Configure to Order

This chapter provides an overview of how to use the configure-to-order features within Oracle Bills of Material.

This chapter covers the following topics:

Overview of Configure To Order

Oracle Manufacturing enables you to define options available for products and to process orders for unique product configurations while maintaining control of inventory, planning, and cost accounting.

A Configure to Order environment is one where the product or service is assembled or kitted on receipt of the sales order. Oracle Applications supports the Configure to Order environment with a range of features in order entry, demand forecasting, master scheduling, production, shipping, and financial accounting.

Configure to Order:

Information Sources

The Oracle Configure to Order Process Guide contains current, detailed information about how Oracle Applications E-Business Suite products support the configure to order capability. It provides detailed implementation consideration for every step of the process. Configure to Order shares business and setup information with other Oracle Applications products. Therefore, you may refer to other user's guides when you set up and use Oracle Configure to Order:

Definitions

Assemble–to–Order Model (ATO Configuration):

Assemble-to-Order Item:

Pick-to-Order Model (PTO Configuration):

Pick-to-Order Item (Kit):

Hybrid:

Multi-Level Assemble-to-Order Model (Multi-Level ATO Configuration):

Multi-Level Assemble-to-Order Items:

Multi-Organization Assemble-to-Order Model(Multi-Organization ATO):

BOM Support for CTO

Overview of Model and Option Class Bills of Material

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
Level Item Item Type Optional Planning % Qty
1 Training Computer Planning n/a n/a 1
. 2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model No 60% 1
. . 3 . . Carrying Case Product No 100% 1
. . 3 . . Keyboard Product No 100% 1
. . 3 . . CPU ATO Option Class No 100% 1
. . . 4 . . . 386 Processor Purchased Item Yes 65% 1
. . . 4 . . . 486 Processor Purchased Item Yes 35% 1
. . 3 . . Monitor ATO Option Class No 100% 1
. . . 4 . . . VGA ATO Option Class Yes 70% 1
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA Manual Purchased Item No 100% 1
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA1 Purchased Item Yes 50% 1
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA2 Purchased Item Yes 50% 1
. . . 4 . . . EGA ATO Option Class Yes 30% 1
. . . . 5 . . . . EGA1 Product Yes 55% 1
. . . . 5 . . . . EGA2 Product Yes 45% 1
. . . 4 . . . Monitor Manual Purchased Item No 100% 1
. . 3 . . Operating System ATO Option Class Yes 90% 1
. . . 4 . . . DOS Phantom Yes 80% 1
. . . . 5 . . . . DOS Manual Purchased Item No 100% 1
. . . . 5 . . . . DOS Diskettes Subassembly No 100% 1
. . . 4 . . . UNIX Phantom Yes 20% 1
. . . . 5 . . . . UNIX Manual Purchased Item No 100% 1
. . . . 5 . . . . UNIX Diskettes Subassembly No 100% 1

Planning Bills of Material Example

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
Level Item Item Type Optional Planning % Qty
1 Training Computer Planning n/a n/a 1
. 2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model No 60% 1
. 2 . Desktop Computer ATO Model No 20% 1
. 2 . Server Computer ATO Model No 20% 1

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
Item Item Type BOM Item Type Assemble to Order Pick Components
Laptop Computer ATO Model Model Yes No
CPU ATO Option Class Option Class Yes No
Modem ATO Item Standard Yes No

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
Level Item Item Type Optional Planning % Mutually Exclusive
1 Promotional Laptop PTO Model n/a n/a n/a
.2 . Battery Pack Kit No 100% n/a
.2 . Accessories PTO Option Class Yes 40% No
.2 . Diskettes Purchased Item Yes 95% n/a
.2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model No 100% n/a
. 2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model n/a 60% n/a
. . 3 . . Carrying Case Product No 100% n/a
. . 3 . . Keyboard Product No 100% n/a
. . 3 . . CPU ATO Option Class No 100% Yes
. . 3 . . Monitor ATO Option Class No 100% No
. . 3 . . Operating System ATO Option Class Yes 90% Yes

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
Level Item Item Type Optional Planning % Mutually Exclusive
1 Promotional Laptop PTO Model n/a n/a n/a
.2 . Battery Pack Kit No 100% n/a
.2 . Accessories PTO Option Class Yes 40% No
.2 . Diskettes Purchased Item Yes 95% n/a
. 2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model No 60% n/a
. . 3 . . CPU ATO Option Class No 100% Yes
. . . 4 . . . 386 Processor Purchased Yes 65% n/a
. . . 4 . . . 486 Processor Purchased Yes 35% n/a
. . 3 . . Monitor ATO Option Class No 100% No
. . . 4 . . . VGA ATO Option Class Yes 70% No
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA Manual Purchased Item No 100% n/a
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA1 Purchased Item Yes 50% n/a
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA2 Purchased Item Yes 50% n/a
. . . 4 . . . EGA ATO Option Class Yes 30% No
. . . . 5 . . . . EGA1 Product Yes 55% n/a
. . . . 5 . . . . EGA2 Product Yes 45% n/a
. . . 4 . . . Monitor Manual Purchased Item No 100% n/a
. . 3 . . Operating System ATO Option Class Yes 90% Yes
. . . 4 . . . DOS Phantom Yes 80% n/a
. . . 4 . . . UNIX Phantom Yes 20% n/a

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.

Note: If the Monitor is a model with a BOM supply type of phantom, it will be treated like an option class.

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
Level Item Item Type Optional Supply Type Qty
. 2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model No n/a 1
. . 3 . . Operating System ATO Option Class Yes n/a 1
. . . 4 . . . DOS Phantom Yes n/a 1
. . . . 5 . . . . DOS Manual Purchased Item No Assembly Pull 1
. . . . 5 . . . . DOS Diskettes Subassembly No Assembly Pull 1

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
Level Item Item Type Optional Min Qty Max Qty
1 Promotional Laptop PTO Model n/a n/a n/a
.2 . Battery Pack Kit No n/a n/a
. . 3 . . Recharger Purchased Item No n/a n/a
. . 3 . . 12Hour Battery Purchased Item No n/a n/a
.2 . Accessories PTO Option Class Yes n/a n/a
. . 3 . . Mouse Product Yes 1 1
. . 3 . . LaserPrinter Product Yes 1 1
. . 3 . . Scanner Product Yes 1 1
. . 3 . . Peripherals Guide Purchased Item No n/a n/a
.2 . Diskettes Purchased Item Yes 1 20
. 2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model No n/a n/a
. . 3 . . CPU ATO Option Class No n/a n/a
. . . 4 . . . 386 Processor Purchased Item Yes 1 1
. . . 4 . . . 486 Processor Purchased Item Yes 1 1
. . 3 . . Monitor ATO Option Class No n/a n/a
. . . 4 . . . VGA ATO Option Class Yes n/a n/a
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA1 Purchased Item Yes 1 10
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA2 Purchased Item Yes 1 10

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:

Level Item Item Type Basis Qty Qty Ordered Extend Qty
1 Promotional Laptop PTO Model n/a 1 3 3
. 2 . Accessories PTO Option Class None 1 n/a 3
. . 3 . . Mouse Option Option Class 1 n/a 3
. . 3 . . LaserPrinter Option n/a 1 n/a 3
. . 3 . . Scanner Option n/a 1 n/a 3
. . 3 . . Peripherals Guide Included Item n/a 1 n/a 3

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.

Note: If the Check ATP item master field is set to Yes, you can change this value when you create a bill of material. If the Check ATP is set to No, it cannot be updated when you create the bill.

Note: ATP Check is based on the results of your planning input. See: Planning Process, Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning User's Guide.

The following table presents an example of ATP check control:

ATP Checks for Laptop Computer
Level Item Item Type Check ATP ATP Components
1 Promotional Laptop PTO Model No Yes
.2 . Battery Pack Kit No Yes
. . 3 . . Recharger Purchased Item No No
. . 3 . . 12Hour Battery Purchased Item Yes No
.2 . Accessories PTO Option Class No Yes
. . 3 . . Mouse Product Yes No
. . 3 . . LaserPrinter Product No No
. . 3 . . Scanner Product No No
. . 3 . . Peripherals Guide Purchased Item No No
.2 . Diskettes Purchased Item No No
. 2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model No Yes
. . 3 . . Carrying Case Product No No
. . 3 . . Keyboard Product Yes No
. . 3 . . CPU ATO Option Class No Yes
. . . 4 . . . 386 Processor Purchased Item Yes No
. . . 4 . . . 486 Processor Purchased Item Yes No

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.

Note: Multi-level, multi-organization environments require that ATP Check be based on the results of your planning input. See: Planning Process, Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning User's Guide.

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
Organization Alternate Common Bill Details Organization Common Bill Details Item Common Bill Details Alternate
Sacramento Primary n/a n/a n/a
Global Computers Primary Sacramento Laptop Computer Primary
Austin Primary Sacramento Laptop Computer Primary

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
Level Item Item Type Op Seq Optional Qty
. 2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model n/a No 1
. . 3 . . Carrying Case Product 10 No 1
. . 3 . . Keyboard Product 20 No 1
. . 3 . . CPU Option Class 30 No 1
. . . 4 . . . 386 Processor Purchased Item 30 Yes 1
. . . 4 . . . 486 Processor Purchased Item 25, 45, 47 Yes 1
. . 3 . . Monitor Option Class 40 No 1
. . . 4 . . . VGA Option Class 40 Yes 1
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA Manual Purchased Item 40 No 1
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA1 Purchased Item 40 Yes 1
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA2 Purchased Item 40 Yes 1
. . . 4 . . . EGA ATO Option Class 40 Yes 1
. . . . 5 . . . . EGA1 Product 40 Yes 1
. . . . 5 . . . . EGA2 Product 40 Yes 1
. . . 4 . . . Monitor Manual Purchased Item 40 No 1
. . 3 . . Operating System ATO Option Class 50 Yes 1
. . . 4 . . . DOS Phantom 50 Yes 1
. . . 4 . . . UNIX Phantom 50 Yes 1
Routing Steps for Laptop Computer
Op Seq Option Dependent Department Operation Description
10 No Casing Cut and smooth case edges
20 No Assembly 1 Attach keyboard and cable
25 Yes Assembly 2 Clean processor
30 No Assembly 2 Insert processor into board
40 No Assembly 3 Attach monitor cable/glare screen
45 Yes Assembly 2 Test Processor
47 Yes Assembly 2 Enter Supplier Certification
50 No Packaging Wrap OS kit with power supply

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
Level Item Item Type Op Seq Operation Sequence Inherited
. 2 . Laptop Computer ATO Model n/a n/a
. . 3 . . CPU Option Class 30 Retains 30
. . . 4 . . . 386 Processor Option 1 Inherits 30
. . . 4 . . . 486 Processor Option 1 Inherits 30
. . 3 . . Monitor Option Class 40 Retains 40
. . . 4 . . . VGA Option Class 1 Inherits 40
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA Manual Included Item 1 Inherits 40
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA1 Option 1 Inherits 40
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA2 Option 1 Inherits 40

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
Item Catalog Group Descriptive Element Name Descriptive Element Value
Laptop Computer Personal Computers Processor n/a
n/a n/a Monitor n/a
n/a n/a OS n/a
386 Processor Processors Processor Slow
486 Processor Processors Processor Fast
VGA1 Monitors Monitor VGA
VGA2 Monitors Monitor VGA
EGA1 Monitors Monitor EGA
EGA2 Monitors Monitor EGA
DOS Operating Systems OS MS-DOS
UNIX Operating Systems OS SCO-Unix

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
Item Item Type Element Name
CPU Option Class Processor
VGA Option Class Monitor
EGA Option Class Monitor
Operating System Option Class OS

Related Topics

Overview of Bills of Material

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

Overview of Routings

Defining Items, Oracle Inventory User's Guide

On-hand and Availability, Oracle Inventory User's Guide

AutoCreate Configuration Items

Once you have entered and scheduled a sales order for an assemble-to-order model, Bills of Material automatically defines a new, unique configuration item complete with a bill of material and routing (based on the model primary bill and primary routing) for every non-phantom model in your configuration. Configured BOMs and routings are created in the organizations according to the following settings:

The batch program Autocreate Configured Items, while honoring the above settings, also picks up the scheduled, but non-booked sales that match the other program parameters to create the configured items.

When Bills of Material creates a configuration item for a sales order, it links the new top level configuration item to the sales order such that Order Management ships the new item to fulfill the order.

For a model with no option specific sourcing defined, sourcing rules for the configured item are inherited from the sourcing rules of the model item. If option specific sourcing is defined, sourcing rules are derived based on the intersection of option specific sourcing and the model sourcing rules.

Configured item attributes are derived from different logic. Some attributes are inherited from the model item attributes. Other attributes are hard coded to control the configured item behavior. For more information, see: Configure To Order Process Guide.

Note: The functions documented here are for use in ATO environments only.

Steps Taken to AutoCreate Configuration Items

Create unique configuration items complete with bills of material and routings (based on the model bill and routing) to fulfill customer orders for manufactured configurations. As part of this process, you can optionally perform cost rollup, lead time rollup, purchase price rollup, and flow calculations by specifying the AutoCreate Configuration Items concurrent program parameters. You can also default these parameters by setting the initial values to the following profile options:

You can execute the individual calculations separately by running the following individual concurrent programs:

For more information, see: Configure To Order Process Guide.

Note: The function documented here is for use in ATO environments only.

To autocreate configuration items:

  1. Submit the AutoCreate Configuration Items concurrent program using one of the following navigation path options:

    • Bills of Materials > ATO. Select Single Request, then choose OK.

    • Navigate to the Submit Request window. See: Submitting Requests, Oracle E-Business Suite User's Guide.

  2. From the Name field list of values, select AutoCreate Configuration Items.

  3. To autocreate a configuration item based on an order number, enter the order number. Otherwise skip the Sales Order Number field.

  4. If you chose not to enter an order number, enter the number of release offset days for the configuration items. To minimize the impact of order changes, you can delay creating configuration items. You can create configuration items for only those sales orders where the estimated discrete job release date is within the number of days you specify. See: Program Parameters Definition for information on how the system calculates an expected work order release date.

  5. If you chose not to enter an order number, enter the organization in which you want to autocreate configuration items.

  6. Indicate whether to compute the standard lead time for each new configuration item by actually scheduling a test WIP job to be completed on the requirement date. If this is disabled, (the default), the configuration item lead time value is derived from the value of the base model.

  7. Indicate whether you want to perform flow calculations. If you specify Yes, Total Product Cycle Time, Yield, Net Planning %, and Operation times will be calculated for your processes, operations and events in the configuration flow routing. If you specify No, the data will be copied from the model.

  8. Indicate whether you want to perform a cost rollup. If you specify yes, a cost rollup is performed for each new configuration. This establishes accurate standard costs that are posted to cost of goods sold. If you specify no, the cost rollup is skipped during the AutoCreate Configured Items process. You can run the Perform Cost Rollup concurrent program separately when required.

  9. Indicate whether you want to perform a list price rollup. If you specify yes, the list prices and blanket prices are rolled up for the configuration. If you specify no, purchase prices are not calculated. You can run the Perform Cost Rollup concurrent program separately when required.

Batch Versus Online Mode

You can launch the AutoCreate Configuration Items concurrent program to create configuration items for one or more sales orders. You can also create a configuration item for a single sales order line online, from the Sales Order pad Action button (Progress Order).

Sales Order Pad Action Button - Progress Order

You can create a configuration item for one sales order line from the Sales Order Pad. This mode does not give you the option to decide whether to perform the lead time calculations, flow routing calculations, cost rollup and purchase price rollup. It inherits the default values for the parameters Perform Lead Time Calculations, Perform Flow Calculations, Perform Purchase Price Rollup, and Perform Cost Rollup from the values entered for the following profile options:

If you create configured items from the sales order work flow using the Progress Order action, the work flow refers to these profile option settings when determining whether to execute the corresponding action.

If you create configured items using the Autocreate Configured Items concurrent program, this program uses the settings of the profile options to default the corresponding program parameters into the Perform Lead Time Calculations, Perform Flow Calculations, Perform Purchase Price Rollup and Perform Cost Rollup programs. Optionally, you can override these default values when running Autocreate Configured Items manually.

Program Parameters Definition

Release Date Option

When you start the AutoCreate Configuration Items concurrent program, you can specify Release Offset Days or Flow Schedule start date, to help you minimize the impact of order changes on the planning process. By entering the Release Offset Days, you can create configuration items only for sales orders whose work order or flow schedule must be released within that number of days. In other words, if you specify Release Offset Days = 2, then you only create configuration items for orders whose work order or flow schedule must begin within two days.

The AutoCreate Configuration Item process searches your new orders, finds your orders for assemble-to-order models, and assigns an estimated work order or flow schedule release date to these order lines. Oracle Manufacturing computes the estimated work order or flow schedule release date by offsetting the scheduled ship date by the order lead time (through the workday calendar). Using the lead time information for the model item (as specified in the item master), Oracle Manufacturing calculates order lead time as follows:

fixed lead time + (quantity x variable lead time)

After assigning the estimated work order or flow schedule release dates to the new orders, the AutoCreate Configuration Item process finds all orders whose work order or flow schedule release date is within the Release Offset Days you specified and automatically creates configuration items for those orders.

Bills of Material automatically defines a new, unique configuration item in the item master and assigns a bill of material and routing. See tables in the Resulting Bills of Material and Resulting Routings sections, presenting what will be assigned to the new configuration item.

Note: Do not use the parameter Release Offset Days if you use Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning (ASCP) and ATP based on planning output. ASCP does not plan scheduled sales orders for which a configuration has not yet been created.

Lead Time Calculation Option

Discrete Manufacturing

Bills of Material lets you optionally compute the manufacturing and cumulative lead times for each new configuration item to establish accurate lead times based only on the options chosen. The configuration manufacturing and cumulative lead times are calculated for the configuration item, based on the configuration item routing. This calculation is performed in all organizations where routings are created for the configured item.

For example, the AutoCreate Configuration Item concurrent program could automatically compute fixed and variable lead times for the Laptop Computer configuration based on the routing steps that were included from the model routing. In this case, the Clean Processor step would contribute to the lead time. So, if the Clean Processor step included one hour of setup time, then it would contribute one hour to the fixed lead time for the configuration.

Note: When your model's routings has no option dependent routing steps (or has a minimum amount of time spent at option dependent steps), you can choose not to calculate lead times for each configuration item. Oracle Manufacturing automatically assigns the model item's lead time information to the new configuration item when you do not specify to calculate lead times for the configuration item.

Flow Manufacturing

Configuration items with flow manufacturing routings inherit the lead times from the model item master in the appropriate manufacturing organization. Flow manufacturing environments do not calculate lead time. However, Total Product Cycle Time is an optional calculation during the AutoCreate Configuration Item process.

Item Numbering Methods

You can choose from four methods to automatically assign item numbers to configuration items:

For each method, you can specify which segment of the item flexfield you want to either append or replace. For the Order number/line number method, you can specify a delimiter to separate order number and line number.

For example, the following table illustrates the item numbers that would be created for different sales orders and different model item numbers. In this example, you have a two segment item flexfield with '-' as the delimiter, you have chosen '/' as the order number/line number delimiter, the sales order number is 123, the line number is 21, and the next available sequence number is 2001.

Assign Item Numbers
Method Numbering Segment Model Item Number Configuration Item Number
Append with Sequence 2 Computer-00 Computer-002001
Replace with Sequence 2 Computer-00 Computer-2001
Replace with order # / line # 2 Computer-00 Computer-123/21
Append with Sequence 1 Computer-00 Computer-2001-00
Replace with Sequence 1 Computer-00 2001-00
Replace with order # / line # 1 Computer-00 123/21-00

You can also generate unique configuration numbers by using the user defined configuration item numbering method. You can develop a numbering scheme that works for your own unique business needs which must return an item number consistent with the existing ATO architecture. The unique configuration number segment returned by the package will be accepted and used to form the configuration item number. The length of the returned number should be 40 or the maximum size specified in the config segment parameter, which ever is greater. If it is longer than forty it will be truncated to 40.

Note: If the System Items flexfield has been configured to use multiple segments, then only the column specified in the BOM parameter Config Segment is available for customized modifications. Modifications to all other segments will be ignored and these segments will be inherited from the ATO model's item flexfield.

Note: Preconfigure the items in the mult-level environment. Sub-models append automatically with sequence number, and do not depend on the profile.

Caution: When using the Append with Sequence method to assign item numbers to configuration items, be aware that the sequence numbers used can become quite large (6 digits or greater) if you have imported many items. Both the item import and AutoCreate Configuration Items programs use the same counter to assign a sequence number (MTL_SYSTEM_ITEMS_INTERFACE_S).

Example

When using the autocreate configuration items process, you notice that the sequence number for the item starts with 34,800. You wanted the sequence to begin with 1. You chose the Append with Sequence method.

The Append with Sequence number generates from the sequence_name: MTL_SYSTEM_ITEMS_INTERFACE_S. View the sequence with the following SQL statement:

select * from all_sequences

where sequence_name = 'MTL_SYSTEM_ITEMS_INTERFACE_S';

Both the item import and autocreate configuration items processes use this sequence number, which ensures uniqueness. In this scenario, you can ensure that your autocreate configuration items sequence starts with 1 by using a user-defined numbering method that allows customization of the ATO numbering methodology. See: BOM AutoCreate Configuration - User Defined Configuration Item Numbering, My Oracle Support, Note Number 1020052.102.

Match and Reserve

Match and Reserve ATO Configurations enables you to check for an existing matching configuration and to reserve against it. While entering an order, you can search for matching active ATO configurations or pre-configured items, and reserve any available on-hand material that is in the shipping organization. If the BOM: Use Custom Match Function profile is set to Yes and the model item attribute Configuration Match is set for either Standard Match or Custom Match, existing pre-configured ATO items, or auto-created configuration items are matched and used at all levels.

You can check for matches from the sales order pad, by choosing the Match action button. You can also match and reserve using AutoCreate Configuration Items, accessed from the Assemble To Order submenu, within the BOM responsibility. You can match and reserve using the Create Configuration Item Workflow activity. Finally, you can match and reserve by creating your own custom matching. The profiles BOM: Match to Existing Configuration and BOM: Use Custom Match Function and the model item attribute Configuration Match control whether the match performs using the Standard Match function or Custom Match function. For more information, See: Profiles, Oracle Configure To Order Process Guide. To select a matching configuration the following criteria must be met:

To reserve a configuration item in all modes, the following additional criteria must be met:

Match and Reserve for Multi-Level Configurations

Multi-level configuration environments create configurable subassemblies that can be sourced from anywhere in the supply chain. You can match top assemblies and each configured subassembly in a multi-level ATO configuration. The system will first try to match the entire configuration. If a match is found, it will link the matching configuration item to the sales order, and attempt to reserve any on-hand, as described above.

If a match for the top assembly is not found, the AutoCreate Configuration process will create a new configuration item for the top level assembly, and attempt to find matches at the sub-assembly levels. If a matching sub-assembly is found, it will use the existing configuration item's BOMs and routings. A new item is created for any unmatched configuration.

The system automatically matches a configuration against existing configurations, independent of their sourcing organizations, enabling you to match across all relevant organizations.

Match During ATP

ATP performs a match prior to performing the availability check. If a match is found, ATP promises the matched item instead of the model and options. This provides accurate ATP and scheduling throughout the sales order lifecycle, as well as enables customers to manage a combination of make-to-stock and make-to-order business processes. Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning (ASCP) identifies that a sales order for the model and option matches an existing configuration item. ASCP then nets existing supplies of pre-configured stock at any supply chain bill of material level.

If a forecast exists for the matched item, its forecast is consumed first, then the model and option forecast is consumed, if needed.

Weight and Volume Calculation

AutoCreate Configuration Items calculates the weight and volume for the configured item, by rolling up the weight and volume of the components in the OM validation organization. For Multi level configurations the weight and volume are first calculated for the lowest level configuration and then rolled up until the weight and volume of the top model is determined. The weight and volume are calculated in the unit of measure for the base model. If the unit of measure is not defined on the base model, the system calculates the weight and volume in the base units of the UOM class for one of the components of the model. If the model and options are not all from the same UOM class, the system uses the UOM conversions defined in inventory. If any required UOM conversions have not been defined, the system does not calculate the weight and volume for the configuration. The weight and volume of the top level configuration is not calculated if the corresponding weight on volume of any of the lower calculations can not be calculated.

The following table presents an example of the Laptop Computer configuration we are going to use for our calculation:

Level Item Item Type Quantity Optional?
1 Laptop Computer ATO Model 1 No
. 2 . Carrying Case Purchased Item 2 Yes
. 2 . Keyboard Purchased Item 1 Yes
. 2 . Laptop Manual Purchased Item 1 No
. 2 . CPU ATO Option Class 1 No
. . 3 . . 486 Processor Purchased Item 1 Yes
. 2 . Monitor *111 ATO Item 2 Yes
. . 3 . . Monitor ATO Model 1 Yes
. . . 4 . . . VGA ATO Option Class 1 Yes
. . . . 5 . . . . VGA2 Purchased Item 1 Yes
. . . 4 . . . Monitor Manual Purchased Item 2 No

In this example, the calculation starts with the monitor which is a configured sub-assembly: Weight / Volume of Monitor*111 = Wt / Vol of Monitor Model + Wt / Vol of VGA OC * (1) + Wt / Vol of VGA2 (1 * 1). The weight and volume of the laptop configuration contains the weight and volume of the monitor configuration. Weight / Volume of Laptop Configuration = Wt / Vol of Laptop Computer Model * 1 + Wt / Vol of Carrying case * 2 + Wt/Vol of Keyboard *1 + Wt / Vol of CPU OC *1 + Wt / Vol of 486 Processor * (1 * 1) + Wt / Vol of Monitor * 111 * 2.

Note that the weight and volume of the Laptop manual (a required item) should be included in the weight and volume assigned to the Laptop Computer Model, since required items are not included in the weight and volume calculations. Similarly, the weight and volume of the Monitor Manual (a required item) should be included in the weight and volume assigned to the Monitor Option Class.

Note: While performing the weight and volume calculation, AutoCreate Configuration Items retrieves the weight and volume of individual, optional components from the OM validation organization. The calculated weight and volume of the configured item is updated in all organizations to which the item is assigned.

Resulting Bills of Material

Single Level Bill of Material

Bills of Material creates the new configuration item and then, if there are no sub-assembly (non-phantom) models in the structure, assigns a single level bill of material with the following components:

The model and option classes appear on configuration bills as phantom components only to consume forecast and to consume master schedules. Material Requirements Planning and Work In Process do not use them since all mandatory components from the model and option classes are also included directly on the single level bill. If you do not forecast or master schedule options and option classes, they perform no function on configuration bills, but they are still included automatically.

For example, the single level bill for the Laptop Computer configuration that was ordered in the example would include the Computer Case and Keyboard because they are mandatory components for the model, the 486 processor, the VGA1 monitor, and DOS since they are options that were explicitly chosen. It would also include VGA Manual and Monitor Manual since they are mandatory components of the VGA option class and the Monitor option class respectively. And, it would include the Laptop Computer model itself plus the CPU, Monitor, VGA, and Operating System option classes.

The following table presents a single level bill of material:

Single Level Bill of Material
Operation Item Sequence Optional Mutually Exclusive Component Item
1 10 No No Laptop Computer
10 10 No No Computer Case
20 20 No No Keyboard
30 30 No No CPU
25 320 No No 486 Processor
40 40 No No Monitor
40 410 No No VGA
40 420 No No VGA-1
40 430 No No VGA Manual
40 440 No No Monitor Manual
50 50 No No Operating System
50 510 No No DOS

Bills of Material assigns each component to the operation sequence and the item sequence from its original bill. For example, the 486 processor is item sequence 20 in the CPU option class bill and it references operation 25 in that bill.

Multi-Level Bill of Material

In a multi-level, multi-organization setup, the model bill of material in the manufacturing organization is used for the creation of a configuration bill of material. The configuration bill of material is only created in the organizations that meet the following conditions:

For more information, see: Oracle Configure To Order Process Guide.

The following tables present the configuration bills of material in the respective manufacturing organizations, assuming the following:

Notice that the Laptop configuration BOM has the monitor configuration as a sub-assembly.

Organization M1
Level Item Item Type Optional Selected
. 1 . Laptop Computer ATO Item (Configuration) No Yes
. . 2 . . Laptop Computer ATO Model n/a n/a
. . 2 . . CPU ATO Option Class No Yes
. . 2 . . 486 Processor Purchased Yes Yes
. . 2 . . Monitor*001 ATO Item (Configuration) Yes Yes
Organization M2
Level Item Item Type Optional Selected
. . 2 . . Monitor*001 ATO Item (Configuration) No Yes
. . 2 . . Monitor ATO Model No Yes
. . 2 . . VGA ATO Option Class Yes Yes
. . 2 . . VGA Manual Purchased Item No n/a
. . 2 . . VGA1 Purchased Item Yes Yes
. . 2 . . Monitor Manual Purchased Item No n/a

Resulting Routings

In a discrete environment, Bills of Material automatically assigns a routing to each configuration item by copying the model's primary routing and then dropping any option dependent routing steps for which no component exists that references that step. Each routing step it includes has the Option Dependent operation field set to No, since the new item is a mandatory item with no options in its bill. The routing for the Laptop Computer configuration includes step 25 to Clean processor since the 486 processor was chosen which referenced step 25. Since step 25 is Option Dependent in the model routing, it would have been dropped if you had not chosen the 486 processor option.

You can create ATO configurations with flow routings. You can define multiple routings for an ATO model, and designate them as a flow or non-flow routing. AutoCreate Configuration Items uses the primary routing of the base model and creates a flow routing if the primary routing is a flow routing, and vice versa.

The following table presents a discrete routing for a configuration item:

Discrete Routing for Configuration Item
Operation Option Dependent Department Operation Description
10 No Casing Cut and smooth case edges
20 No Assembly 1 Attach keyboard and cable
25 No Assembly 1 Clean processor
30 No Assembly 2 Insert processor into board
40 No Assembly 3 Attach monitor cable/glare screen
50 No Packaging Wrap OS kit with power supply

In a flow manufacturing environment, routings are structured with operations, processes and events. Operations and processes have networks associated with them, and events are assigned to the operations and processes. When a configured routing is created in a flow environment, Bills of Material copies the entire model primary routing and network, then drops any option dependent events for which no component exists referencing that event. All process and line operations and their associated network are copied from the model routing.

Note: In a multi-level, multi-organization environment, a routing is created for the top model, and each non-phantom sub-model in the manufacturing organization, defined by the sourcing rules on the model.

Cost Rollup

If the organization is using a Standard costing method, in a single level environment, a single level Cost Rollup is performed for the configuration item, using the configuration BOM and routing. If the organization is using an Average costing method, the configuration item has zero cost for the Average cost type.

Configuration items do not pick up any cost from models or option classes in their single level bill. Models and option classes are only considered by forecast consumption and master schedule relief functions.

In a multi-organization environment, cost rollup is performed using supply chain cost rollup. Cost rollup for each configuration item is performed in the manufacturing (sourcing) organization. The cost of the configuration (transfer cost) in the receiving organization (transfer to organization) is established by taking the configuration item cost in the manufacturing organization, plus any transfer charge defined in the shipping network. Currency conversion is also taken into consideration if the organization uses different currencies.

Preconfiguring Items

You can invoke Oracle Configurator from within Oracle Bills of Material to create a configured bill of material and routing for a pre-defined ATO item. This is very useful in a business to business environment where the same configuration is ordered repeatedly. Preconfigured items can be built to forecast and kept on hand. Customers can order the preconfigured items directly, as they would a standard ATO item.

You can create pre-configured Multilevel and Multi-organizational ATO items. When you create a preconfigured ATO item if the base model BOM has child level non-phantom models, the configurator displays the multi level structure defined in the OM item validation organization associated with the operation unit defined in the profile option MO: operating unit. When you select done from the configurator screen, the system automatically creates the item, the BOM, and the routing for all non-phantom models in the structure. The system generates unique names for lower level configuration items by appending a sequence to the model name. If you define sourcing rules for any of the child models in the base model BOM, the system assigns the sourcing rule to the configured items, and creates the BOM and routing in the appropriate manufacturing organization. In this case you cannot see the entire configured bill structure for the organization.

A match is attempted during pre-configuring processing if the profile BOM: Match to Existing Configurations is set to Yes and the base model item attribute Configuration Match is set to Standard Match. If a similar configuration exists, the system gives you a choice to use the existing configuration or to create a new configuration for the pre-defined item. If you choose the existing configuration, the process aborts, and no BOM or Routing is created for the item. If you choose not to use the existing configuration, the system creates a new BOM and Routing for the item, but reuses the lower level matched configurations. The system updates the match tables with the new preconfigured item and BOM, so future matches reflect the new preconfigured item.

You must set the configurator URL properly to enable you to call the configurator from within BOM.

To preconfigure an item:

  1. Create a new item in the master organization and assign it to the appropriate manufacturing organization.

  2. Enter the base model item (on which the pre-configured item is configured) in the Base Model field on the BOM tab of the item master for the pre-configured item.

  3. In the manufacturing organization, create a new bill of material for your item, without components.

  4. Place your cursor in the Components region.

  5. From the Tools menu, choose Configure Bill.

    The Configurator window displays, enabling you to pick your options. Once done, this item can be planned, ordered and stocked, just like a standard item.

    Note: Preconfiguring also creates routing.

See: Profiles, Oracle Configure To Order Implementation Manual.

Configuration Item Catalog

Bills of Materials helps you catalog your configurations so you can easily search for a pre-existing configuration item definitions, or on hand configurations.

The AutoCreate Configuration Item concurrent program automatically assigns the new configuration item to the same Item Catalog Group as the model and assigns catalog descriptive element values based on the options chosen, depending on how you setup your item catalog and model and option class bills. And, you can specify that certain catalog descriptive elements should become part of the configuration item's description.

For example, you could define item catalog groups for personal computers, processors, monitors, and operating systems and assign descriptive elements to each that represent key characteristics of items in that group. The Personal Computers catalog group might have all descriptive elements while the catalog groups for the main components of a personal computer would have only the element that applies to that type of component.

The following table presents catalog groups:

Catalog Groups
Catalog Group Element Name Include in Item Description
Personal Computers Processor Type Yes
Personal Computers Monitor Yes
Personal Computers OS Yes
Processors Processor Type No
Monitors Monitor No
Operating Systems OS No

You could assign the Laptop Computer model and its options to catalog groups and assign elements, as presented in the following table:

Catalog Groups for Model Item
Item Catalog Group Element Name Element Value
Laptop Computer Personal Computers Processor Type n/a
n/a n/a Monitor n/a
n/a n/a OS n/a
386 Processor Processors Processor Type Slow
486 Processor Processors Processor Type Fast
VGA1 Monitors Monitor VGA
VGA2 Monitors Monitor VGA
EGA1 Monitors Monitor EGA
EGA2 Monitors Monitor EGA
DOS Operating Systems OS MS-DOS
UNIX Operating Systems OS SCO-Unix

When you define the bill of material for models and option classes, you can specify a list of descriptive elements that the AutoCreate Configuration Item program should assign automatically to the configuration item. In this example, when you define the bill for the CPU, VGA, EGA, and Operating System option classes, you would specify a single descriptive element for each option class as shown in the table below:

Specify Descriptive Elements
Item Item Type Element Name
CPU Option Class Processor Type
VGA Option Class Monitor
EGA Option Class Monitor
Operating System Option Class OS

In the example where you order a Laptop Computer with a VGA1 monitor, and 486 processor, and a DOS operating system, Bills of Material would automatically assign the following values to descriptive elements, as presented in the following table:

Assign Descriptive Elements
Configuration Item Catalog Group Element Name Element Value
Laptop Computer-01 Personal Computers Processor Type Fast
n/a n/a Monitor VGA
n/a n/a OS MS-DOS

Since the Personal Computers catalog group specifies that each of the three descriptive elements should be included in the item description, Bills of Material would automatically assign the description "Fast-VGA-MS-DOS" to the configuration item.

Related Topics

Defining Bills of Material Parameters

Overview of Lead Time Management

Overview of Bills of Material

Overview of Routings

Creating a Flow Routing, Oracle Flow Manufacturing User's Guide

Overview of Item Catalogs, Oracle Inventory User's Guide

Searching For Items, Oracle Inventory User's Guide

Deactivating Configuration Items

Bills of Material lets you automatically deactivate item numbers associated with completed configuration orders. You can also deactivate configuration items to remove them from item master reports and screens before you actually purge them from the database. See: Deletion Constraints and Statements.

You can deactivate configuration items in a multilevel/ multi-organization Bill of Material. The deactivation program deactivates the item in the current organization only because the item may have existing demand or pending transactions in other organizations. To deactivate the item in all organizations, you must run the deactivate items process in each organization.

When you set up Inventory and Bills of Material, you can define an item status to identify inactive configuration items. You can use this status to disable the configuration item from all Oracle Manufacturing functions. You would normally specify No for each of the following item attributes for inactive configuration items:

When defining bills of material parameters, specify the item status to use for completed configuration items. See: Defining Bills of Material Parameters.

You can run the Deactivate Configuration Items concurrent program to automatically deactivate all configuration items that have the following conditions in the organization you run the deactivate program.

Each deactivated configuration item has its status updated. BOM components and routing operations are deactivated as well.

To deactivate configuration items:

  1. Submit the Deactivate Configuration Items concurrent program using one of the following navigation path options:

    • Bills of Materials > ATO. Select Single Request, then choose OK.

    • Navigate to the Submit Request window. See: Submitting Requests, Oracle E-Business Suite User's Guide.

  2. From the Name field list of values, select Deactivate Configuration Items.

  3. Enter the organization for which you want to deactivate configuration items that were completed.

  4. Enter the shipped number of days ago. Configuration items with material transaction within the time frame are evaluated for deactivation. Material transactions include: WIP, Sales Order, and Internal Sales Order. The default number of days is 90.

    Note: You can delete item information for completed configurations from the database, including the bills of material and routings.

    The ability to delete configuration items is subject to the same deletion constraints that operate for other item types as well.

  5. You can choose to deactivate the configured items based on the base model and option item. For example, you can choose to deactivate all configured items that have the base model as Laptop Computer and option 386 Processor.

Related Topics

Deletion Constraints

Deleting Items, Bills, Routings, Components, and Operations