Oracle Manufacturing enables you to define integrated multilevel bills that contain planning bills, model and option class bills, as well as standard product and subassembly bills.

The following table is an example of an indented planning bill of material:

Indented Planning Bill of Material

In the table below, the Training Computer (at level 1) is a planning item that represents a family of products whose demand you want to forecast by family. The Training Computer planning bill contains three components (at level 2) that are each ATO models. Each component specifies a planning factor that represents the percentage of Training Computer orders that are for that model. All components in the bill for a planning item must have a planning percentage. Planning percentage totals can exceed 100% to over plan.

The following table is an example of a single level, planning bill of material:

Single Level Bill for Training Computer

Optional components of model and option class bills can also have planning factors. Notice that in the example in the table above, the Laptop Computer has a planning percent of 60% and the Operating System option class has a planning percent of 90%. The two options under the option class (DOS and UNIX) have 80% and 20% respectively. If there is a forecast for 100 units of the Training Computer, Oracle Master Scheduling/MRP computes the forecasts for DOS and UNIX by exploding the forecast for 100 units considering each planning percent:

DOS forecast =

100 x .60 x .90 x .80 = 44 units

UNIX forecast =

100 x .60 x .90 x .20 = 11 units

Configure to Order Environments

You can define model and option class bills of material that list the options your customers can choose from when they place a sales order for an assemble to order configuration. To define assemble to order models whose configurations you assemble using work order, flow schedules, or purchase orders. You must set the Assemble to Order Item Master field to Yes for the model and option class items. The following table shows an example of this:

Item Attributes for Configure to Order Items

When you assign an option class item to a model or option class bill of material, the component item (option class) must have the same value for the Assemble to Order Item Master field or Pick Components Item Master field as the parent item (model or option class). So, you can only assign assemble to order option classes to assemble to order models and pick-to-order option classes to pick-to-order models.

You can also define hybrid model bills where you list some options that you pick and some options that you assemble using a final assembly order. When you place an order, your customers can choose the options for the assembled configurations as well as the picked options that ship with the order. For each of these hybrid model bills, you set the Pick Components Item Master field to Yes for the top model item and assign assemble to order model items as components (where the Assemble to Order Item Master field is Yes). So the components of a PTO model can include ATO models as well as PTO option classes and included items. Also, an option under a PTO model or option class can be a standard ATO item that requires a manufacturing work order to assemble it, but unlike the ATO model, has no options.

Model Bills of Material

A model bill lists the option classes, options, and standard items that exist for a model. The bill of material for a PTO model lists the option classes, options, and included items that exist for that model. In the example below, the Promotional Laptop is a PTO model where you have both picked and assembled components. The single level bill under the Promotional Laptop contains one option, one option class, two included items and an ATO model. Both the Accessories option class and Diskettes are optional, and you can choose any number of options under the Accessories option class. The included items, Battery Pack and Laptop Computer, are not optional in the bill.

The single level bill under the Laptop Computer ATO model contains two mandatory components and three option classes. The mandatory components, Computer Case and Keyboard, are standard items that are not optional in the bill. CPU and Monitor are mandatory option classes since they are not optional, while Operating System is an optional option class. You must choose at least one option under mandatory option classes. CPU and Operating System option classes are mutually exclusive which means you can only choose a single option under each. However, you can choose any number of Monitors.

The following table presents an example of a model bill of material:

Indented Bill for Promotional Laptop

When you place an order for the Promotional Laptop, you choose from the list of options (Diskettes, Accessories options) and from the list of options under the Laptop Computer bill of material, such as DOS, VGA1 and 386 Processor. As described earlier, you open a work order or flow schedule for the Laptop Computer configuration.

Order Management then includes the completed Laptop Computer configuration on the sales order pick slip for the Promotional Computer configuration, along with any other chosen options and included items. See: Mutually Exclusive and Optional Fields.

Option Class Bills of Material

Option class bills can contain standard components, options, as well as other option classes. Oracle Manufacturing lets you structure any number of levels of option classes within option classes so you can create an indented hierarchy of choices. You can also specify a mandatory component under any option class in the indented structure that would automatically be included anytime you choose an option from that option class (or a lower level option class).

In the example below, the indented Promotional Computer (exploded to three levels) contains one option class at level 2 (Accessories) and three option classes (CPU, Monitor, and Operating System) in its structure at level three. The Accessories option class has one included item (Peripherals Guide) and three options, Mouse, LaserPrinter, and Scanner. When you place an order for the Promotional Laptop, you can choose as many options as you like (or no options) from the Accessories option class. If you choose at least one option, you automatically include the Peripherals Guide for the order.

The Laptop Computer bill contains three option classes at level 3 and the Monitor option class has two option classes (VGA and EGA) in its structure at level 4. The Monitor option class has a mandatory component (Monitor Manual) that is included for any monitor choice. The VGA option class has a mandatory component (VGA Manual) that is included if you choose VGA1 or VGA2.

The following table presents a BOM with multiple layers of option classes:

Indented Bill of Material for Promotional Laptop

Multi-Level Bills of Material

A model item can be a component of another model assembly. If you specify any supply type other than phantom for the lower level models, they will be treated as sub-assemblies during the AutoCreate Configuration process.

In the example above, change the monitor to a Model instead of an option class. Give it a BOM supply type other than phantom. When you place an order for a Promotional Laptop, you choose from the same list of options as you would in the original example. However, now a new configuration item, BOM, and routing is created for both the Laptop Computer and the Monitor.

Multi-Organization Bills of Material

Any non-phantom model can be sourced from any organization or from a supplier. In a multilevel structure, this means that the sub-models can be made in an organization other than the parent. To set up the BOM correctly in this environment, create the BOM and routing for each model in its manufacturing organization.

In the example above, the Laptop Model BOM and Routing may be created in the Seattle organization, while the Monitor Model BOM and Routing may be created in the Chicago organization. Each would have its corresponding option class and standard bills under the model.

If you are purchasing a configuration, set up the model BOM in the receiving organization.

As with standard items, sourcing rules are used to find the organization where the sub-assembly is manufactured.

Standard Bills of Material

Standard bills are bills of material for manufactured products, kits, subassemblies, phantoms, or purchased assemblies. Standard bills appear at the bottom levels of the indented structure.

In the example below, the DOS option in the model bill for the Laptop Computer is a phantom item whose bill contains DOS Manual and DOS Diskettes. Each time you order a Laptop Computer and choose the DOS option, your configured bill will contain the DOS phantom item. Oracle Work in Process automatically explodes through the requirement for DOS to its components, DOS Diskettes and DOS Manual, since the DOS option is a phantom item. DOS Diskettes is a subassembly, so it also has a standard bill of material although it is not shown below.

The following table presents a model bill of material with a standard bill of material underneath it:

Model Bill of Material with Standard Bill Underneath

Option Quantity Ranges

For each option, you can specify a quantity range that limits the quantity of the option you can order during Order Management. In the example below, you can order only one CPU and Operating System but you can order up to 10 VGA1 or VGA2 monitors and up to 20 EGA1 or EGA2 monitors.

The following table presents an example option quantity range for a laptop computer:

Option Quantity Ranges for Laptop Computer

Basis Option Class

You can define a basis of option class for PTO Option Class items. This means Order Management prevents you from modifying the extended order quantity of the option class item. You can still modify the extended quantity of the options below the PTO Option Class.

In the example below, basis is set to Option Class for the Accessories option class item, and the extended order quantity for the option class is 3. You cannot modify the extended order quantity for the Accessories option class. You can, however, modify the extended order quantity for any of the options below the accessories option class (Mouse, LaserPrinter, and Scanner). The Peripherals Guide included item's extended quantity is based on the extended order quantity of the option class, so this quantity cannot be changed by modifying the accessories option class.

The following table presents an example of a basis set to Option Class:

ATP Check Controls

Oracle Manufacturing lets you specify the components in model and option class bills of material for which you want to check Available to Promise before scheduling a ship date for a configuration. Oracle Manufacturing lets you specify for each item in the item master whether you must check ATP for that item itself and whether the item has bill of material components that require an ATP check.

For example, you might need to check ATP for the keyboard and CPU each time you order a Laptop Computer configuration but the supply of all other components is not constrained. In that case, you would set the ATP Components Item Master field to Yes for the Laptop Computer and the CPU option class, and you would set the Check ATP Item Master field to Yes for the Keyboard and CPUs. That way, when you order a Laptop Computer and choose a 486 Processor, Oracle Order Management performs an ATP check for each component in the Laptop Computer bill where Check Component ATP is set to Yes (Keyboard only) and it would check ATP for the 486 Processor since that option was selected.

The following table presents an example of ATP check control:

ATP Checks for Laptop Computer

ATP calculation can also be done for a product family. A product family calculation takes into account demand and supply for individual items that are members of the product family.

Oracle supports multiple levels of ATP check components. For example, a standard component of a model could contain a phantom item with ATP check components in its bill. In that case, you would set the ATP Components Item Master field to Yes for both the model and the phantom item. That way, Order Management knows to continue exploding the bill through the phantom item looking for components to include in the group ATP check for the configuration.

Multi-Organization Bills of Material Setup

You can enter sales orders for assemble to order configurations, with a warehouse as the shipping organization, and build the configurations in other organizations. In a multi-level structure, each level can be built in a different organization. Using common bills of material, you can share model and option class bills of material between organizations. You define the model and option class bills in the primary manufacturing organization that owns each bill, creating common bills in your item validation organization (and other manufacturing organizations) to reference the bill in the primary manufacturing organization.

For example, you can enter orders for the Laptop Computer in your item master organization (Global Computers) and build the Laptop Computer in two other organizations-Sacramento and Austin. And, all engineering changes to the Laptop Computer (and its components) originate from the Sacramento organization. You define the Laptop Computer model item in your item master organization (Global Computers) and assign the item to the Sacramento and Austin organizations. Then you can define the Laptop Computer's model bill of material in the Sacramento organization, creating common bills of material in the Global Computers and Austin organizations. Each common bill references the model bill in the Sacramento organization. For each component that has its own bill of material (option class and standard items), you define the component's bill in the Sacramento organization and create common bills in the Global Computers and Austin organizations (where each common bill references a bill in the Sacramento organization).

The following table presents an example of a bill of material shared between organizations. The Organization, Item, and Alternate columns represent Common Bill Details:

Shared Bills of Material for Laptop Computer

Option Dependent Routing Steps for Discrete Manufacturing

Oracle Bills of Materials lets you define routing steps for models that can be selected as options for configurations. You can assign multiple routing steps to a single optional component. You can specify that a routing step is option dependent which causes the configuration to include that routing step only if an option referencing that step was chosen.

You can assign multiple routing steps to a single optional component model bill. You specify one value in the op sequence column on the main BOM form. The operation you specify on the main window is used as the back flush location for the item.

You can assign additional operation sequence to the components by using a child window. The child window is available from any optional BOM component line by button.

The following table presents an example of option dependent routing steps:

Indented Bill of Material for Laptop Computer

Routing Steps for Laptop Computer

The table above presents an example of how Oracle Manufacturing automatically includes Operation Sequences 25, 45 and 47 in any configuration routing containing a 486 processor since the 486 processor option in the bill references step 25, 45 and 47. These routing steps can also add to the standard cost for configurations with the 486 Processor, since Oracle Manufacturing performs a single level rollup for configurations and accounts for all costed resources used in the configuration routing.

The routing for your model should include all steps that any configuration might require. You can then establish option class routings by referencing the model routing as a common routing. That way, lower level options can still reference the model's routing. For example, you can reference the Laptop Computer's routing as a common routing for the CPU option class, referencing the Laptop Computer's routing steps in the option class bill.

In a multi-level, multi-organization environment, each non-phantom model should have its routing defined in its manufacturing organization.

Option Dependent Events for Flow Manufacturing

A flow routing consists of processes, line operations and events. You can designate option dependent events by checking the Optional check box for an event. On your bills of material, you associate an option with event sequences via operation sequences on the BOM. You can assign multiple routing steps to a single optional component. The option dependent events will only be included in the configuration routing if an option referencing that event was chosen.

In a multi-level, multi-organization environment, each non-phantom model should have its routing defined in its manufacturing organization.

Operation Sequence Inheritance

You can specify that items within the model structure inherit the operation sequence from their parent option class or model. You invoke this option by setting the site level profile BOM: Inherit Option Class Operation Sequence Number to yes. Bills of Material applies inheritance logic for all items in the model structure with an operation sequence defaulted to 1. You should maintain a routing for the top level model, but may not need to maintain a routing for any option class or model where all items below it have an operation sequence of 1.

In the example below, the profile option is set to yes, and the CPU and Monitor option class items have operation sequence numbers for the Laptop Computer routing. The processor options are defaulted to an operation sequence of 1, and inherit operation sequence 30 from the CPU option class item. The VGA Option class, options and included item are defaulted to an operation sequence of 1, and inherit operation sequence 40 from the manual option class item. Routings are not required for the CPU, Monitor, and VGA option classes.

The following table presents an example operation sequence inheritance:

Operation Sequence Inheritance

Cataloging Configurations

Oracle Manufacturing provides features that help you catalog your assemble to order configurations so you can easily find on hand configurations that meet customer requirements, or find configuration item numbers that were used to fulfill previous orders for the same configuration. Oracle Manufacturing lets you set up rules to automatically assign Item Catalog descriptive element values to assemble to order configurations based on the options selected.

For example, you might want to catalog computer configurations using descriptive elements that indicate the Processor Type, Monitor Type, and Operating System chosen for each configuration. You could then assign the Laptop Computer model item to a catalog group that specifies those descriptive elements, but not assign any values to those attributes since the Laptop Computer is a model, not a specific configuration. You would also assign each option item to a catalog group with descriptive elements that describe that option. So you would assign the processor option items (386,486) to a "Processors" catalog group containing a Processor descriptive element as well as others that might describe more specific processor attributes.

The following table presents cataloging configurations:

Catalog and Descriptive Elements

You would also specify which descriptive elements to assign automatically to an ordered configuration, based on options chosen under each option class in the Laptop Computer's bill. For example, when you defined the bill for the CPU option class, you would specify that the Processor descriptive element should be assigned automatically based on options chosen under this class. The Bills of Material window lets you specify descriptive elements for each model or option class bill of material. If you want the autocreate configuration items process to concatenate descriptions, you must specify descriptive elements for each model and option class bill. An example of a concatenated description might be "486-VGA-DOS".

The following table presents descriptive elements assigned to an ordered configuration:

Descriptive Elements for Bills of Material

Other Sources

• Two-Level Master Scheduling, Oracle MRP User's Guide