Placeholder Product Configurator

Yahoo Archive
1
I create purchased configured parts by setting up a manufactured configured part with one op and no materials. Then I create rules on the top("Alt:") level to set field part.typecode = "P" and part.nonstock = False along with other pertinent fields. Then I set a "keep when false" rule on the operation.

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, Steven Gotschall <sgotschall@...> wrote:
>
> You can create a configuration based on purchased parts, but I'm pretty sure the resulting configured item has to be a manufactured part, but then again I've never tried to create a purchase configured item..
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Rupert <rupert@...>
> To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thu, October 22, 2009 11:00:38 AM
> Subject: [Vantage] Re: Placeholder Product Configurator
>
> Â
>
>
> Ahhh OK I'll Give that a try - I didn't know if that would work with existing parts (especially purchased ones)
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
2
Is it possible to create a "Placeholder" Product Configurator?

Ie:
A Part that users configure and the result of their inputs changes that part number into the correct (purchased) part?

User enters part ABC into an order - They configure it - As a result of their inputs the Part number is changed from ABC to DEF.
3
Yep, that is how we have our configurator set up. The really cool thing about this is that they can enter ABC, configure it to DEF, and then if they change their mind they can reconfigure DEF to GHI and so on. Each configured part can reference back to the base configuration and be reconfigured.

One word of advise, don't get carried away with a super configurable base part. While it is possible to have one configurator that creates every part in your company, it because very hard to maintain and takes forever to load and make changes to it. We currently have 6 configurators that configure the majority of our finished goods and some of these are larger then I would like to see.

Another draw back is that a configurator can only configure one rev. So all the parts configured from one configurator have to have the same rev. If one part rev changes but the others stay the same, you have an issue. We get around this by always using the same rev in the rev field, but we put the true rev as part of the description.




________________________________
From: Rupert <rupert@...>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, October 22, 2009 6:30:17 AM
Subject: [Vantage] Placeholder Product Configurator

Â
Is it possible to create a "Placeholder" Product Configurator?

Ie:
A Part that users configure and the result of their inputs changes that part number into the correct (purchased) part?

User enters part ABC into an order - They configure it - As a result of their inputs the Part number is changed from ABC to DEF.







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
4
Do you do that by having Configurators within Configurators?

My "DEF" or final parts are all purchase parts. The configurator that I envisage would build a string from inputs that would be the purchased part number.

Thanks


Rupert

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, Steven Gotschall <sgotschall@...> wrote:
>
> Yep, that is how we have our configurator set up. The really cool thing about this is that they can enter ABC, configure it to DEF, and then if they change their mind they can reconfigure DEF to GHI and so on. Each configured part can reference back to the base configuration and be reconfigured.
>
> One word of advise, don't get carried away with a super configurable base part. While it is possible to have one configurator that creates every part in your company, it because very hard to maintain and takes forever to load and make changes to it. We currently have 6 configurators that configure the majority of our finished goods and some of these are larger then I would like to see.
>
> Another draw back is that a configurator can only configure one rev. So all the parts configured from one configurator have to have the same rev. If one part rev changes but the others stay the same, you have an issue. We get around this by always using the same rev in the rev field, but we put the true rev as part of the description.
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Rupert <rupert@...>
> To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thu, October 22, 2009 6:30:17 AM
> Subject: [Vantage] Placeholder Product Configurator
>
> Â
> Is it possible to create a "Placeholder" Product Configurator?
>
> Ie:
> A Part that users configure and the result of their inputs changes that part number into the correct (purchased) part?
>
> User enters part ABC into an order - They configure it - As a result of their inputs the Part number is changed from ABC to DEF.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
5
No, what I do is set the Part Creation to "Create a new part number for each configuration", "Use Smart String as the new part number" and "Automatically create a new part number". The smart string has no separator and is based on an input field (called ConfPartNum) I have on the input page. The ConfPartNum field can not be directly edited (my choice). I use code on the input page and the "Page On Leave" statement to construct the part number and drop it into this field.

So what happens is the user selects the configurator part on the sales order, then presses the configure button, it then opens up the configurator and the user selects options from drop down lists. The part number that gets put into ConfPartNum which is constructed based on the user choices and when the user presses save that number gets put into the sales order in place of the configurator part number. Also, because of my configurator design, the part number is created in the part master if it doesn't already exist or it's method is updated if it does exist. But you could also design it not to create a part in the part master if that is the way you wanted it to behave.



________________________________
From: Rupert <rupert@...>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, October 22, 2009 9:30:44 AM
Subject: [Vantage] Re: Placeholder Product Configurator

Â
Do you do that by having Configurators within Configurators?

My "DEF" or final parts are all purchase parts. The configurator that I envisage would build a string from inputs that would be the purchased part number.

Thanks

Rupert

--- In vantage@yahoogroups .com, Steven Gotschall <sgotschall@ ...> wrote:
>
> Yep, that is how we have our configurator set up. The really cool thing about this is that they can enter ABC, configure it to DEF, and then if they change their mind they can reconfigure DEF to GHI and so on. Each configured part can reference back to the base configuration and be reconfigured.
>
> One word of advise, don't get carried away with a super configurable base part. While it is possible to have one configurator that creates every part in your company, it because very hard to maintain and takes forever to load and make changes to it. We currently have 6 configurators that configure the majority of our finished goods and some of these are larger then I would like to see.
>
> Another draw back is that a configurator can only configure one rev. So all the parts configured from one configurator have to have the same rev. If one part rev changes but the others stay the same, you have an issue. We get around this by always using the same rev in the rev field, but we put the true rev as part of the description.
>
>
>
>
> ____________ _________ _________ __
> From: Rupert <rupert@...>
> To: vantage@yahoogroups .com
> Sent: Thu, October 22, 2009 6:30:17 AM
> Subject: [Vantage] Placeholder Product Configurator
>
> Â
> Is it possible to create a "Placeholder" Product Configurator?
>
> Ie:
> A Part that users configure and the result of their inputs changes that part number into the correct (purchased) part?
>
> User enters part ABC into an order - They configure it - As a result of their inputs the Part number is changed from ABC to DEF.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
6
Ahhh OK I'll Give that a try - I didn't know if that would work with existing parts (especially purchased ones)

Thanks
7
We do use a configurator within configurator setup, but our lower level configurators are phantoms so that we do not run products that don't require those options. As far as the part number, I would definitely recommend using the "Part Creation" function. We moved away from that at our top level at one point (based on transfer set ups for different plants), and used an update table buffer to create the part number. This worked fine for the transfer plants, but in our own, the original configurator part number was still the underlying part number and the job did not match the "hidden" view on the sales orders. This caused a mismatch in customer shipment entry, so we couldn't ship by line item. The invoice also was produced with the original configurator part number, not what we actually wanted to sell. We had to delete the configuration from the sales order line and just enter the "on the fly" part number we wanted.


Tara K. Madia

ERP Systems Analyst

Sabre Tubular Structures(tm)

8653 E. Hwy 67

Alvarado, Texas 76009

Direct Line: (817) 852-1828

Main Office: (817) 852-1700

Fax Line: (817) 852-1705
Email: tmadia@...<mailto:tmadia@...>


"Most peopledon't recognize opportunity when it comes, because it's usually dressed in overalls and looks a lot like hard work." - Thomas Alva Edison

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." -Winston Churchill
SABRE TUBULAR STRUCTURES ("Sabre") E-MAIL NOTICE - This transmission and any attachments may be confidential or subject to a legally recognized privilege and is intended only to be received and read by the proper party having a reason to send communications to or from Sabre. If you do not believe that you are the proper recipient of this message because of its address, contents and/or otherwise believe that this message was sent to you in error, you should not disclose, print, copy or disseminate the information contained in this message. If you have received this in error, please reply and notify the sender (only) and delete the message. Unauthorized interception of this e-mail is a violation of federal criminal law and state laws.
The text in this communication does not reflect an intention by Sabre to conduct a transaction or make any agreement by electronic means. Only a document which bears a handwritten signature of an authorized signatory of Sabre shall be binding upon Sabre and such documents may be attached indicating a desire to conduct a transaction or make any agreement. Nothing contained in the text of this message shall satisfy the requirements for a writing, and nothing contained herein shall constitute a contract or electronic signature under the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, any version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or any other statute governing electronic transactions or any statutory adoptions or equivalents of the aforementioned acts and convention, and any other laws or regulations of any state or country related to electronic contracts, electronic signatures, or electronic records shall not apply to Sabre or the recipient.





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
8
Steven wrote:
> One word of advise, don't get carried away with a super
> configurable base part. While it is possible to have one
> configurator that creates every part in your company, it
> because very hard to maintain and takes forever to load and
> make changes to it. We currently have 6 configurators that
> configure the majority of our finished goods and some of
> these are larger then I would like to see.

Same here. However, I wouldn't mind having one configurator that selects one
and only one of the others base on a brief "Application Interview". That
application data could be global and passed to the selected configurator.

How would one set that up?

Thanks,

Mark W.
9
Tara wrote:
> We do use a configurator within configurator setup, but our
> lower level configurators are phantoms so that we do not run
> products that don't require those options. As far as the part
> number, I would definitely recommend using the "Part
> Creation" function. We moved away from that at our top level
> at one point (based on transfer set ups for different
> plants), and used an update table buffer to create the part
> number. This worked fine for the transfer plants, but in our
> own, the original configurator part number was still the
> underlying part number and the job did not match the "hidden"
> view on the sales orders. This caused a mismatch in customer
> shipment entry, so we couldn't ship by line item. The invoice
> also was produced with the original configurator part number,
> not what we actually wanted to sell. We had to delete the
> configuration from the sales order line and just enter the
> "on the fly" part number we wanted.

Can you calculate your part number (through .p calls or On Leave events) and
place the calculated part number into a single Input variable? If so, then
you could use the Smart Part number and select the single Input variable.

Mark W.
10
You can create a configuration based on purchased parts, but I'm pretty sure the resulting configured item has to be a manufactured part, but then again I've never tried to create a purchase configured item..




________________________________
From: Rupert <rupert@...>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, October 22, 2009 11:00:38 AM
Subject: [Vantage] Re: Placeholder Product Configurator

Â


Ahhh OK I'll Give that a try - I didn't know if that would work with existing parts (especially purchased ones)

Thanks







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
11
Mark - Great suggestion! I have considered that as well and plan to test and implement in our next version.

Thanks! - Tara


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]