Using the Packaging Configurator

Business Central lets you differentiate between production and packaging activities in the manufacturing process. You do this by creating an intermediate item linked to a production bill of materials such as a formula or an item process. This intermediate is then listed as a component in a second bill of materials called a package BOM. The output of a package BOM is a finished good. This lets you create several package BOMs that feature the same intermediate item. If one intermediate item is packaged in several ways, you can use these package BOMs to create different production requests.

In some cases, a company packs several intermediate items in the same packaging configurations. For example, a company that manufactures paint may produce 30 different colors, with each color packaged in one of three different can sizes. In this scenario, the packaging materials are mostly the same, with a few exceptions such as the label on the paint can.

Rather than create separate package BOMs for packaging activities that are similar to one another, you can use the Packaging Configurator. The Packaging Configurator uses item variants that represent the different ways an intermediate item can be packaged. You can create a single bill of materials listing standard packaging items, then assign this BOM to several item variants. When a production order is created for an item variant, the production order components are determined from the associated bill of materials.

Package variables

Although the materials in a standard packaging configuration are primarily the same from item to item, there may be some differences. For example, you may use the same can, lid, and box to package both red and blue paint, but the labels on these items are unique.

You can create package variables to account for differences in a list of standard packaging materials. A package variable acts as a placeholder for an actual inventory item on a bill of materials. When a production order is created from the bill of materials, the program replaces the package variable with a specific item.

Item variants

Item variants are defined when different types of an item exist in inventory that are virtually identical except for one particular characteristic, such as size. When the item is entered on a transaction line, you can specify a particular variant.

You use item variants together with the Packaging Configurator to indicate the different ways an item can be packaged. Rather than create several package BOMs for the same intermediate item, enter item variants for each packaging configuration instead. Each item variant must also have an assigned package BOM. This package BOM should contain the packaging materials required to produce the item variant. You can assign the same package BOM to several item variants.

Because packaging methods are defined as item variants for an intermediate item, there are no finished goods in a manufacturing process that uses the Packaging Configurator. As a result, intermediate items are entered directly on sales lines. You can however assign a variant code on the sales line, and the item's description and unit of measure change according to the item variant's setup.

Item variant variables

If the bill of materials assigned to an item variant contains any package variables, you must set up item variant variables. Item variant variables are the inventory items you want the program to insert in place of a package variable when production order components are calculated from a package BOM.

The use of item variant variables lets you set up a single package BOM representing a common packaging configuration, then assign this BOM to several item variants. Using our previous example, you could set up a package BOM consisting of a paint can, lid, and box, as well as a package variable for the label. When you create item variants for red and blue paint, you can associate the same package BOM to both. For each variant, assign the package variable to separate inventory items for the different labels.

Production

When you create a production order for an intermediate item, you can specify an item variant defined for that item. The program calculates production order components from two bills of material:

• Raw materials for the production item are calculated from the production BOM assigned to the intermediate item.
• Packaging materials are calculated from the package BOM assigned to the selected item variant.

Package variables present on BOM lines cannot be entered as production order components. The program replaces these package variables with the corresponding item variant variables defined for the relevant item variant.