Creating a Product Structure

This document explains how you create a product structure by:

  • Entering items as products
  • Entering bills of material with any varying material
  • Entering routings with any varying material.

Outcome

You can enter and support product structures.

Product structures are mainly used for planning, product costing, and manufacturing.

These files are affected:

  • Product Database Head (MPDHED)
  • Product Database End Products (MPDEND)
  • Quantity Limits for Alternate Routings (MPDPAL)
  • Routing Operation Activity Description (MPDOPS)
  • See separate process and instructions.

Before you start

The process can be started when these prerequisites are met:

  • Product structure types are specified in 'Product Structure Type. Open' (CRS087).
  • Product structure classes are specified in 'Product Structure Class. Open' (PDS075). Each structure class is assigned with a corresponding product structure class type. Examples of these product structure class types are Discrete, Formula Bill of Material (BoM), Manufacturing route, Bulk item product structure, Packaging material product structure, and Packaged item product structure.

    For a product structure with a structure class type of 00='Discrete' (example: the structure class type used for a discrete item), the product number is the same as the item number manufactured (the output from the manufacturing order) and is always used together with structures to describe what a product consists of and how it is manufactured.

    In cases where the product structure class type is Formula BoM, Manufacturing route, Bulk item product structure, Packaging material product structure, or Packaged item product structure, the Product number (PRNO) field on the product structure is used to identify a process required for the manufacturer of the ultimate product number. For these types of product structures, you must connect the manufactured item to each potential manufacturing process through 'Alternate Structures. Open' (PDS023) from 'Item. Connect Facility' (MMS003).

    See to learn how to access 'Alternate Structures. Open' (PDS023) from (MMS003).

    Note: You can define outputs only for product structures that have a structure class type of Packaged item product structure or Formula.

    For example, you can create a product structure record using 'Product Structure. Open' (PDS001) to model a formula to make orange juice where the Product number (PRNO) is set up as 'FORMULA-JUICE' and the output of this formula 'ORANGE-JUICE' is defined in the product structure output (MPDOUT) table using 'Output Items. Open' (PDS029). The PRNO value in the product structure record indicates that a formula is available to make orange juice, but the actual item being manufactured is defined on (PDS029).

  • The product is specified as an item in 'Item. Open' (MMS001).
  • The material in the product's bill of materials is specified as items in 'Item. Open' (MMS001).
  • Work centers are specified in 'Work Center. Open' (PDS010).
  • Shift pattern are specified in 'Shift. Open' (PDS030).
  • A capacity calendar is created in 'Work Center. Create Capacity' (PDS960).
Note: Using parameters (function key F13='Parameters') enables you to control whether products and materials are specified as items or not.

Follow these steps

  1. Create product structure header

    This activity registers the item as a product by creating a product structure header. The product structure header can be created or copied from an existing structure. During this processing, information is retrieved from the item file. The item information regulates the steps in processing product structure as well as how the product is processed in the product flow.

    You create a product structure header in 'Product Structure. Open' (PDS001).

  2. Register operation in routing

    This activity contains the manufacturing steps which the product must undergo. It is created by specifying the operation number with work center.

    You register operations in routing in 'Product. Connect Materials/Operations' (PDS002).

    • Co-product

      Co-products can be connected to any operation. Setting 2='Co-product' must be specified in the 'By/Co-product code' field on the (MMS001/G) panel for items produced at the same time as another product. This product must have the setting 3='Primary product' in the 'By/Co-product code' field.

    • Phantom operation

      Phantom items have item category 2='Phantom item' on (MMS001/G). Phantom items are specified as material for a product in the same way as regular material.

      As above, for phantom materials, a phantom item can have its own routing. When a manufacturing order for a product with a phantom item as material is created, its operations are processed as specified in the 'Phantom operation method' field specified in 'Product. Connect Materials/Operations' (PDS002).

  3. Create alternate routing

    This activity determines if an alternate operation list should be used and if so, which quantity limits should be used in manufacturing.

    Specify all alternate operation lists in 'Alternate Routing. Open' (PDS035).

    When you specify operations in 'Product. Connect Materials/Operations' (PDS002), you can continue to 'Operation. Connect Alternate Routings' (PDS008). In the latter function, you can define in which alternate routings the operation is used.

  4. Register material in bill of material

    This activity lists all the items that make up the product in the bill of material. It is created by specifying sequence number, component number, and quantity included.

    Specify material in the bill of material in 'Product. Connect Materials/Operations' (PDS002).

  5. Connect documents to product structure

    Use this activity to link documents to the operations in the product structure, from the document table in 'Document. Open' (CRS230).

    You do this in 'Product. Connect Materials/Operations' (PDS002) and 'Operation. Connect Operation Elements' (PDS027).

Maintaining product structures in an external system

Product structures can also be created in external systems, for instance, through CloudSuite for Product Lifecycle Management (CS PLM). Records are imported into M3 from the external system using the appropriate API transactions. For such product structures, the parameter ‘Maintained by external system’ (MNPL) should be activated.

This parameter can be set only through the API and cannot be updated through the user interface. Usually, once this parameter is set, the check box is not updated. For data correction purposes, this parameter is available through the update MI transactions to be deselected.

Validations

If a product structure is maintained by an external system, a few transactions are prevented in M3:
  • If the product structure is versioned (VRNF=1 and MNPL=1), users cannot create new versions, delete existing versions, or copy versions through 'Product. Version' (PDS028).
  • In (PDS002), users cannot create new material lines or delete material lines.
  • Users can copy an existing material line into a line with a new material sequence number but the logic automatically deletes the source line to ensure that the sync between the PLM formula line and the M3 product structure material sequence number maintained as a one-to-one relationship is not disturbed.
  • For product structures not maintained by an external system (MNPL=0), when the user performs a copy on (PDS002/C), the source line can be optionally deleted by toggling the ‘Delete source’ field.
  • For product structures maintained by an external system (MNPL=1), alternate materials cannot be added, deleted, updated, or copied interactively through 'Material. Connect Alternate Materials. (PDS013). Alternate materials maintenance is handled through the interface with CloudSuite for Product Lifecycle Management (CS PLM).

Copying product structures

In (PDS001/B), highlight a row to copy then select Related options-'Copy'.
Note: This applies whether the row is versioned or not and VRNF=1 or 0.

If the selected product structure is versioned, the C panel enables entry of the source and target information relevant to versioned product structures. In this case, if the user clears the source version number and does not specify a target version number, all versions of the source product structure are copied to the target. Appropriate validations to prevent overlapping versions of a product structure apply.

If the selected product structure is not versioned, the C panel allows entry of fields that enable copying of the source product structure.

If the target product structure already exists as a version, this copy operation cannot be used to create a new version of an already existing target product structure.

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