Creating and Entering a Planning Item

NOTE: This topic applies only to the Features and Options Product Configurator.

Design the Planning Item Layout

On paper or a spreadsheet, design the layout of the planning item you wish to create. The layout should include the following:

Operation Number
BOM: If any items require sub-planning, include all related information.
Feature Groups: 8-character, user-definable fields that describe a type or set of related inventory items. For example, a configurable bike might have Feature Groups called FLAGS, SPEED, GRIPS, RACKS, SEAT, SEATCUSH, and PAINT.
Feature Codes: User-definable fields, up to 3 characters long, which are unique values assigned to individual inventory items of a feature group. Using our configurable bike example, the bike can be painted any of these colors, which are options in the PAINT feature group:
- RD (red)
- YW (yellow)
- BL (blue)
- BK (black)
- WH (white)
- PR (purple)
- SL (silver)
Mandatory and Non-Mandatory Feature Groups: If a feature is required to complete the configuration, you will specify it as Mandatory on the Feature Groups form. For example, the SEATCUSH feature group is not mandatory, meaning users can specify a seat cushion or just use the default cushion. The SEATCUSH feature group contains this qualifier string:
I ......,,,*

In this example, a comma (,) was specified as the F-BOM Blank character in the Inventory Parameters form. So a Qualifier String with commas in the SEATCUSH Option Codes positions specifies that the SEATCUSH positions can be left blank when a planning item is configured.
Qualifier Mask: Indicates how long the list of options is for this Feature Group, and where the selected Feature Code is displayed. For example, if there are eight 2-character feature groups available for a configurable item, the Qualifier Mask for the first feature group could look like this:

XX*
The Qualifier Mask for the last Feature Group could look like this:
..............XX*

For a more detailed example, see Example: Qualifier Masks.

NOTE: The Qualifier Mask can be a maximum of 40 characters. The length of the mask is the true determinant of the size of the Config String used on orders (see below). If you plan to have many options for one configurable item, the feature codes should be shorter to allow more options in the string. For example, use B instead of BL for the color blue.
Qualifier String: A graphical representation of where a Feature Code is displayed in the Feature String. For example, if the PAINT feature group will be displayed last in the Qualifier Mask, its Qualifier String might look like this for red paint:

..............RD*

The Qualifier String for the PAINT feature group would look like this for blue paint:

..............BL*
You would create a separate Qualifier String record for each feature code in the feature group. For a more detailed example, see Example: Qualifier Strings.
Feature String: A graphical representation that maps all Feature Codes that have been selected for a specific configured item. In our example, a feature string for a configured bike where everything is preselected except the paint might look like this:

SG12TSTSCRWBFRRD,,
A Feature String can be up to 40 characters. The Feature String is defined for a specific item on the Items form.
Feature Template: This field on the Inventory Parameters or Items form provides a map consisting of & and - (hyphen) characters that the system uses uses to place feature string information within the contents of the Config String field on an order for a configurable item. The Feature Template can contain up to 55 characters. In our example, it might look like this:
&&-&&-&&-&&-&&&-&&-&&-&&
The - separators between the options make the string more readable when the Config String is displayed.

NOTE: The default feature template is located on the Inventory Parameters form, but it can be customized at the planning item level.
Config String: This field on an order line displays the full configuration string, which is the feature string plus the separator characters from the feature template. Continuing our example, the Config String for our item might look like this:

SG-12-TS-TSC-RWB-FR-RD-,,
At order entry, the user can replace the ,, with the appropriate color choice, for example, BL.

NOTE: The Config String is stored in the database without formatting. The formatting is applied using the Feature Template when the Config String is displayed.
Pricing/Cost: This should also be considered during the design/layout phase. Pricing can be assigned at the individual or top level for an item.
Planning Items: These are the items within the BOM that are eligible for selection during the configuration process.
Sub-planning Items: These are the items within the BOM that have a separate BOM with items eligible for selection during the configuration process.

Create the Feature Groups

Features groups are used to tie inventory items in a bill of material together, grouping like or similar types of material.

Access the Feature Groups form.
Create a new group and enter the appropriate data in the required fields:
- Feature Name: Enter a unique name for this feature group.
- Description: Enter a description for this feature group.
- Qualifier Mask: Enter the qualifier mask for this feature group. The qualifier mask shows where this information will be placed in the feature string.
- Mandatory: Specify whether this option from this feature group is mandatory for planning.
Select Actions > Save to save the record.

NOTE: When entering the qualifier mask use . (periods) for spaces and X's for characters. An * (asterisk) can be used as a wildcard for all the other feature codes to the right.

Create Feature Group Qualifiers

Create the feature group qualifiers. The feature group qualifiers are the actual codes that will be used to describe each choice of the inventory items of a feature group.

Access the Feature Group Qualifiers form.
Select the appropriate feature group.
Add a new qualifier record and specify this information:
- Include/Exclude: Use Include to specify a valid Feature Codes for the Feature Group. Use Exclude to specify an invalid Feature Code for the Feature Group. All combinations of invalid Option Codes must be specified.
- Qualifier String: Accept the default from the qualifier mask listed on the feature group. Replace the Xs with the appropriate Feature Codes.
Select Actions > Save to save the record.

Create All Inventory Items Needed for the Planning Item

Update the Items form to reflect that this item is a planning item. Any item that has the Configuration Flag selected at any level in the BOM must also have the Configuration Flag field selected at the end-item level.

On the Items form, create the inventory item.
Select the Configuration Flag field to indicate that this item is a planning item.
After creating the inventory item, you must create the bill of material. The Current Materials form required fields are:
- Feature: Select a valid feature group.
- Option Code: Enter the feature code part of the feature group qualifier string.
- Incremental Price: Enter a value if this item is not included in the base price of the planning item.
- Probable: Enter the probability that this particular item will be selected from this feature group. If all items have an equal chance of being selected, enter 1. If this item has a 20% chance of being selected, enter .2. This value must be greater than zero.
If the individual inventory items, also referred to as components, are not lot or serial tracked, make sure these features are turned off. You can turn off lot or serial tracking at the individual item level on the Items form's Controls tab.
NOTE: If lot or serial tracking is done at the individual inventory item level, you will be prompted to enter the required information for each item when inventory is impacted.

Create the Feature Group Rank

The feature group rank tells the features-and-options product configurator which feature groups are being used for this planning item. This step will need to be executed for all BOM items which contain sub-planning.