Configuring a Variant (Part 2)

In the previous post, the concept of variants and configurations was introduced. How can a PLM system help ambitious manufacturers handle the complexity of introducing multiple product variants? In a single sentence, this is achieved by conditional linkages in a BOM structure.

To explain further, consider the example from the last post of the fancy and plain spectacles. Instead of representing the two variants using two separate BOM structures, the variants can be achieved in one BOM structure as follows:

By making Condition 1 true (or visible) whilst keeping Condition 2 false (or invisible), the BOM resolves into the Plain Spectacle variant. Inverting this condition resolves the BOM into the Fancy Spectacle variant.

Clearly this is a simple example but a little imagination shows that this can be applied to far more complex situations. If setup correctly, a PLM system can very quickly generate BOM’s for multiple variants. In an organization faced with the challenge of product proliferation, this can be very efficient compared to any other method.

In setting up such structures, a few general guidelines apply:

1. The conditional links in the BOM should be applied as far down the structure as possible. This reduces common part duplication in lower levels
2. Conditional links should be set at the same indent level in the BOM hierarchy. If this is not done, BOM resovles can lead to nonsensical results, especially if there are stacked conditionals

How is your organization dealing with variants?