Managing changes to Bills of Materials is important to some businesses and can be challenging to manage. Some businesses also require strict version control, approvals and changes to related documents such as CAD drawings.
Abel’s BOM Versioning features can be configured for different levels of control that suit most businesses:
- Use the check-out process to make a copy of a BOM for maintenance. The original BOM remains in use until the revised BOM is checked back in.
- Create multiple versions of BOMs with effective dates so you can manage when BOM changes take effect.
- Keep versions of related documentation attached to BOMs, such as CAD drawings.
- Implement a BOM authorization process and restrict authorization to designated users only.
Let’s discuss some of those features in a bit more detail:
The check-out feature enables you to make copies of a BOM for maintenance without affecting production. The original BOM is still used for normal processing until the new BOM comes into effect. With this feature you can manage BOM changes in a timely way, ahead of when they are needed.
Make your changes on the checked-out copy of the BOM – it won’t affect production until you check it back in. The check-out process also checks out any attachments to the BOM (e.g. CAD drawings) so you can deal with those as well. Attachments can be removed, replaced or left as they are.
BOM versions can be made mandatory or optional. If you make them mandatory, each BOM version will have a unique code and Abel will prevent changes to the original BOM. Users can also record the version of any related attachments e.g. CAD drawings. You can specify an effective date for the new BOM, otherwise Abel gives it today’s date.
The BOM Changes screen shows you what’s changed compared with the original BOM. The screen is color coded so you can easily see additions, deletions and changes as in the example below. Changes in the header are shown with blue text and changes to the lines are color coded with a status.
If you want to know more about Abel’s functionality and how it can help your business, please contact your Abel Consultant or an Abel Distributor.
Until next time.
Rik.