Aras On-Line RFP - Bom a.k.a. Bill of Materials

Question	Response
BOM material – is it possible to import from any format?	Pretty much any format can be imported. Aras Innovator communicates natively in XML, so that's the most convenient format, but others like text and Excel can be used.
Product configuration – Variants, Is it possible to specify optional products in BOM	The standard Innovator Product Engineering solution does not currently have a concept of variants or optional BOM components. We have had some interest in variants and a configurator tool, and have previous experience with such features. We think Aras Innovator is well suited for this, but we need some help from the community to make it reality.
What is the limit for the number of attributes that can be added to a Part?	There is no limit (except the maximum number of columns per table in SQL Server 2005).
Directly link part to a manufacturer	The Product Engineering solution (included with the Aras Innovator download) provides a link between Parts and Manufacturers via the Approved Manufacturer List (AML). A simple one-to-one relationship could easily be configured as well. Parts may also be linked to Vendors/Suppliers through the Approved Vendor List (AVL).
Can the part number be generated from an attribute?	Part numbers may be generated automatically from a sequence, which can be based on one or more attributes of the Part.
Copy and Reuse existing BOM for similar products with minor modifications	A Save-As function is available for all ItemTypes and their configurations. This is a standard feature, and works well for BOMs.
Mass upload / download	Aras Innovator is a web service, so by submitting XML you can upload or download (assuming authentication and permissions) a single record or many at once.
Ability to add different UOMs	UOM is a property of the Part ItemType (included in the Product Engineering solution). This UOM property is linked to a List Item, which can easily be edited to add additional units.
Part number reference changes	I'm not sure I completely understand this question, but I think you are looking for the ability to change a part number without breaking any references. Aras Innovator creates relationships through underlying identifiers, so changing numbers does not affect the references.
Cost – ability to specify and record at least two different costs for an Item – a cost when purchasing in volume, and a cost when purchasing small quantities used for prototyping, and design verification builds.	The standard Aras Innovator certified Product Engineering solution include a Costing feature that calculates, rolls-up and displays the budgeted, estimated, calculated and actual costs for Parts and BOMs. A two-level Cost structure could be easily added to the standard data model using the Solution Studio tools. Level of effort for creating the two-level costs fields is 1 – 16 hours depending on the complexity of roll-up and reporting requirements. To simply add the field to the data model and forms would less than 1 hour of work for the Administrator.
Vendor / Manufacturer info – ability to store detailed info on the Item Vendors and/or Manufacturers, including all contact details, business relationship, vendor status (new vendor, approved vendor).	AML and AVL are standard functions and reports in the Product Engineering solution.
Part Status – parts should have a variety of statuses that change through the lifecycle of the part. A part can be created but not fully released until appropriate validation has been performed, and approvals from the appropriate people obtained. Part Status should be clearly visible in Item Management screens and in BOMs	Lifecycle status management is a standard function. The Product Engineering solution includes a standard Part lifecycle, that can be changed easily by the Administrator using the Solution Studio tools
Substitute parts – management of substitute parts on product BOMs	Innovator Product Engineering includes both Substitute and Alternate Parts, per the STEP standard definitions
Part info – part numbering, revision level management, cost management, environmental compliance info, Vendor/Manufacturer details	The standard solution includes automatic part numbering, revision and cost control, and AML/AVL. An existing community solution for Environmental Compliance is available for managing to RoHS requirements. The solution is easily adaptable as the environmental compliance rules change, and does roll-up reporting at a shippable assembly level, including the reported compliance levels of all supplier provided component parts
BOM Construction - Tools that allow the simple construction and maintenance of product BOMs, including picking parts from a simple parts list and dragging and dropping parts into different levels of the BOM	Innovator Product Engineering includes both drag-n-drop BOM editing tools. The standard solution allows viewing and editing of one BOM level at a time, and viewing only of deep, multi-level structures. A community solution is available for managing multi-level BOM’s in a single window
BOM Copy – ability to create a new product BOM by copying an existing BOM	Structure copying is a standard feature
BOM Edit – Mass addition or deletion or substitution of materials to BOMs	A general purpose Mass Change user interface does not currently exist in the standard solution. Development time to create a UI with the underlying business rules is estimated at 5 day
Revision history – complete build history of products which can be queried by timeframe. Information available should include the items that were in the parts BOM, documentation associated with the product, software versions contained in the product, effective dates of changes made etc.	Innovator retains and reports all revision history of product structure including BOM and document information