This chapter lists five basic guidelines that should be followed so that bills of manufacturing can provide good results.
1. Always use a unique Item ID to represent any variation in an item
It is vitally important that any variation in any item must be represented by a unique item ID. This is an absolute requirement in order for product costing, inventory control, MRP, and job release to work properly.
2. Never use descriptors as substitutes for stock items
Never use descriptors as substitutes for stock items. Descriptors are not compatible with manufacturing costing, MRP generation, and job release, all of which are inventory-based.
3. Do not substitute phantom assemblies for subassemblies
Do not substitute phantom assemblies for subassemblies. The use of phantom assemblies should be limited to representing product options with custom manufacturing. A phantom assembly does not have a routing and can never be made on its own job or be stocked, which eliminates any possibility of using forecast and supply days planning, and they cannot be released to production in the correct order of multi-level assembly.
4. Never use revisions to represent different products or options
Revisions should only be used to represent versions of the same product. Never attempt to use revisions to represent different products or product options using a common BOM parent. This will not work and causes problems with costing, MRP, and inventory.
5. Give every BOM a routing
Every manufactured item has at least one process, so every BOM must be given a routing. This is essential for product costing, job days calculations, and shop control.
NOTE: This guideline does not apply to ‘Secondary’ and ‘Phantom’ BOM types, which do not have routings.
