BOM Import Planning
In general, BOM Import expects a file that resembles the GP Manufacturing BOM Lines table (BM010115).
For example, the Bill of Materials for 100XLG is shown below.
Exported to a spreadsheet, this BOM would appear as shown below (CBA100 and HA100 are not shown):
BOMImport will provide default values for most fields, with the minimum being the Parent Item, Child Item and Quantity (as shown above). Quantity could be left out, and it would result in a BOM structure containing the correct components, but all at zero quantity.
BOMImport can also handle importing multiple exploded BOMs at the same time. In this scenario the same component could appear multiple times within a single BOM, or multiple times in the file because the same component appears in multiple finished goods. An example of this is shown below.
Note that BA100G appears at the first level below 100XLG, and also as a subassembly inside HA100G. When this type of BOM is flattened and exported to Excel it would look like this:
This sample file contains two Bills of Material (100XLG and 200XLG), both of which have the same components. In this case the file lists the same subassembly (BA100G) four times. BOMImport will recognize these duplicates and only import the BOM for BA100G one time. It is important to note, however, that BOMImport will keep only the first instance of a BOM.
BOMImport checks for duplicates by grouping all imported rows by the following columns:
- PPN_I
- BOMCAT_I
- BOMNAME_I
- CPN_I
- POSITION_NUMBER
- QUANTITY
- FIXED_QTY_I
This effectively translates to: If the same Parent Item-Component-Quantity combination is in the import multiple times, it is a duplicate, so ignore it.
IMPORTANT: One implication of this is that if your BOM does contain the same subassembly multiple times with the same quantity, you MUST provide the Position Number. The Position Number will allow BOMImport to identify those as distinct lines.
New Item Numbers can be added to GP during the import. This requires providing a “template item” for the new Item. A Template Item is an existing item in GP that will be used as the basis for creating the new item. BOMImport uses WilloWare’s Item Copy utility (in MFG PowerPack) to create new items.
For example, you might create a new item called BA200G by using the existing BA100G as the Template.
As shown above, the new CPN (BA200G) has a CPNTemplate (BA100G).
There are two methods you can use to provide Template Items. As shown above, one method is to have separate columns for the Parent Template and a Child Template.
Another method for providing Template Items is shown above. You can have a single column which provides the template. In this case the Template Item is provided on the first row where a new Parent Item appears. Note that BA200G is used as a component much earlier in the import file, and also multiple times as a Parent Item.
When importing the file, BOMImport will look first for Item-Template pairs anywhere in the file. It will then make sure that any new item in the file has a Template specified somewhere in the file. As shown above, as long as there is one record that tells BOMImport that BA100G is the Template for BA200G, BOMImport will use that information to create the new item.
If the import file passes all validations (see BOM Import Field Map) the first step of the import process will be to create all new items. BOMImport will then proceed to import the Bills of Material.
NOTE: To create new Items during the import you must also install MFG PowerPack from WilloWare so you have access to ItemCopy. WilloWare will provide an “API Key” for ItemCopy, which will allow BOMImport to use ItemCopy. There is no charge for the API Key.