an administrator grants access
- Works with
- Filtered ValuesItem RelationsItem editor
- Typical lists
- 7 typical pick lists▦Categories◉Colours▤Materials★Brands▣Images⎘Files⌕Saved searches
How pick lists work in Perfion, from typed text to one clean list
Feature Data turns “red, Red and RED on 3,000 products” into “one Red, picked by 3,000 products”.
A feature becomes selectable
Colours, materials, brands and categories are set up as selectable features, so users choose a value instead of typing one.
The list lives in Feature Data
Every value list is kept in Feature Data, edited like any other grid, and can be exported to Excel and imported again.
The list gets its shape
Lists can have a hierarchy with virtual items, a custom order, and data of their own, such as a brand logo.
Choices follow context
With Filtered Values, the values allowed in one feature depend on another, such as colours by category.
Changes reach every item
Edit a value once and every item it is assigned to shows the change. Item Relations shows where a value is used first.
Typed values vs Perfion pick lists: what changes when values come from a list
In a spreadsheet, every value is typed into every row. In Perfion, repeating values come from lists that everyone picks from.
| Product data need | Typed values | Perfion pick lists |
|---|---|---|
| Entering a colour | Typed by hand on each item, in whatever spelling the editor chooses. | Picked from the list of a Selectable feature. |
| Correcting a value | Find and edit every item that uses it, in every file. | Edit it once in Feature Data. Every item it is assigned to shows the change. |
| Categories | A flat text column, sorted alphabetically. | A hierarchy with virtual items, in the order you choose with Custom Ordering. |
| Data about the value | A brand logo or colour code retyped on every product. | Held once on the list item, which can have its own configuration. |
| Allowed combinations | Any value can be entered on any item. | Filtered Values limit a feature to the values allowed for another, such as colours per category. |
| Where a value is used | Searched for across sheets and channels. | Item Relations lists every item where a value is used, grouped by item type. |
| Bulk maintenance | Copied and pasted between files. | Lists can be exported to Excel, updated and imported again. |
| Who can change a list | Anyone who can open the file. | Super users and administrators manage all lists; other users need access granted by an administrator. |
See how clean your own colours, categories and brands would be as pick lists.
See it on your product data →Perfion pick list capabilities: eight ways lists stay clean
Each capability shows what it does in Perfion and what it is worth to the business.
Operational Reality (Capabilities)
A Selectable feature holds values that users choose from a list: colours, materials, brands, categories, and also images, files and saved searches. A feature without this setting is called explicit: it holds its own typed value. Because every item points to a list value rather than a copy of the text, the list decides what can be entered.
- Typical lists: categories, colours, materials
- Images, files and saved searches can be lists too
- Single or several values per item, with Allow Multiple
Executive ROI Value
Every channel receives one spelling of each value, so filters, reports and feeds agree without a clean-up round.
- Fewer duplicate values in web shop filters
- Less checking before each upload or catalogue
Operational Reality (Capabilities)
Feature Data is where the data for selectable features is maintained. Lists are edited in a grid that works like the main grid, within each user’s permissions. A list can be exported to an Excel file, worked on there, and imported again. Edit a value once and every item it is assigned to shows the change.
- One place for every list
- Edit once, every item updates
- Excel export and import for bulk work
Executive ROI Value
Corrections happen once, in one place, instead of item by item across files and channels.
- Hours of re-keying saved on every correction
- One list to own instead of many copies
Operational Reality (Capabilities)
With Allow Hierarchy, a list can use virtual items to build a tree, which is how category structures are held. Custom Ordering puts list items in the order you choose instead of alphabetically, which suits categorizers and drop-downs. Sort Related Items lets items be ordered inside each node, such as products in a catalogue section.
- Category trees with virtual items
- Your own order, not A to Z
- Product order per catalogue section
Executive ROI Value
Categories appear the way customers and sales teams expect, in every output that uses them.
- Catalogue sections in a deliberate order
- Navigation that matches how people shop
Operational Reality (Capabilities)
Every selectable feature can have its own configuration. A Brand list item can carry a logo and a website; a Color item can carry its colour code. A Related Value feature then shows that data on the products that use the value: BrandImage shows the image configured on the selected brand.
- Brand logos, colour codes, supplier details
- Held once on the list item
- Shown on products through Related Value features
Executive ROI Value
Details that belong to the brand or colour are kept with it, so they are never retyped on thousands of products.
- One logo to replace, not one per product
- Consistent colour codes in every output
Operational Reality (Capabilities)
A feature created under a selectable feature reuses its list. InteriorColor created under Color has no list of its own: it uses the Color list, so only one list of colours is managed. Perfion calls this identity inheritance, and Item Relations shows which of the two features a value is used in.
- One colour list for several colour features
- No near-duplicate lists to keep in step
- Usage shown per feature
Executive ROI Value
Two lists for the same thing always drift apart. One shared list removes that risk.
- One list to correct
- No mismatched values between features
Operational Reality (Capabilities)
Filtered Values limit the values allowed in one selectable feature, the filtered feature, by the value of another, the controlling feature. Allowed colours can depend on the category a product is in. The rule applies in the main grid, the item editor, drag and drop, copy and paste, and the Perfion API, and it can be set in several levels, such as Country, Region and City.
- Allowed values per controlling value
- Several levels, such as Country, Region, City
- Rules can be switched on or off
Executive ROI Value
Impossible combinations, such as a colour a range is not made in, are stopped at entry instead of found by a customer.
- Fewer wrong listings and returns
- Less checking of combinations by hand
Operational Reality (Capabilities)
Item Relations is a reverse lookup: it shows every item where a selected value is used. The list shows each item, the value it uses and the feature it is used in, grouped by item type. For an image, it can show that it is used on a catalogue node, seven products and a website node, in three different features.
- Every item that uses a value
- Which feature the value is used in
- Filter the list and open any item
Executive ROI Value
The impact of renaming or deleting a value is known before it happens, not after a channel breaks.
- Safer clean-ups of old values
- No surprises in live channels
Operational Reality (Capabilities)
Super users and administrators can manage data for all selectable features in Feature Data; other users need access granted by an administrator, and then work within the permissions on each feature. A Read Only selectable feature stops users changing the value on products. Feature Item Security, available only on selectable features, can change rights by value, such as a Status of Published.
- Full access for super users and administrators
- Access granted per user and per feature
- Rights by value with Feature Item Security
Executive ROI Value
Lists stay owned. The people who know a list maintain it, and everyone else picks from it.
- Clear ownership of every list
- Fewer unapproved values
5 Core Concepts of Clean Pick Lists
The first three are about how the lists are built. The last two are about keeping them right.
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Concept 01 · Point to a value, never copy it
One Value, Many Items
The product data problem it solves
The same colour is typed on thousands of products, so one spelling mistake becomes a thousand, and fixing it means a thousand edits.
The concept explained
When a value is typed, every item holds its own copy of the text. When a value is picked from a list, every item points to the same list value. That small difference changes everything about maintenance. In Perfion, a Selectable feature keeps one value in its list, and every item that uses it refers to it. Correct the value once in Feature Data and every item it is assigned to shows the change. Filters, reports and channels then see one value, not a collection of near-matches.
Everyday analogy
A phone contact. You save a friend’s number once; every call, message and group uses that one entry. Change the number once and every place uses the new one.
In Perfion
The selectable data property means a user selects values from a list of items instead of typing them. The list is maintained in Feature Data, and an edited value is reflected on all items it is assigned to.
Typed values are copies. Picked values point to one list item. -
Concept 02 · A list item can carry its own details
A Pick List Is Master Data Too
The product data problem it solves
Brand logos, colour codes and supplier details are pasted onto every product, so they differ from product to product.
The concept explained
A list value is often more than a word. A brand has a logo and a website; a colour has a code; a material has care instructions. In Perfion, every selectable feature can have its own configuration, so the list item itself holds those details. Products simply pick the brand, and a Related Value feature can show the brand’s logo on each product. The details live in one place, with the value they describe.
Everyday analogy
A company letterhead. The logo and address are printed once on the letterhead, not written by hand on every letter.
BPAS method · toolDeploy EnterpriseDesign before configurationThe data model is designed and signed off before anything is configured: the Design phase of toolDeploy Enterprise.In Perfion
All selectable features can have a configuration, so you can manage data for brands, customers, images, files and anything else that makes sense in your business.
The Brand item holds the logo. Every product that picks the brand shows it. -
Concept 03 · Hierarchy and order are part of the list
Give the List a Shape
The product data problem it solves
Categories sit in a flat, alphabetical column, so the web shop menu, the catalogue and the sales team each organise them differently.
The concept explained
Some lists are flat, like colours. Others have structure, like categories: Kitchen, then Kettles and Toasters under it. In Perfion, a list can have a hierarchy built with virtual items, and Custom Ordering keeps items in the order you choose. In the web client, a Categorizer shows the tree on the left so users select items by category in one click, and an Untagged node shows the items not yet in any category. The structure is defined once, in the list, and every output uses it.
Everyday analogy
A supermarket’s aisle signs. Dairy, then milk, curd and paneer under it, in the order shoppers walk, not in alphabetical order.
In Perfion
Allow Hierarchy lets you use virtual items in Feature Data to build hierarchies; category values are the typical example. Custom Ordering lets you sort selectable items manually.
Virtual items group the categories; items sit at the lowest level, in your order. -
Concept 04 · Not every value fits every item
Allowed Values Follow Context
The product data problem it solves
Any colour can be chosen on any product, so a toaster gets a finish that only kettles come in, and a customer orders it.
The concept explained
A clean list is not enough if any value can go on any item. Some values only make sense in context: a range is only made in certain colours, a city only belongs to one region. In Perfion, Filtered Values set the values allowed in a filtered feature for each value of a controlling feature, per base feature. They can be chained, so Country controls Region and Region controls City. Users then only see choices that fit the item in front of them.
Everyday analogy
A railway booking site. Pick the source station, and the destination list shows only stations on that route.
In Perfion
Filtered Values configurations are used in the main grid, the item editor, drag and drop, copy and paste, restoring previous values and the Perfion API. Invalid values can still occur, and can be found with a Perfion API query, for example on a dashboard.
The category controls which colours can be picked. Chains work the same way. -
Concept 05 · Check the impact first
Know Before You Change
The product data problem it solves
An old value is renamed or deleted to tidy a list, and only later does someone notice a catalogue page and a web category that depended on it.
The concept explained
Lists need tidying: values are merged, renamed and retired. The risk is not knowing what depends on a value. In Perfion, Item Relations answers that before you act. It lists every item where the value is used, the value it uses and the feature it sits in, grouped by item type. An image might turn out to be used on a catalogue node, seven products and a website node, in three different features. With that in front of you, the change is a decision, not a gamble.
Everyday analogy
Checking who has a spare key before changing the lock. You find out who will be locked out before you change it.
From BPAS · prodRecord newsletterprodRecordKeeping the record straight.One product data practice every month, written in plain English for product data teams.In Perfion
The Item Relations tool does reverse lookups on selectable values to discover where they are used. You can filter the list of related items and open any of them in the item editor.
One image, used in three features across a catalogue node, products and a website node.
10 Best Practices for Feature Data and Pick Lists in Perfion
Each practice says what clean lists look like and what it costs to ignore it. Setting them up for your products is what BPAS consultants do.
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01Make every repeating value a pick list
The rule
Colours, materials, finishes, brands, categories and any other value that repeats across items are picked from lists, not typed.
Risk if ignored
Typed values drift: three spellings of one colour become three filter values, and every correction has to be made item by item.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPAS -
02Give every list an owner
The rule
Each list has a named owner who maintains it, and access to change it is granted on purpose. Everyone else picks from it.
Risk if ignored
When everyone can add values, near-duplicates creep in and nobody feels responsible for removing them.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPAS -
03Keep one list for each real-world thing
The rule
If two features describe the same kind of value, such as Color and InteriorColor, they share one list instead of keeping two.
Risk if ignored
Two lists for the same thing drift apart: a new colour is added to one and missed in the other.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPASRelated:Vocabulary: Identity inheritanceCapability: Shared lists
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04Shape category lists the way customers browse
The rule
Category lists have a clear hierarchy and a deliberate order that matches how customers and sales teams look for products.
Risk if ignored
An alphabetical, flat list of categories leaves every channel to invent its own structure, and the outputs never match.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPAS -
05Keep a value’s details with the value
The rule
Details that belong to a brand, colour or material, such as a logo or colour code, are held on the list item and shown on products from there.
Risk if ignored
Details copied onto products go out of date one product at a time, and a new logo means thousands of edits.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPAS -
06Allow only combinations that exist
The rule
Where a value only fits some items, such as colours a range is made in, the allowed values follow the controlling value.
Risk if ignored
Without limits, impossible combinations reach the web shop and are discovered by customers, as returns.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPAS -
07Check where a value is used before changing it
The rule
Before a value is renamed, merged or retired, its usage across items, features and channels is checked.
Risk if ignored
A tidy-up that looks harmless can break a catalogue section or a web category that depended on the value.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPAS -
08Prepare big list changes, then load them once
The rule
Large changes, such as a new range of colours or a category restructure, are prepared and checked as a whole, then loaded in one go.
Risk if ignored
Big changes keyed in by hand, one value at a time, take days and leave the list half-changed in between.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPAS -
09Leave ERP-owned lists to the ERP
The rule
Lists whose values belong to the ERP are not changed on products in Perfion, and who may add new list items is decided up front.
Risk if ignored
If both systems can change a list, the two disagree. A Read Only selectable feature still lets users with rights create list items, so that has to be decided too.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPASRelated:Capability: Access to listsGuide 01: ERP-owned values
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10Review uncategorised items regularly
The rule
Items that are not yet in any category are reviewed on a fixed rhythm, so nothing stays invisible to category-based channels.
Risk if ignored
An item outside every category does not appear in category navigation or category-based outputs, however good its data is.
Get it right with BPAS
Not sure this is in place in your lists? Talk to a BPAS consultant.
Talk to BPAS
Pick list self-audit: how many are in place today?
Tick each of the ten practices above that your product lists already follow. Your score updates as you go.
Tick the practices that are in place.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
Illustrative scenario: an Indian electricals distributor, with values typed by hand
A distributor of lighting and electricals sells about 18,000 items from 40 brands to dealers, through its own web shop and on two marketplaces. Orders, stock and invoicing are in the ERP. Product values are typed into spreadsheets.
The Operational Challenge
Finishes are typed by hand, so “Brushed Steel”, “brushed steel” and “SS” sit side by side. Brand logos are pasted onto each product, and the category list in the web shop differs from the one in the dealer catalogue.
Nobody can say which products would be affected if an old finish name were retired, so old names are never retired.
- The same finish in several spellings in every filter
- Brand logos out of date on hundreds of products
- Fittings listed in finishes the range is not made in
- Categories that differ from channel to channel
The Financial Transformation
In Perfion, finishes, colours, brands and categories become selectable features maintained in Feature Data. The brand logo is held once on each brand, and categories follow one hierarchy in a deliberate order.
Filtered values stop a finish being picked for a range that is not made in it, and Item Relations shows every product that uses a value before it is retired.
- One spelling of every finish, in every channel
- One logo per brand, updated once
- Only valid finishes per range
- One category structure for every output
| Cost line | Before (per month) | After (per month) | Difference (per year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Editor time cleaning and re-keying values | ₹ 1,20,000 | ₹ 45,000 | ₹ 9,00,000 |
| Returns from wrong finish or variant shipped | ₹ 80,000 | ₹ 30,000 | ₹ 6,00,000 |
| Rework on marketplace filters and listings | ₹ 60,000 | ₹ 20,000 | ₹ 4,80,000 |
| Total | ₹ 2,60,000 | ₹ 95,000 | ₹ 19,80,000 |
See your own finishes, brands and categories as clean Perfion pick lists.
Book a list review →prodRecord Live
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Who benefits from clean pick lists: one list, three answers
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Promoter & CXOs
Can customers find what they are looking for?
One spelling of every value and one category structure mean filters and navigation work the same in every channel, so products are found and bought.
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Product Data Manager
Is every list clean, owned and complete?
Each list lives in Feature Data with an owner, Item Relations shows what a change will touch, and the Untagged node shows items in no category.
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Product Editor
Which value do I pick?
Values come from lists, and filtered values offer only those that fit the item, so there is nothing to type and less to get wrong.
Pick List Vocabulary and Definitions
From the setting that makes a feature a pick list, to the tools that keep lists clean. Each term shows what it means, why it matters, and a household comparison.
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Selectable feature
Feature setting · pick listA feature without it is called explicit
Operational definition
A feature whose values users pick from a list instead of typing them, such as colours or materials. Explicit features hold their own typed values.
Why it matters in Perfion
An edited list value shows on every item it is assigned to, and only selectable features can have a configuration or a list hierarchy.
Everyday analogy
Choosing your state from a drop-down on a delivery form, so nobody types “Kerla”.
See it in action:Selectable Features under Capabilities →
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Feature Data
Menu · value listsAvailable in the web and Windows clients
Operational definition
The place to maintain data for selectable features: categories, colours and materials, and also predefined search queries, files and images.
Why it matters in Perfion
Super users and administrators manage all lists; other users need access from an administrator. Lists can be exported to Excel and imported again.
Everyday analogy
The master price list at a shop counter: the owner keeps it current, the cashier picks from it.
See it in action:Feature Data under Capabilities →
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Virtual item
List structure · groupingUsed when Allow Hierarchy is on
Operational definition
An item used to build a hierarchy in a list, such as a category heading with sub-categories under it.
Why it matters in Perfion
Hierarchies make category structures possible. Item dependencies use lowest-level items, not virtual items.
Everyday analogy
A chapter heading in a book: it groups pages, but you read the pages, not the heading.
See it in action:Concept 03 under Core Concepts →
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Custom Ordering
Selectable setting · orderInstead of alphabetical order
Operational definition
A setting on a selectable feature that lets list items be sorted manually, so they appear in the order you choose.
Why it matters in Perfion
Used for categorizers and drop-downs where a logical order matters more than A to Z.
Everyday analogy
Arranging your phone’s home screen yourself instead of letting it sort apps alphabetically.
See it in action:Hierarchies and Custom Order under Capabilities →
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Identity inheritance
List sharingOne list, several features
Operational definition
When a selectable feature is created under another selectable feature, it reuses the parent’s list instead of having its own. InteriorColor under Color uses the Color list.
Why it matters in Perfion
Only one list is managed, and Item Relations shows which of the features a value is used in.
Everyday analogy
Two notice boards in one office showing the same circular: update the circular once and both boards are current.
See it in action:Shared Lists under Capabilities →
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Filtered Values
Rules · allowed valuesControlling feature and filtered feature
Operational definition
A configuration that limits the values allowed in one selectable feature, the filtered feature, by the value of another, the controlling feature, for a given base feature.
Why it matters in Perfion
Applied in the main grid, item editor, drag and drop, copy and paste and the Perfion API. Can be set in several levels and switched on or off.
Everyday analogy
A railway booking site: choose the source station and only stations on that route are offered as the destination.
See it in action:Filtered Values under Capabilities →
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Item Relations
Tool · reverse lookupWorks on any selectable value
Operational definition
A tool that shows every item where one or more selected values are used, with the value used and the feature it is used in, grouped by item type.
Why it matters in Perfion
Shows the consequences of changing or deleting a value before you do it.
Everyday analogy
Checking who has a spare key before you change the lock.
See it in action:Concept 05 under Core Concepts →
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Search feature
Special selectable featureItems hold queries
Operational definition
A special kind of selectable feature where each item contains an API query. Its items are used for views, filters and predefined searches set up as left-side categorizers.
Why it matters in Perfion
Saved views and filters that users create are stored as items on a search feature and can be managed in Feature Data.
Everyday analogy
A saved search on a shopping site: the question is stored, and the answer is fresh each time you open it.
See it in action:Selectable Features under Capabilities →
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Categorizer
Web client · navigationShown in the left pane
Operational definition
A one-click tool in the left pane of the web client that selects items in a specific category, with expandable nodes when the list has a hierarchy.
Why it matters in Perfion
Its Untagged node selects all items that are not in any category, which makes gaps easy to find.
Everyday analogy
The aisle signs in a supermarket: one look and you are in the right section.
See it in action:Concept 03 under Core Concepts →
Feature Data and pick lists: questions product teams ask
Short answers, each with a link to the part of this guide that explains it.
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Feature Data is where the value lists of selectable features are maintained: categories, colours and materials, and also predefined search queries, files and images. Lists are edited in a grid and can be exported to Excel and imported again.
More on Feature Data -
No. Products point to the list value. Edit the value once in Feature Data and every item it is assigned to shows the change.
More on Concept 01 -
Yes. With Allow Hierarchy, a list uses virtual items to build a hierarchy, and Custom Ordering keeps the items in the order you choose instead of alphabetically.
More on Concept 03 -
Yes. Filtered Values limit the values allowed in one selectable feature by the value of another, such as colours by category. They can be set in several levels, such as Country, Region and City.
More on Filtered Values -
Item Relations is a reverse lookup on selectable values. It lists every item where the value is used, the value used and the feature it is used in, grouped by item type.
More on Item Relations -
Super users and administrators can manage all lists in Feature Data. Other users need access granted by an administrator, and then work within the permissions on each feature.
More on practice 02 -
Yes. Feature Data and pick lists are part of Perfion itself, so this guide applies whichever ERP your product data comes from. What changes from one ERP to another is the integration that brings ERP data into Perfion.
More on ERP integration
Still have a question?
Ask about your own products, categories and channels. A BPAS consultant will answer in plain English.
Ask BPASSee your values as clean Perfion pick lists
See your own colours, finishes, brands and categories as lists that every product picks from, with only the values that fit each item. Choose the path that fits the ERP you run.
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