Materials and BoMs

A Material identifies something you manufacture, consume or purchase. A Bill of Materials (BoM) defines the components needed to manufacture it. Configure Materials and BoMs in Operations Studio, then use their published definitions during order creation.

Find and organize Materials

Choose Materials in the entity explorer to open its collection tab. The arrow beside a category expands a short preview; Browse all Materials opens the same collection. Pins, recently opened entities and your personal folders provide shortcuts to frequently used definitions.

Search by material number or name, filter by material type or procurement type, and sort by name, material number or last change. Search covers the whole current site and environment, including records beyond the displayed page. Use the page controls to browse further results. Opening a Material keeps the collection's filters, page, selection and scroll position available when you return to its tab.

Open a material folder to browse its contents and subfolders. Folder controls let you create, rename or delete folders when your permissions allow it. Deleting a folder also deletes its descendant folders and contained Materials; review the confirmation and any restrictions before continuing.

Select individual rows or the current page to pin, move or delete the selected Materials. Selection can span pages, up to 500 Materials. The selection count identifies the records affected; selecting a page never selects every matching result. If an action partly fails, the unsuccessful Materials remain selected so you can inspect or retry them.

Save frequently used filter combinations as personal views. Views belong to your current account, site, environment and access context on this browser. They store the filters, not a copy of the Materials.

Define the Material

1. Open Materials and create a Material, optionally in an appropriate material folder.
2. Enter Material ID, Material Name and a useful description.
3. Choose its type: Raw Material, Semi-Finished, Finished Product, Packaging or Other.
4. Set its Base Unit and Procurement Type: Make, Buy or Both.
5. Add relevant specifications or attachments, then save and publish.
6. Use its BoM/Routings sections to create associated manufacturing definitions.

The Material ID is the business identifier. The base unit defines what a quantity means; a label change does not convert stock. Once a Material has inventory history, publication prevents changing its unit. Create a new Material when a different unit is required.

Procurement type affects multi-level explosion: Make components can produce child orders; Buy components remain purchased requirements. Both is treated as Make in the supported explosion behavior. Check the resulting order network before creating it.

Folders organize the material list. Moving a Material into a folder does not change its business identity. An occupied folder cannot simply be removed through a release/reset; first reorganize its contents. Deleting a Material with inventory history is also restricted.

Build a standard BoM

Open the product's BoM section and choose Create BoM, or create it in Bill of Materials. Name it and select Standard. Add component rows with the referenced Material, quantity, unit and scrap percentage. Use the default setting deliberately when several BoMs exist for one Material.

Quantities describe the requirement per parent unit. For an assembly requiring two brackets, set quantity 2; an order for ten assemblies requires twenty before any configured scrap adjustment. Check units and scrap in resolution preview rather than adding a second informal multiplier.

Components can themselves be manufactured Materials with their own BoM and routing. Referencing a child structure does not by itself create child orders: order creation must use the intended explosion mode.

Configure product variants

Choose 150% (Variant) when the BoM contains alternatives across a product family. Define configuration parameters with stable keys, type, allowed choices and defaults. Add conditions to components that should be included only for particular values.

The configuration belongs to the existing Material and its published BoM. Each customer order position stores its chosen values and the definition version used; configuring a position does not create another Material master.

In Configuration Parameters, define the label, stable key, type, default and required setting. Number parameters also support a fixed unit, minimum, maximum and up to six decimal places. For example, width can be a number in mm with minimum 1000, maximum 2000 and zero decimal places. Values outside those limits cannot be added as order positions.

Expand Limits and conditions to define Applicable when, Also required when, and conditions on individual choices. Use the condition builder to select existing parameters and typed values. For example, show and require wall_thickness when mounting == 'U-frame'. Inapplicable inputs are removed from the accepted configuration. Conditions must use declared keys and compatible types; cyclic parameter dependencies are rejected.

applicableWhen determines whether a value applies; inapplicable values are removed. displayWhen only controls form visibility: hidden values remain validated and available for production. A display condition may refer to its own value, for example bumper != "none". Users can reveal conditional equipment with Add equipment; displayWhen: "false" keeps fixed technical details hidden.

For derived values the definition supports valueFrom: { parameter: "frame_profile", cases: [{ equals: "Flat profile 90 x 11 mm", value: "Flat profiles" }] }. Targets are read-only and resolve after the source selection. Cases must have matching types; dependency cycles are rejected.

Add Configuration rules for combinations that must hold, together with a useful message and optional parameters on which to show that message. A condition such as mounting != 'U-frame' or width >= 1100 can explain that the selected frame requires a wider product. Rules support comparisons, and, or and not; they cannot execute JavaScript or call functions.

Use Presets to name and save complete, valid configurations. A preset fills the same editable inputs when preparing a new position. Selecting a different preset is an explicit replacement of that position's draft configuration. Presets are published with the BoM and must obey the same types, limits, conditions and rules.

Konnie can help author the definition in the existing draft and publication workflow. Order entry in Konnie and the Product Configurator App component use the same definition and validation. Review or edit each proposed position, then choose Add at the bottom of that position or Add all positions beneath the list. Created positions remain visible, and retrying the remaining positions does not create them again. Production order creation is offered afterward as a separate action; it resolves the accepted configuration through the existing manufacturing structure.

An Option Group can require Exactly One alternative or include All Matching alternatives. Conditions should cover the intended parameter combinations. A missing or overlapping alternative should be caught in preview before the structure is used for orders.

For a configurable child assembly, use Config Mapping to translate parent configuration values into the child's parameter keys. For example, a parent trim can determine the child's finish. This mapping is different from the component's inclusion condition: one decides the child's inputs; the other decides whether the component is present.

Preview and publish

1. Choose Preview and set representative configuration values.
2. Check included/excluded components, quantities, units and child mappings.
3. Test every important option combination and a missing-required-value case.
4. Save the draft and resolve any parameter, condition, rule or preset problems. Choose Publish with an optional release note. Publication checks the complete definition again on the server.
5. In order creation, select the product and verify that the expected BoM/default and resolved components appear.

A saved draft does not replace the live BoM. A new publication is available to future resolution; it does not silently rewrite existing orders and their captured component requirements. History supports reviewing prior versions and restoring content into a new draft.

Example: configurable cabinet

Create a Finished Product cabinet in pcs, procurement Make. Add one housing, two hinges and one handle to a standard BoM. If handles vary, use a 150% BoM with a handle selection and an Exactly One option group for black or steel handles. Preview both values and an invalid/missing choice. Create a test order for five cabinets and compare the resulting components with the expected per-unit quantities.

If order creation has no components, check publication and the Material's selected default BoM. If a component is missing only for one variant, inspect its condition and parent-to-child mapping. If publication or promotion rejects a unit change, check inventory history. Continue with Routings and recipes.