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Version: 8.1

Bill of materials : create a product, a bill of materials and a production process

Products​

Introduction​

Access: Manufacturing → Products → +

When creating a product file, select a supply method:

  • Buy ;

  • Produce ;

  • Buy and Produce ;

The ‘Produce’ or ‘Buy and Produce’ methods are required to use these products in the manufacturing app. You can also create items of different sub-types: a finished or semi-finished product can be made up in a Bill of materials (BOM) of semi-finished products and/or components.

In order to generate production orders from a sales order, you can set the default supply mode (i.e. “Procurement method” in AOS) as ‘Produce’ by entering it in the ”Procurement method’ field on the Sales orders tab.

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In the Production Information tab, you will find the BOMs associated with the product, access to functions, product valuation settings and a field for defining the economic manufacturing quantity (minimum manufacturing quantity required for manufacturing to be financially viable).

Create a new product​

Access: Manufacturing → Products → +

  1. Enter the name. For example, ‘Bolted assembly’.

  2. Add a code (‘BA’).

  3. Enter the type. For example, Product.

  4. Enter the product sub-type. For example, a finished product. There are 3 product sub-types: finished / semi-finished / component.

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Semi-finished products and components can form a BOM for a finished product, while components can form a BOM for a semi-finished product.

While on the Product sheet, click on the ‘Production information’ tab:

  1. Enter the economic manufacturing quantity. For example, 2. A certain number in this field means that it is advisable to launch manufacturing of two products (in the example, bolted assembly) for the company to be financially viable.

  2. You will also find the ‘Default BOM’ field.

Create a BOM​

Access : Manufacturing → Bill of Materials → General BoM / Personalized BoM / Bill of Materials import

General Bills of Material​

The general BOM (standard / default) is a document detailing all the elements required to carry out a production process for a finished or semi-finished product.

Access : Manufacturing → Bill of Materials → General Bills of Materials → +New In this menu, you will find all the BOMs set up by the ERP. Create a new BOM.

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On the BOM sheet, the header shows the status and the product concerned by this BOM (Draft → Validated → Applicable → Obsolete).

Applicable status is required to select a BOM on a Production Order.

If several BOMs exist for the same product, you can designate the default BOM from an alternative BOM using the ‘Define default’ button.

  1. Enter a name. For example, ‘Bolted assembly’.

  2. On the BOM sheet, enter the product. In the example, it's ‘Bolted assembly’.

  3. Add a production process.

  4. Enter a workshop.

  5. Fill in the essential information in the tabs.

There are four tabs on the BOM sheet:

  • Components tab: this tab contains the product components (in the example, it’s the bolted connection). In the ‘Components’ table, click on + to add components.

In the example, several components have been added (drilled parts and bolt set). If your selected component is a semi-finished product, you can select its associated BOM.

These BOM nestings generate a tree view that makes it easier to view the BOM and its nestings. When associating a component, you can define a waste rate which will be used when calculating the cost price and will be taken into account in your manufacturing, particularly in terms of stock movements.

  • Residual Products tab: from your BOM, in the Residual Products tab, you can define residual products which will be generated following the manufacture of your product (in this case, the bolted assembly). If this product does not exist in your repository, you need to create it. In the example, a set of screws has been added (one tenth).

  • Cost tab: this tab is used to calculate the cost associated with the main product (in the example, the bolted assembly).

  • Note tab: add a description that would be an internal note, specific to this BOM.

  1. Save the changes you have made.

BOM imports​

  • To use BOM imports, you must first configure and define an XML file linked to your import document.

  • A Bill of materials import sources: a bill of materials import source can be created from: Manufacturing → Configuration → BOM import sources → +.

  • Create a BOM import: you can create a BOM import from: Manufacturing → Bills of materials → Bills of material import → +.

  • Imported status : once you have selected your import source and your import file (import CSV), you can pre-load your import and thus move to Imported status.

  • In Imported status, you still have the option of modifying the pre-imported BOM (change the product selection / quantity / create a new product).

The Result Tree tab lets you easily view the scheduling of the BOMs you've created.

The Configuration tab displays all the information associated with your import (BOMs generated, products generated and any anomalies (import errors) encountered).

Here's an example:

Access: Manufacturing → Bill of materials → Bill of materials import → +

  1. On the new BOM import form, enter a name.

  2. Import source: select an import source.

caution

The import source must be configured beforehand.

Access: Manufacturing → Configuration → Bill of materials import sources.

Select an XML file (Link file) that can be used to make the link.

Then save the BOM import source.

  1. CSV import: select the CSV file that will be the import base. For example, this file will contain the import IDs linked to the components with a product code and the quantity for each product.
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Note that it is sometimes necessary to create a second BOM for certain components from the CSV import.

  1. Import: click on the ‘Import’ button.

  2. Results: once imported, on the BOM import form, you will find a preload of the BOM. Here you can :

  • change the quantities

  • change the components.

  • create a new component (click on +).

  1. Result tree: click on the ‘Result tree’ tab. Here, it is easier to view the data from the loaded import. The associated BOMs are also visible.

  2. Configuration: find created products / various anomalies encountered during import.

  3. Click on the ‘Validate’ button. A bill of materials is then created. You will find the link to the BOM: simply click on it to access it. This BOM can be found in the ‘Configuration’ tab in the ‘Generated BOM’ table.

Personalized BOM​

When generating a sales quotation, in the Configuration tab of a sales order line, you can modify the supply mode for this quotation. When the supply mode is equal to produce, then the default BOM (associated with a production process) for the product is selected.

Pressing the Personalized BOM button creates a copy of the selected BOM, giving you the option of modifying this repository. You will find your customised BOMs again when you make your next quotation, and you can also find them via the menu entry: Manufacturing → BOMs → Personalized BOMs.

Here is an example.

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In order to use a custom BOM, you need to place a sales order.

However, before doing so, you need to make sure that the product used in this order is properly configured. It must belong to an accounting family, be saleable, and have an associated default BOM (Production Information tab on the product sheet).

For more information on creating a product file, please consult the product file documentation.

Access : Sales → Sales order → +

  1. Fill in the essential information.

  2. In the ‘Content’ tab, in the ‘Detail lines’ table, add a sales order line.

  3. Select the product. In the example, it's the bolted connection.

  4. In the configuration tab (Sales Order Line window), specify the supply method. In the example, it is ‘Produce’.

  5. In the ‘Bill of Materials’ field, select a bill of materials.

  6. Personalized BOM: however, if the existing BOM is not consistent with a customer's requirements, it is possible to customize it. In this case, click on the ‘Personalize BOM’ button.

  7. You will then return to the configuration window for the BOM you selected earlier. You can now modify the quantities.

  8. In the Manufacturing app (access: Manufacturing → Bills of material → Personalized BoM), in the ‘Personalized Bills of material’ menu, you will find the custom BOM that has been created for the sales order.

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The advantage of a custom BOM is that you can reuse it on other customer sale orders.

In addition, it is also possible to define a custom BOM as a default BOM (access: Manufacturing → Bills of materials → Personalized BOMs → open a BOM file → on the file, click on the Define as default BOM of product button).

Create a production process​

A production process lists all the phases in the production of a part right up to its storage. The aim is to record, step by step, the progress of the manufacture of a part.

By default, a production process is associated with a single product (a setting in the Details tab allows a production process to be used for other products). Several BOMs can be associated with the same range; you will find the list of BOMs in the BOMs tab.

The Applicable status is required for a production process in order to plan an associated production order.

On the Details tab, you can specify the stock location associated with components and the stock location associated with products created from the production process. You can also set the minimum launch quantity and manage stock movements:

  • Consumption of components at the start or end of production.

  • Consumption by phase, in which case the components consumed in each phase are defined.

The phases schedule the various production stages, and scheduling is carried out using the Priority field (ascending order).

You can associate a Work center with your phase. The selection of the work centers can be facilitated via the Work center type and Work center group fields (selection filters).

When the work center is selected, the associated parameters are automatically completed in the phase. You always have an option of modifying these parameters for this phase.

Here is a functional example of how to create a production process. Note that there are two ways to create a production process:

  1. First way: access: Manufacturing → Production processes → General / Personalized production process→ +

  2. Second way: open a BOM file. Then, in the ‘Production process’ field, click on ‘+Create’.

The ‘Production process’ window will then open. Configure a production process.

  1. Enter the name. For example, ‘Bolted assembly range’.

  2. Enter the product. For example, bolted assembly.

  3. Enter the company.

  4. If necessary, add a workshop.

  5. In the phase tab, in the phase table, add a new phase by clicking on +. The ‘Phase’ window will open.

Next, configure a phase (Phase tab) in the Phase window:

  1. Give it a label. For example, ‘Assembly of two parts’.

  2. Work center type: in the example, the type of work center has been defined as ‘Human’.

  3. Work center: enter a work center in the ‘Work center’ field. For example, ‘Assembly Station’. This ‘Assembly station’ phase will be used to assemble the part.

  4. Capacity settings: in the ‘Capacity settings’ section, enter the minimum and maximum capacity, as well as the cycle time and human time.

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This data (min & max capacity, as well as duration / cycle and human time) is filled in automatically when it is entered in the work center file.

  1. Save the data.

  2. You can then add another phase. For example, in the ‘Work center’ field, enter the work center ‘Packaging’ from the drop-down list. As this is a “human” cost item, there is only the associated human ressource cost.

  3. Production stock location: once you have added phases, enter a component location in the Details tab. For example, enter ‘Main warehouse’ in the ‘Production stock location’ field.

  4. Stock location for produced product: next, fill in the ‘Finished Product Location’ field once the assembly has been completed.

  5. Launch quantity: still on the Production process window, Details tab, enter the launch quantity in the ‘Launch quantity’ field. This is the minimum quantity that is required to launch a production process.

  6. Stock move realize order select: this field means ‘select consumption time’. Determine whether the stock movement will take place at the end of the production process or at the start of the production process.

  7. Manage consumed products on phases: if you have several associated products per phase, you can manage consumption by phase by ticking this box.

  8. Enable the process for other products: by ticking this box, authorise the use of the production process for other products if you decide to share the range. For example, this range has been created for bolted assembly, but it is possible to share it with other products.

  9. Open the Bill of Materials tab: here you will find all the information about the applied bill of materials. Remember to save any changes you have made to the Bill of Materials form so that the information is displayed on this tab (Save the information → then click on Production process again and consult the Bill of Materials tab).

  • Set as default: click this button to set this BOM as default. If you click on this button, you will notice that the Bill of Materials file is now ‘labelled’. A green ‘Default BOM’ message appears on the file.
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If you click on the product file (on the BOM file), and then click on the ‘Production information’ tab, you will notice that the product now has a default BOM.

You will also find the ‘Bill of Materials’ table, which contains a list of all the bills of materials associated with this product.

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  • In order to make the BOM and the production process usable in manufacturing orders, they must have the status 'Applicable'.

  • Click on 'Validate' then click on 'Make applicable’ (these buttons are located on the right-hand side of the file).

  • In the same way, click on the Production process (Bill of Materials file), and in the Production process window, at the top, in the statuses, click on ‘Applicable’ in order to make the production process applicable.

Once the production process and BOM are applicable, they can be used in manufacturing orders.