As we strive to develop the web interface by leaps and bounds, one of the more advanced features has recently been added. That feature is none other than the bill of materials. From this point on, you can also manage the production process through the web interface.

Before we dive into the web interface, we must not overlook the fact that production can also be processed through the desktop application. However, the web interface is currently just as "smart" when it comes to the bill of materials as the desktop application.

Now let's move on to a specific example in the web interface. As already mentioned, the bill of materials is certainly an advanced feature in ABRA Flexi. This means that the best way to learn how to work with the bill of materials and the production process is through a concrete example.

The essential foundation for processing in Flexi is setting up the bill of materials, i.e. the product structure. A bill of materials can be set up for both a finished product and a semi-finished product used in the production of the finished product.

The finished product, semi-finished product, and raw material must each be created as a separate item in the price list. We recommend categorizing individual items using the inventory type and product group.

With regard to product groups, which are a user-defined codebook, the categorization is entirely up to you. For our example, however, we will use a basic breakdown. We will therefore create the following items in the price list.

As an example, let's choose a bicycle. It will consist of several raw materials and two semi-finished products.

Bicycle

Front Wheel

Rear Wheel

Handlebars; Hub; Derailleur; Spokes

All of the above items must be created in the price list. Once you have done so, we can proceed to setting up the bill of materials for the bicycle.

The exact composition of the bicycle will be as follows:

The bill of materials can always be configured in the detail view of a price list item. We will therefore go to the price list itself, where we will create the finished product — the bicycle.

The bill of materials is not displayed in the price list item detail view by default. If the Bill of Materials tab is not available in the product detail, you can easily enable it using the form settings.

The bill of materials must first be created. You can do this by clicking the "Create Bill of Materials" button on the "Bill of Materials" tab in the price list item detail view.

Once the bill of materials has been created, we can add (on the right side by hovering the cursor over a row) the individual materials and semi-finished products that the bicycle consists of.

The front and rear wheels are, however, semi-finished products in Flexi — that is, additional items that contain their own bill of materials. We must therefore also create a bill of materials for them in their respective price list item detail views. The bill of materials for both the front and rear wheel will look exactly the same.

Once we have the bills of materials configured in this way, we can move on to the next required step.

The product price can be manually recalculated directly within its bill of materials — both the selling price and the purchase price. The purchase price is always derived from the purchase prices of materials (as entered in the price list), and the selling price is calculated in the same way from the selling prices of materials.

This option can be found under the "More Actions" button in the bill of materials header.

In connection with the bill of materials, Flexi needs information about which warehouse to deduct the material from (or semi-finished product) required for the production of the finished product (i.e. the material specified in the bill of materials).

The entire procedure is described in a separate guide. Please refer directly to that guide and follow the recommended steps.

Once the warehouse mapping has been configured, we can proceed to the next step.

We now find ourselves in a situation where a customer sends in an order for a bicycle. We will therefore create a received order for a bicycle and want to notify production that a new bicycle needs to be manufactured.

Production orders are recorded among issued orders. To distinguish standard issued orders from production orders, we always recommend creating a separate issued order type.

Once we have the issued order type created, we can generate a production order from the received order. We will therefore switch back to the received order and create an issued order — i.e. a production order — from it.

This is easily achieved by selecting the appropriate issued order type.

When creating a production order, two scenarios may arise. Either we have sufficient material in stock or we have a shortage. If we have sufficient material, we can directly create a product goods receipt from the production order.

However, if we do not have sufficient material, it needs to be ordered. This is handled by the "Purchase Order for Production" function. It can be generated from the production order detail view.

After confirming the order generation, a form will open showing the product broken down into individual materials. If the product contains semi-finished products, these will also be broken down into their component materials.

We recommend using a different order type than the one used for production orders. A purchase order for production refers to a standard purchase order placed with a supplier.

Once we have sufficient materials and semi-finished products in stock, we can proceed to the key step. That step is, of course, the product receipt and the associated issue of consumed materials.

A product receipt cannot be created when the material is not in stock. It is not possible to generate a goods issue request at this point.

Before we create the product receipt itself, let's take a look at how to configure the warehouse document types so that the above-mentioned stock movements can be created with ease.

Production always has two sides — the product receipt and the issue of consumed materials. Both of these operations can be captured using warehouse document types.

We will therefore create two warehouse document types:

First, we will create the issue of consumed materials. Here, aside from the posting settings, the only key setting is the "Movement Type".

The warehouse is not defined here. Which warehouse the material is issued from is determined by the previously mentioned warehouse mapping.

Next, we will create the product receipt. Here, there are more settings to configure beyond the posting options.

Once the warehouse document types have been created, we can return to the product receipt itself.

A product receipt can be created independently or by fulfilling a production order. If you do not need a production order, simply go to the receipts/issues agenda and create the product receipt there directly. In our case, however, we will stick to our example for the finished product and create the receipt from the production order.

Since our product contains semi-finished products, these must be manufactured first. Flexi cannot perform "intermediate production" of semi-finished products automatically. It always requires the exact item specified in the bill of materials to be available in stock.

In the receipts/issues agenda, we will therefore create a new receipt with the warehouse document type "PRODUCTION-RECEIPT" and add the front and rear wheels to it.

When the receipt is saved, a goods issue for the consumed materials will be created automatically.

At the same time, the cost price of the semi-finished products will be calculated from the consumed materials. The price can be viewed by switching back to the product receipt.

The semi-finished products are now in stock, so only the final key step remains. You guessed it — it's nothing other than the receipt of the finished product, which in our case is the bicycle.

We will switch back to the production order in the issued orders section and use the services at the bottom to create a receipt from it.

As the document type, we select the product receipt, and as the warehouse, we select the finished goods warehouse (i.e. the one where we want to receive the bicycle). We then confirm the creation of the receipt by clicking "Create".

We are notified about the creation of both the product receipt and the consumed materials issue in the lower-left corner of the screen.

As before, based on the previously configured warehouse document type settings, the goods issue was created automatically. At the same time, the cost price of the bicycle was automatically calculated from the consumed materials.

All that remains is the cherry on top — selling the newly manufactured product. We can switch back to the received order and create an invoice from it along with a goods issue.

In connection with production, a wide range of custom reports — known as user queries — can be generated. Are you missing an overview of work in progress and how much material is out of stock in Flexi? Or do you need to specifically analyze the production costs of individual products? Both of these and much more can be addressed with user queries.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need assistance.

Technical support: +420 371 124 321, podporaflexi@abra.eu
​Knowledge Base | Add-ons | Webinars | Pricing | ABRA Flexi Status