Overview of a configurable produced item

The following outlines the information you must complete in the Item file to be able to use the different items in DC1 Product Configurator. It is recommended that you first read About working with items to gain an understanding of options and defaults as well as printing and deleting items.

For configured items both the parent item and all the components must be set up in the Item file.

The following items already exist in the Item file:

In order to create a configurable item of the existing produced table you must set up a configurable parent item in the Item file. This parent item will be called P600600-CFG.

Note: When setting up configurable items in the Item file the configurable end item must have item class 3. Apart from that the configurable items are set up in the same way as other items.

The following parent item must be added to the Item file:

The different types of wood and the different colours that the customer can select must also be set up. The components belonging to the configurable end item are set up as normal items (item class 1 or 2). The following components are set up in the Item file:

The following outlines the family items that need to be identified. A family item is an end item that you want to configure, i.e. items that are variations of a standard design; in this case a table. This table can consist of different types of wood, and can be painted in different colours and be of various lengths depending on the configuration.

A family item can also be identified for a group of component items with the same characteristics. For example, TABLE LEG could be used as family item for the table legs of different types of wood.

The following family items are identified for the table:

The following outlines the family item attributes that need to be identified. Attributes are identified for each family item. The configurator attributes characterise and define the variants of a configurable product.

The following attributes are identified for the family items belonging to the table:

The following outlines the attribute codes that need to be created.

An attribute code must be created for each identified attribute. This code identifies the attribute during the configuration. The following attribute codes are assigned to the attributes of the configurable table:

The attributes must also be given values. The values will point to the optional components that the customer can select during the configuration of the item. For example, when you configure the table the customer can select a red, a blue or a yellow MDF table. The attribute COLOUR will therefore have the values BLUE, RED and YELLOW to separate these three colours.

The following values are connected to the attributes of the configurable Table:

When entering attributes in the configurator tables both prompt texts and value texts can be entered for the attributes. The following table outlines the information that is entered for the table:

See About setting up configurator attributes for detailed information about how to set up the attributes and the attribute values.

The following outlines the parameter codes that need to be set up for the configurable Table.

Configurable items consist of one or several configurator parameters, i.e. variable items. The configurator parameter is used to define a parameterised item for each family of variable items. The parameters define what attributes will be used to characterise the family item.

For each identified family item a configurator parameter code is created. The parameters for the configurable table are outlined in the table below.

Attributes must be added when the parameter codes are created. The parameter defines what attributes can be selected. The following table shows what attributes are connected to the parameter for each family item, and the additional information that must be added.

See About setting up configurator parameters for detailed information.

The following outlines the formulas that need to be set up for the configurable Table. These formulas will later be used in the configurator bill of material to calculate the item quantities. The variables used in the formulas are predefined in the system.

For this example the following configurator formulas are created:

Note: In order to calculate the quantity of the planks, the following must be set up:

• Configurator formula table: The Adjustment value must be set to 1 and the Type of adjustment to 2.
• Item file, Units: 3000 must be set up in the Length field in unit EACH.

Using these formulas the system can calculate the quantity of components needed depending on the ordered quantity of the parent item.

See About setting up configurator formulas for detailed information.

The following outlines the bill of materials that need to be set up for the configurable Table.

The configurator bill of material is used in the configuration process to generate a unique bill of material for the configured item. The configurator bill of material includes the rules for selecting real component items and the rules for calculating quantities.

There are two ways of setting up the bill of material for a configurable item. You can either set up both the fixed and the variable items in the configurator bill of material, or you can set up the fixed items in Basic data (Structure table) and the variable items in the configurator bill of material.

For the purpose of this example, the fixed items have been set up in the Basic data (Structure table) and the variable items in the Configurator bill of material table.

The following table displays the fixed item that is set up in the base bill of material for the Table:

P600600-CFG – Bill of material, Basic Data

The following table displays the configurator bill of material that is set up for the configurable Table. The table also displays the formulas that are used for calculating quantities. The configurator bill of material is given the name P600600-CFG.

P600600-CFG – Configurator bill of material

Since only one type of wood (MDF) will be painted, we need a special bill of material for that selection:

P600600-CFG2 – Configurator bill of material, Colour

See About setting up a bill of material for configurable items for detailed information.

The following outlines the bill of routings that need to be set up for the configurable Table.

The bill of routing is used in the configuration process to generate a unique routing for the configured item. It shows the equipment, personnel and operation sequence necessary to build the item.

There are two ways of setting up the bill of routing for a configurable item. You can either set up all operations in the configurator bill of routing, or you can set up the fixed operations in Basic data (Structure table) and the variable operations in the configurator bill of routing.

For this example, the fixed operations have been set up in the Basic data and the variable operations in the Configurator bill of routing table. The fixed operation that is set up in the base bill of routing for the Table is:

P600600-CFG – Bill of routing, Basic data

The following table displays the configurator bill of routing that is set up for the configurable Table:

P600600-CFG – Configurator bill of routing

You must also set up a configurator bill of routing for the painted MDF table. It is assumed that the colour PAINTBLUE is painted in the standard work centre for painting. The following bill of routing for painting is set up:

P600600-CFG2 – Blue paint

See About setting up a bill of routing for configurable items for detailed information.

The following outlines what items need to be connected to configurator parameters.

The configurator tables that have been set up must be connected to the real items that you previously entered in the Item file. This is important if the configuration is to function. Both the configurable parent item and the components must be connected to configurator parameters. The real parent item and the configurable components must also be connected to configurator bill of materials and bill of routings.

The following table displays the real items and the parameters to which they are connected. The table also displays the configurator bill of materials and bill of routings that are connected to the parent item and the configurable components.

See Connect a configurable parent item to a configurator parameter and Connect a component item to a configurator parameter for instructions.

The following outlines the alternative bill of routings that must be set up for the painting of red and yellow MDF tables.

As described earlier, the colour PAINTBLUE is painted in the standard work centre for painting. The colours PAINTRED and PAINTYELLOW, however, are painted in separate work centres. Because of this, you have to set up two alternative bill of routings for these colours:

P600600-CFG2 ALT1 – Red paint

P600600-CFG2 ALT2 – Yellow paint

The bill of routings P600600-CFG2 ALT1 and P600600-CFG2 ALT2 will be connected to the item P250255 MDF plank in the Configurator item table.

See Define an alternative bill of routing for a configurable item for instructions.

The following outlines the configurable text that is added both to the parent item and components.

The order line text for the Table should reflect the customer selections from the configuration of the item. In order to achieve this, you have to configure the order line text. Substitution variables (% followed by attribute codes) are used in the text configuration. The substitution variables will be replaced by the actual attribute values after the configuration.

The following text is added to the parent item:

The substitution variables (&P1 and &P2) will be replaced by the selected type of wood and length, and the configured text will be displayed on the order line.

The following text is added to the components:

This text does not include substitution variables. The text you enter for these colours will be added to the text on the order line if that particular colour has been selected.

If a customer has chosen to buy a 1000mm long MDF table that is red, the following text will appear on the sales order line:

The item description of the Table will also be configured. The following item description is given to item P600600-CFG:

A substitution variable is included in the item description and will be replaced by the selected attribute values after the configuration. The item description will reflect the customer selection of speakers.

The colours that are selected for the MDF table will also be reflected in the item description. The following information is added in the Edit description field for the colours:

See Configure the order line text for configurable parent items and components for instructions.

The following outlines how to add constraints to the configurable Table.

The constraints define certain combinations of attributes and values that are valid or invalid for a specific item. For this item you will enter a constraint stating that it is not possible to combine the length 1400mm with pinewood. An error message will be displayed if a sales order is entered for the table with this combination of attributes.

The following constraint is entered for the configurable Table:

See Add constraints to a configurable item for instructions.

The following outlines what needs to be set up in the configurator tables and in the Item file if you want to add a new variant to an existing configurable produced item.

Imagine that you want to add GREEN as an optional colour for the configurable table. The following information would have to be set up: