Master data > Product
A bill of materials is a product that consists of multiple items or components. In Xentral you can create and use two different kinds of bills of materials:
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Bill of materials (BOM)
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Just in time bill of materials (JIT BOM)
A bill of materials is a regular product with item number and storage location. The individual components are bound to the list and have already been taken from the warehouse. An example for this is a board game where the board and pieces are already in the package.
Note
Bill of materials are also the basis of production in Xentral. You can find more information about production in this article.
A JIT bill of materials, on the other hand, consists of many individual items with their own item number and storage location. These items can also be used in other JIT BOMs. The availability of a JIT BOM therefore depends on the availability of its individual components. In the case of our board game, for example, the figures could also be used for other games and taken from stock as needed.
Note
A partial delivery of individual components of a BOM is not possible! Xentral assumes that a BOM may only be shipped in its entirety.
The difference is summarized in the following table:
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Bill of materials |
Just in time bill of materials |
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stored as a set > one item number |
Stored as individual items |
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Stock item |
not a stock item, the JIT BOM serves as a container for the individual components |
Proceed as follows to create a bill of materials:
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Go to Master data > Product.
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Click +NEW to create a new item or open an existing item you want to turn into a BOM.
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You determine the type of BOM in the following way:
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BOM: Select the check boxes Stock item and Parts list.
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JIT BOM: Select the check box Just-in-time parts list. The check box Parts list will automatically be selected as well.
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Click Save.
The new tab Parts list will appear in the view.
You can add items to your BOM in the following way:
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Go to Master data > Product and open your item.
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Click on the Parts list tab.
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Click +New element.
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Select a Product you want to add to your BOM.
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Specify the Quantity in which the item should be present in the list.
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Optional: The fields in the sections Production and Assembly only apply if you produce yourself or work in electronics production.
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Click Save.
The item now appears in your bill of materials.
Note
Only four decimal places are available for specifying the quantity of your BOM item. A more precise specification, e.g. for production, is currently not possible.
On the right side your BOM is presented in a tree structure. This is especially helpful if you use sub-BOMs, i.e. another BOM is part of your BOM.
Note
On the bottom of the page is a gray info box. It shows how often you can produce this JIT BOM with your current stock.
You can export the finished BOM as a CSV file by clicking Parts list as CSV.
Note
It is possible to define an alternative item in the BOM. This option is only for information and as an internal note for production. It has no further effects.
In some cases it can be advantageous to pre-produce JIT BOMs, e.g. because a special discount promotion is planned. To do this, proceed as follows:
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Create a BOM as a stock item (see section Create bill of materials).
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Add all the items to your BOM, that are also part of the JIT BOM you want to pre-produce (see section Add items to a bill of materials).
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Go to Master data > Product.
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Open your JIT BOM.
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Select the check box Pre-produced parts list.
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Select your pre-produced BOM in the neighboring field.
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Click Save.
If all the items can be taken from the pre-produced BOM when adding items to the sales order, the JIT BOM will be replaced by the pre-produced BOM in the sales order.
Note
The name of the original item stays the same. The only thing that changes, is the item number and thus the underlying item in the background.
Under Master data > Product > Details tab you have the possibility to define the behavior of BOMs in documents. By default, all single items are displayed in the documents.
If you select the check box Hide single item all single items will be hidden in the documents to the customer (sales order, invoice, delivery note) and only the primary BOM item will be displayed. In internal documents, e.g. for picking, all single items will still be displayed.
You can define the way BOMs appear in documents in further detail with the BOM details app. For more information, see this article.
You can import existing BOMs from other systems. To do this, you need the BOM as a CSV file. The item number (artikelnummer) and quantity (menge) must be present in the file. A file can look like this:
"artikelnummer";"menge"; 1000018;12; 1000001;4;
Important
During the import of a BOM the old BOM will be deleted and replaced by the new one.
Proceed as follows for the import:
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Go to Master data > Product and open your item.
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Click Parts list > Import parts list.
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Click Datei auswählen (choose file) and select your CSV file.
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Select Item number; quantity in the template field.
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Specify the delimiter you used in your CSV file.
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Click Load parts list. A preview of your BOM appears.
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Select the columns that contain data.
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Select the first row that contains data.
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Click Import now.
The following message appears: Successfully imported. You can view the imported BOM in the Overview tab.
In addition to the standard import using the template Item number; quantity, there is also the possibility to import Altium Designer and Solid Edge ST2 BOMs. These BOMs are only used in special cases.
When exporting your JIT BOM to your online shop, you must take the following into account:
Only the JIT BOM without its components may be transferred to the store. The individual components of the JIT BOM will then be added back to Xentral when importing an order. If you want to display the individual components of your BOM in the shop, you can enter them in the item description.