Designing a Planning Item Layout

This topic applies only to the Features and Options Product Configurator. This topic describes how to design a 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 three 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 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.
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