BOM Compare: Parts Catalog Follow

BOM Compare (formerly known as New Product Introduction) has a parts catalog which is a central repository for unique parts that are not yet matured. Anytime a Bill of Materials (BOM) is uploaded into the LevaData Platform, this repository becomes a source of information that the system draws from.

Parts Catalog

First, open the parts catalog sub-tab:

The user can now see by default the "view parts" sub-tab showing any and all parts that have been uploaded to this point in time. Users must have specific access rights to upload and manage part information within the parts catalog. Only a Tenant Adminstrator for your organization or a LevaData Super Adminsitrator can provide this access. User administration is done in the main administration tab, user then group selections. User groups function as "role templates" and the following options are available:

Types of Access

• Part: Users can upload and manage only part level information such as Part #, Part Description, Usage, Unit of Measure (UOM), etc.
• Source: Upload and manage manufacturer part number (MPN), suppliers, manufacturers, etc.
• Part and Source: Combination of all of the above.

Within the View Parts sub-tab, there is a free text input column allowing users to assign the part to owner(s) for easy access, so that owner(s) can filter the BOM / Parts based on their selection.

Ingesting Parts

Depending on the access rights for the user, a template can be downloaded from the parts catalog tab to upload information. Right next to the download feature the user select the Excel icon for upload.

When a user uploads the completed Excel, the ingestion engine will not accept any incorrect records or accept any parts already within the parts catalog. See: BOM Compare: Bill of Materials Ingestion for more details. The user will see a modal window which indicates how many records were successful. There is a diagnostics file option from the modal window the user can review for reasoning. Note: It is possible to upload a great many parts in one go.

In this example, two parts were successfully uploaded and the parts that are listed in the preview can be reviewed, then selected for ingestion (or discarded). If the user proceeds, the parts can then be "checked in" to the database or revoked via an "undo" option.

When doing the check in, our system will review each line item for specific errors. See: BOM Compare: Bill of Materials Ingestion: Problem Scenarios and Error Messages for more information.

These two screenshots demonstrate this process where the user will have to make corrections to complete a check in and the parts will then be available in the view parts sub-tab. Use the search bar in the view parts sub-tab to validate the successful check in.

It is also important to note, that sometimes the cost/split of parts is not known at the time of first upload into the parts catalog. It is not mandatory to input this on the template for upload, but these fields will be flagged in RED when left blank as shown here in this example.

Where Used Column

In the view parts tab, within the parts catalog, we include a "Where Used" column. It identifies the program where the part is being used. This information is also included in the Excel download. The user can click the Where Used Icon and expose a modal window with more details.

Checked Out Parts

The second sub-tab within parts catalog offers the user a list of current checked out parts. As with other tabs, a variety of filters are available. By selecting one or more line items, checked out parts can be undone or parts can be checked back in.

Parts History

The third sub-tab is "Parts History" which is a full audit trail of changes made based on data search, part number search, MPN search or a combination of those values.

Bringing these Parts into a Program

The user can now go back to the dashboard and select the program identified for the part(s).

Upon opening the program, the user would click on the BOM management tab, then select the latest BOM revision to open.

Then do a search for the part(s) as shown below. When doing the search, the system will check all pages of the BOM UI page. Other than the line item being present as shown here, most of the data will not be listed.

Using BOM Parts Autofill

When the BOM is open, the user can click [Parts Autofill] to pull information from the parts catalog based on Customer Part Number (CPN) and Contract Manufacturer/Original Design Manufacturer (CM/ODM) in the BOM. The system will pull the lowest CM/ODM cost.

When viewing the preview, the system gives you a comparison view of before and after autofill to allow you to confirm.

Alternate Method to Add Parts to a BOM

When viewing the BOM from the BOM management tab, the BOM structure is collapsed to a CPN level. By right clicking on the sub-assembly, a user can add a component.

By clicking on the CPN the user can add a sibling.