Define Alternate Components

Explanation

Use this activity to define the alternate components for a part. You can have as many alternate components as you wish, but you must define the order in which the alternate components should be used. When backflushing in Production Schedule you can use them as first choice or as backup choice. This means you can define the alternates to be used either before the primary component, after the primary component, or as a last-resort choice, etc. In Shop Order, the usage of alternate component is an active choice by the material planner.

Prerequisites

The part for which you want to define an alternate component must have been entered in the inventory part register. The part you want to use as an alternate component must also have been entered in the inventory part register.

System Effects

The system can use the alternate components in place of the standard components in different structures. This allows the backflush process to temporarily use a different set of components, whether for a period of time, for a certain quantity, or for particular structures.

Window

Alternate Component
Alternate Components

Related Window Descriptions

Alternate Component
Alternate Components

Procedure

  1. Open the Alternate Component window and populate it.
  2. In the Part No list, select the primary component for which you want to enter an alternate component.
  3. Click anywhere in the table and create a new record.
  4. In the Substitution Sequence field, specify the order in which the alternate component is to be used.
  5. Connect an alternate component by entering its part number in the Alternate Part field or by selecting a part number from the List of Values. Note: If you enter an alternate component that has not been established as a substitute to the selected primary component, a message appears informing you of that fact and asking you whether you want to continue. If you click Yes, the system creates a record that connects this new alternate component to the primary component on the Alternate Parts tab of the Part window.
  6. As an alternative to step 5, right-click on the row and then click Copy Alternate Parts. The Copy Alternate Parts dialog box appears. Click OK to retrieve all alternate components allowed for the site and primary component shown in the dialog box.
  7. In the Effective From field, enter the date from which the alternate component is to be valid. The default value is today's date. You can also specify the date to which the part is to be valid in the Effective To field.
  8. In the Qty per Component field, enter the number of components needed. The default value is 1.
  9. If you want to specify for which parent part this component can be used as an alternate, enter the part number of the parent part in the Parent Part field or select it from the List of Values.
  10. Repeat steps 3 through 9 for each additional alternate component you want to enter for the primary component.
  11. Save the record.