Alternate components and substitutes
List the items that can stand in for a component of a bill of materials, with how many replace one and in what order. When a production order is short, one button uses the alternates in stock. The MRP run tells the planner when an alternate could save a purchase.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- A job stops because one grade of steel is short, while an equal grade sits in the store.
- Only the senior storekeeper knows which parts can replace which, and he is on leave.
- Substitutions are made on the floor and never recorded, so the order's material and cost are wrong.
- Purchase buys a part that was not needed because an alternate was already in stock.
How it works
- Open Manufacturing > Products > Alternate Components and add a line. Give the component line of a bill of materials, the item to Use Instead, and Per One of the Main. That is how many of the alternate replace one of the main component.
- Drag the lines into your order of preference. The bill of materials shows each line's alternates in an Alternates column.
- When a confirmed or running production order is short of a component, the planner presses Use Substitutes on the order.
- For each short component, the alternates are taken in your order, as far as their free stock goes, until the shortage is covered. The main component's quantity is reduced by what was replaced.
- The new component lines are reserved, and the order's history notes what was used for what, such as 40 kg of EN8 for EN9.
- In an MRP run, a buy proposal shows a Substitute note when an alternate in stock could cover the shortage instead.
Everything it does
Alternates
- Per bill of materials component line: the item to use instead, the ratio (1 to start with) and the order of preference
- Ratio example: 2 of a 5 kg bag replace one 10 kg bag
- Copied with the bill of materials when it is copied
- Seen by everyone with access to bills of materials; added and changed by Production Managers
Use Substitutes
- On a production order that is confirmed or running and not fully reserved
- Checks stock first, then covers only what is still short
- Takes only free stock at the order's source location
- Keeps the step of the main component, so the alternate is used at the same step
- Writes what it used on the order's history; says Nothing short has an alternate in stock when there is none
- Button for planners and Production Managers
In the MRP run
- For a buy proposal, the Substitute column names an alternate whose free stock in the plant covers the shortage, with the quantity
- A note only: the planner decides whether to order or to substitute on the production order
Who uses it
Production ManagerSets up the alternates of each component and their order.
PlannerPresses Use Substitutes on short orders and reads the Substitute notes in the MRP run.
SupervisorSees the alternates on the bill of materials and the substitutions in the order's history.
Where you use it
- Web: Manufacturing > Products > Alternate Components, and the Alternates column on the bill of materials
- Web: Use Substitutes on the production order
- Web: the Substitute column of Planning > Planner's Workbench
- Not in the SmartMy Manufacturing app or on the shop floor terminal
What you control
Settings
- Per alternate: Per One of the Main, 1 to start with; order of preference by drag and drop
Questions
Does the system swap components by itself?
No. A planner presses Use Substitutes on a short production order. Until then the order keeps its main components.Which alternate is used first?
The one at the top of the list for that component. If its free stock does not cover the shortage, the next one is used, and so on.Can an alternate replace a component in a different quantity?
Yes. Per One of the Main says how many of the alternate replace one of the main component. For example, 2 of a smaller pack for 1 of a larger one.Is the substitution recorded?
Yes. The alternate becomes a component line of the order, the main line is reduced, and the order's history lists what was used for what.Does it use stock that is reserved for another order?
No. Only free stock at the order's source location is taken.Related features
PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTMRP run and the planner's workbenchOne run works out what to make and what to buy for a plant, level by level through your bills of materials. It works from customer orders, open production orders, stock and safety stock. The planner checks each proposal on one workbench and orders it.PRODUCTION AND JOB WORKBills of materials, production orders and work ordersKeep each item's bill of materials with its components and the steps on your machines. A production order reserves the material, lays out the work orders step by step and puts the finished goods into stock at cost.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTEngineering changes with approval, BOM versions from a date and where usedA change to an item's components, steps or drawing is raised as an engineering change order. It makes a new version of the bill of materials to edit and goes through approval. It takes over from the date you choose, with the old version kept.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTActual cost, variances and the cost sheetWhen a production order is done, its actual cost is worked out and set against the standard cost. It uses the material really used, the machine and labour time really spent and any job charges. The variances show per order and in a monthly report by item.
See your shop floor on it.
Tell us what you make, how many machines and people you run, and how production is recorded today. We will set up a line with you and run a job on the terminal.