Options and Features Tutorial
SIM*plicity's greatest value is to companies who offer products that have a lot of options and features. Feature selection is combined with product sizing, quantity and options not just as an order entry pricing tool but to determine product cost, material availability, production routing and overall factory load. Parametric size configuration is just the beginning of your opportunity to profitably produce exactly what your customer wants! (Yes, commodity products are a lot easier to manage but think of "options and features" as profit opportunities and as a necessary tool to open customer doors.)
Overview
An understanding of Options and Features is necessary for Order Entry, Product Engineering, and Costing. This example focuses on Costing but is applicable to these other modules.
Demo Database Example - WT3872 Wood Table
1. Click on "Accounting" on the accordion bar on the left side of the screen and then click on display cost details.
2. In the "product #" box enter WT#3872 or use the small up arrow to the right of the box (spin button) to select this product.
3. At the bottom of the screen click on the red "generate now" button. This will update the estimate to reflect the latest process information and raw material costs.
4. The total cost and unit cost are displayed.
5. Alter the width and length of the table (thickness = height and can be tagged as such). Reducing the size slightly doesn't change the price very much. Costs now reflect the reduced run-time and material to process the shorter rails but the top is still cut from the same 39" x 72" blank size. However, reducing the top to 36" x 36" or smaller ,takes advantage of a 37" x 37" blank. (The demo version only has a limited number of top blanks species and sizes.) Increasing the width to more than 48" or the length to more than 100" requires an oversize top purchased as a buyout - your version may not have buy-out costing activated.
6. Change the quantity to see the effect of setup time.
7. Click on the General Options tab (under the product # box) to display the variables that can be selected for this product.
Product
Style, Wood Species and Packing are highlighted. Click on the down arrow (after
the words "Early American" ) to select other styles. Similarly select
other species and packing options. Select "Mission" as the style, then
click on the "Cost Details tab and then "generate now". You'll
see a reduction in labor as the Mission top is square cut while the "Early
American top is processed on a CNC router. Changing the wood species
to Maple increases the cost and changing packing to paper reduces it.
Please remember that the demo database is generic and has predefined options for a wide variety of products. Your screen only needs to include the options used by your company.
General/Order Options are those typically used for all items on one order. They don't have to be entered for each item. (Modify them for items on the order that are different. A good example would be for a cabinet company providing the kitchen and bathroom cabinets for a house. All of the kitchen cabinets would have the same door style, finish and wood species so they would be entered only once. After the kitchens were entered you'd then change the options to those needed for the bathroom vanities.)
Product Options are selected for individual items and then cleared when the next product is entered. Finished right or left ends on kitchen cabinets are a good example of Product Options. General Options are defined in the M0 key in your database. Product Options can be defined in the L0 key or ,if they vary greatly, may be spread out over the L0-L9 keys.
To see the effect of your selections on manufacturing instructions, click the B/M tab alongside the Product Option Tab at the top of the screen.
This is the product top level Bill of Material. Lower levels can be displayed by clicking on the plus sign at the beginning of a line. (Lines preceded by a green ball indicate the components and processes that your options selected. )
9. Click on line #42. This opens up the lower level displaying the material and labor required to make a table rail.
10. Click on line #300. On the right side of the screen are the details that correspond to this line (moulder operation). Quantity. cutter pattern, run time, setup time, yield, etc.
Where to from here? Go to Engineering on the accordion bar and then select Print Bill of Material. You will see the same structure - the General Tab is the same display as the B/M tab in costing. Right click on the B/M and you can then access the Dynamic file that creates the B/M. (The name of this file is also displayed on the top line of the detail screen. It is in your user directory and you can edit it directly with Notepad.) Network users receive on-line support and a comprehensive manual on editing Dynamic B/M files; For single-user, demo systems, we will create one or two Dynamic files for your products.
Dynamic B/M files can be used for a wide range of products. One file may cover a number of styles and sizes. Conventional "static" B/M's are used for a single product . These can be created by clicking the Create/Edit option under Engineering on the Accordion bar.
For more information on the value of " options and features" to your company please read Configuration for Cowards.
| The above example illustrates how options and features affect the cost of an individual product. One of the most important uses of this feature is to help get the customer's order: the ability to negotiate an entire project by offering the lower cost options and to sell additional features. For more on this aspect of costing please read Order-Project Costing. |
Return to the Tour (Product Cost Summary)