BOM Catalog

Parent article: ActiveBOM

The BOM Catalog tab is a constituent part of the BOM document (*.BomDoc), and essentially the 'nerve center' of the ActiveBOM concept. It is here that you can:

• Browse a list of all items used in the design. 
• Manually add additional items to the BOM Catalog.
• Browse and define real-world part solutions to be used for design items. For items with a range of viable solutions, you can rank your top three, as preferred solutions that may be used by procurement.
• Obtain and view real-time pricing and availability of items directly from Supplier databases.
• Set-up target costing per item and compare this to actual costing (based on real pricing data). Cost estimation based on required production quantity can be quickly viewed. Side-step cost blowouts before release by adjusting solutions as necessary to bring pricing back within target.
• Get an early warning of supply risk – is the chosen part solution within target price and adequately stocked for this design run? Or is it overpriced or worse yet, not in stock!

Working with the BOM Catalog Tab

Working with the BOM Catalog tab is fairly intuitive, even more-so when you break it down into three distinct areas, as illustrated in the image below.

Breaking-down the BOM Catalog tab.

These areas are:

• Item Detail – this is a listing of design items, including those actually used on the source schematic documents, as well as any manually-added items.
• Selected Solutions – this is the chosen solution(s) that you actively permit to be used/considered when procuring the real-world parts to implement the design items on the manufactured and assembled boards.
• All Solutions – this is a listing of all supply chain solutions for the currently selected catalog item.

Item Detail

Item Detail - a listing of all items in the BOM Catalog.

This area of the tab provides a real-time listing of all components and processes used in the design. It automatically lists all components used on the source schematic documents for the board design project, as well as any additional items added manually by the designer. The following data is presented for each item:

• Status – the status of the item. This depends on the type of item as follows:
  • Core (Managed and UnManaged) – for an item present in the actual design, placed from a vault or non-vault-based library, this field indicates the state of synchronization between the item in the BOM Catalog and the item in the source design. Information is sourced from the design. When synchronized, the status will display as . If a source schematic document is modified in some way, the items resident on that sheet will become unsynchronized, as reflected by the status . The items themselves may not have changed in any way. The system is simply flagging a change to the design source and, therefore, advising a refresh of the BOM Catalog data to re-synchronize the BOM with the source documents. Refresh the BOM Catalog by clicking  at the top-right of the BOM document.
  • Extra – for extra catalog items (that are added manually), the status will initially show as  (for a Place Holder, Process or Managed item) and  (for a Reserved item). If instances of these items are subsequently added to the BOM, the status will change to  to reflect this.

• Item Type – the type of design item. The following types are supported:
  • Core-Managed – vault-based managed items placed in the schematic design (usually electronic components). They are automatically listed and synchronized with the BOM document. Items of this type are distinguished visually by the  icon.
  • Core-UnManaged – unmanaged items placed in the schematic design (usually electronic components placed from SchLibs, IntLibs, DbLibs or SVNDbLibs). They are automatically listed and synchronized with the BOM document. Items of this type are distinguished visually by the  icon.
  • Extra-Managed – vault-based managed items not present in the schematic design (typically mechanical or other hardware elements). They are managed manually in the BOM document. An initial vault Item is chosen (a Component Item, Blank Board Item, or Assembled Board Item) when adding this item to the BOM, but can be changed to a different vault Item at any time. Items of this type are distinguished visually by the  icon.
  • Extra-Place Holder – unmanaged place-holders. This is typically for those items that will be needed but are as yet not fully known (to have pricing included in the overall board costing estimation). They are managed manually in the BOM document. Items of this type are distinguished visually by the  icon.
  • Extra-Process – unmanaged processes. This is typically for things not relating to physical items on the board itself but required as part of getting the board manufactured, and therefore incurs cost. These might include shipping costs, testing costs, etc. They are managed manually in the BOM document. Items of this type are distinguished visually by the  icon.
  • Extra-Reserved – unmanaged items not present in the schematic design and that need to be accounted for in the design. They are intended to be released to a target vault in the future. A catalog item of this type is linked to a new Item (and planned revision thereof) in a target vault. Once that Item is released, the item in the BOM becomes a standard Extra-Managed item. They are managed manually in the BOM document. Items of this type are distinguished visually by the  icon.

• Design Item Id – this is a unique identifier for the item (within the scope of the BOM Catalog). The entry depends on the item type as follows:
  • Core-Managed, Extra-Managed – the full, read-only Item-Revision ID, sourced from the item in the vault.
  • Core-UnManaged – the read-only Design Item ID, sourced from the placed item on the schematic sheet.
  • Extra-Reserved – default identifier in the format Reserved - n (e.g., Reserved - 1, Reserved - 2); can be edited to something more meaningful. Once linked, this will change to the full, read-only Item-Revision ID, sourced from the linked Item in the vault.
  • Extra-Place Holder – default identifier in the format Place Holder - n (e.g., Place Holder - 1, Place Holder - 2); can be edited to something more meaningful.
  • Extra-Process – default identifier in the format Process - n (e.g., Process - 1, Process - 2); can be edited to something more meaningful.

• Description – the item description. The entry depends on the item type as follows:
  • Core-Managed, Core-UnManaged – the read-only entry for the Description property, sourced from the placed item in the design.
  • Extra-Managed – the read-only entry for the Description field, sourced from the Item's properties in the vault.
  • Extra-Reserved, Extra-Place Holder, Extra-Process – default entry Description; can be edited to something more meaningful.
• Comment – a comment for the item. The entry depends on the item type as follows:
  • Core-Managed, Core-UnManaged – the read-only entry for the Comment property, sourced from the placed item in the design.
  • Extra-Managed – the read-only entry for the Comment field, sourced from the Item's properties in the vault.
  • Extra-Reserved, Extra-Place Holder, Extra-Process – default entry Enter comments here; can be edited to something more meaningful.
• Note – optional field in which to enter any pertinent notes regarding the item.
• Item Source – where the item comes from. The entry depends on the item type as follows:
  • Core-Managed, Extra-Managed – the read-only name of the Altium Vault.
  • Core-UnManaged – the read-only name of the source library (SchLib, IntLib, DbLib, SVNDbLib).
  • Extra-Reserved – for a newly-added item of this type, the entry will display Choose Target Vault. Use the associated drop-down field to choose the required vault from all currently connected (and enabled) Altium Vaults.
  • Extra-Place Holder, Extra-Process – the read-only entry Local (since the source of these item types is the actual BOM document itself).
• Lifecycle State – this read-only field shows the current lifecycle state for the item and is therefore meaningful only for a vault-based item (Core-Managed, Extra-Managed, Extra-Reserved (when linked to a vault Item)).

Each item also has fields relating to its Selected Solutions outlined below.

Grouping and Sorting

Group items using controls provided on the menu associated to the Group By control, above the Item Detail grid.

Grouping controls for the Item Detail region.

Click on an entry to group by that attribute. Only one attribute can be used to group items at any one time. To remove a grouping, and therefore, give a flat listing of items, use the Remove Group By [<Attribute>] command.

For all data columns, click on the column header directly to sort by that attribute. Clicking multiple times will cycle through descending, ascending, and no sorting.

Adding an Extra Item

Any number of extra items can be manually added to the BOM Catalog. To do so, click the Add New Item control above the main item grid, or use the grid's right-click Add New Item sub-menu to choose the type of item to be added.

Add extra items manually to the BOM Catalog as required.

Removing an Item

To remove a manually-added item (Extra-Managed, Extra-Place Holder, Extra-Process, Extra-Reserved) from the BOM Catalog, select its entry in the list, then either use the right-click Delete command or press the Delete key.

Linking an Extra-Reserved Item to a Target Vault

When an Extra-Reserved item is added to the BOM Catalog, it is initially unlinked. Remember that this type of item is not currently present in the design, yet needs to be, and also is intended to be released into an Altium Vault at some stage. So, through the BOM Catalog, you are effectively reserving a spot for it in the design. At the same time, you need to also 'reserve' a spot for it in a target Altium Vault. This involves linking the catalog item to a new Item (and planned revision thereof) in that vault.

To help demonstrate the procedure, consider the following example Extra-Reserved item in the catalog – an item reserved for a needed tuning diode component. At this stage the Description and Comment have been manually changed to something more meaningful.

Example Extra-Reserved item with Description and Comment filled.

The next step is to choose the target vault into which the data for this new component is to be ultimately released. To think of this from another angle, the vault in which the tuning diode Component Item will ultimately be sourced for re-use in board designs. In the Item Source field, click on the existing Choose Target Vault entry. A drop-down listing of available (connected and enabled) Altium Vaults becomes available – choose the vault required.

Choose the Target Vault as required.

With the vault chosen, a new Item can be created in that vault. To do this, and with the Extra-Reserved item selected, either click the Release To Vault control above the main item grid, or right-click and use the Release To [TargetVaultName] command. The Create Item dialog will appear, in which you can define the new vault Item as required.

Create a new Item in the target vault - a 'reserved' Item to which the catalog item will be linked.

After clicking OK in the Create Item dialog, the new vault Item will be created along with initial revision in the Planned state. Back in the BOM Catalog, the entry for the Extra-Reserved item will now display a status of . Use the right-click Show in Vault Explorer command to browse the linked vault Item directly in the Vaults panel.

Example Extra-Reserved BOM Catalog item linked to the initial Planned revision of a Component Item in a vault.

All Solutions

All Solutions is a listing of supply chain solutions for the currently selected catalog item.

This area of the tab provides a real-time listing of all supply chain solutions defined for the currently selected catalog item. How the solutions are sourced/managed depends on the type of item:

• Core-Managed, Extra-Managed – automatically lists all solutions, sourced using the item's associated vault-based Part Choice List Item (PCL). Additional solutions can be added manually by the designer. The PCL for a vault Item can be accessed and managed from the BOM Catalog.
• Core-Unmanaged – automatically lists any solutions defined through Supplier Links added to the placed part. Additional solutions can be added manually by the designer.
• Extra-Place Holder, Extra-Process – solutions are added manually by the designer.
• Extra-Reserved – solutions can be added manually by the designer. Alternatively, while still in the linked state (vault Item not yet released), the PCL for the vault Item can be managed (added, edited, or deleted) from within the BOM Catalog, and the resulting solutions retrieved.

The following data is presented for each solution:

• Rank – a 'star rating' that can be applied by the user. Ranking can be applied to up to three different solutions (uniquely assigning three stars, two stars or one star). The more stars, the more preferred the solution. A ranked solution will appear as a sub-solution entry in the Selected Solutions region of the catalog.
• Manufacturer – name of the manufacturer who makes the chosen part.
• Manufacturer PartNo – part number for the chosen manufacturer part.
• Supplier – name of the Supplier vending the chosen manufacturer part.
• Supplier PartNo – part number used by the Supplier for the vended manufacturer part.
• Description – description for the part.
• Actual Price – this is the actual pricing (cost per unit) after taking into account the applicable price break offered by the Supplier, and based on the specified production quantity. The applicable price break is determined by the total number of units required for the selected catalog item, which is the number of those items used on a single board, multiplied by the number of boards nominated in a production spin (the value entered in the Production Quantity field at the top-right of the BOM document).
• Pricing – this region presents pricing information for the currently selected solution, in terms of cost per part. For solutions that utilize parts from a Supplier (searched parts), this information comes directly from the applicable Supplier database. Where available, the pricing for different quantity bands is also presented. Currency is that of the Supplier. For a fully-defined manual solution, the designer has total control over setting pricing, including price breaks.
• Availability – this region presents availability information for the currently selected solution in terms of how many parts the associated Supplier currently has in stock. For solutions that utilize parts from a Supplier (searched parts), this information comes directly from the applicable Supplier database. For a fully-defined manual solution, the designer has total control over setting stock availability.

Grouping and Sorting

Group and sort solutions using controls provided on the respective menus associated to the Group By and Sort By controls, above the All Solutions grid.

Grouping and sorting controls for the All Solutions region.

Controls work as follows:

• Grouping – click on an entry to group by that attribute. Only one attribute can be used to group solutions at any one time. To remove a grouping, and therefore, give a flat listing of solutions, use the Remove Group By[<Attribute>] command.
• Sorting – click on an entry to sort by that attribute in descending order,click a second time to sort in ascending order, and a third click to remove sorting by that attribute. Multiple attributes can be used to sort solutions. To globally remove sorting, use the Remove Sorting command.

Adding a 'Manual' Solution

Any number of additional 'manual' supply chain solutions can be added to a selected item in the BOM Catalog. To do so, click the Add Solution control above the All Solutions region or use the grid's right-click Add Solution command. The Add New Part Choice dialog will appear in which you can define the solution.

Add a solution manually to a catalog item as required.

The dialog consists of two regions –  Supplier Part Choices Search (identical in functionality to that used when making part choices for a vault-based Component Item), and Part Choice Details. The dialog can be used in one of two ways, depending on the part required and from where it is being sourced:

• Semi-Automated – use the search region to search across the databases of all enabled Suppliers (which can include online Suppliers, and for an Altium Vault, an internal linked ODBC source as well). Once the required part is found, select it then click the  control, located between the Supplier Part Choices Search and Part Choice Details regions. The Part Choice Details region will be auto-populated with the supply chain data from the applicable Supplier.
• Fully Manual – using the Part Choice Details region, manually enter the information required. This gives you the ability to add and fully define a part from any Supplier without constraining you to those Suppliers partnered with Altium. This is ideal for those catalog items that are not sold in a Supplier's product catalog, such as shipping costs, testing costs, and perhaps that custom part being made exclusively for you by a specialist.

Example of a manually-defined solution added to a catalog item, and the resulting entry in the All Solutions list.

Editing an Existing Solution

A manually-added supply chain solution can be edited at any time. To do so, select the solution and either click the Edit Solution control above the main solutions grid, or use the grid's right-click Edit Solution command. The Update Part Choice dialog will appear in which you can modify the solution as required.

Edit a manually-added solution at any stage.

Support for Component Supplier Links

Supplier Links added to unmanaged components in a design – through use of the Live Links to Supplier Data feature – are also used as a source of supply chain information, and brought in as solutions into the BOM Catalog. Such solutions are distinguished by the  icon.

Ranking Solutions

An item in the BOM Catalog may have a considerable number of supply chain solutions depending on how many Part Choices have been defined for it and how many enabled Suppliers vend those chosen parts. The catalog gives you freedom of choice by allowing you to select up to three preferred solutions. This selection is made possible through the provision of Solution Ranking.

Ranking is implemented using a simple 'star rating' system. Up to three different solutions in the list can be uniquely assigned one of the following ranks:

 – High rank

 – Medium rank

 – Low rank

With the required solution selected, controls to define ranking are available from the menu associated to the Set Rank control or from the solution grid's right-click Set Rank sub-menu.

Set ranking for up to three preferred supply chain solutions, giving the procurement specialist some 'wiggle room' when it comes to purchasing the parts for
manufacturing.

Deleting a Solution

A manually-added supply chain solution can be deleted at any time. To do so, select the solution and either click the Delete Solution control above the main solutions grid or use the grid's right-click Delete Solution command.

Managing the Part Choice List for a Linked Extra-Reserved Item

Additional solutions can be added manually to an Extra-Reserved type of catalog item at any time, however, while that item is still in the Linked state, you can manage its Part Choice List directly from the BOM Catalog. Note that this is only possible if the linked vault item is a Component Item. To do so, select the Extra-Reserved item in the catalog, right-click and choose the Manage Part Choice List command from the menu. The Manage Supply Chain Part Choices dialog will appear.

Manage the PCL for an Extra-Reserved item's linked Component Item in the vault, directly from within the BOM Catalog.

From here, creation and management of the Part Choice List is performed in the same way as from the Supply Chain view for the Component Item in the Vaults panel. Interaction with the Part Choice List is performed within the Part Choices dialog. This dialog is accessed using the applicable command on the drop-down menu associated with the  icon, at the top-right of the Solutions region of the dialog. 

Use the Part Search region on the left of the Part Choices dialog to browse the supported (and enabled) Supplier's databases for the required part(s). Once a part is found that meets the engineering criteria for the design component, click the  button to the immediate right of the search results. The selected part will be added to the Manufacturer Part Choices region of the dialog – this is the Part Choice List that will be stored in the next revision of the Part Choice List Item upon clicking OK.

The Part Choices dialog - the direct interface to the Part Choice List item for a vault-based component.

The list presents added parts in terms of Manufacturer and Manufacturer Part Number. As many parts as needed can be added to the list, however, remember that they must be equivalent in that any part in the list can represent the design component on the manufactured and assembled board and perform the same function as per designed requirements.

To remove a part from the list, select its entry and click the Remove button at the bottom of the list.

When the OK button is pressed, the part choices made will be saved. If this is the first time adding part choices for a Component Item, the list will be saved in an initial revision of a new Part Choice List Item. If this is an amendment to an existing list for a Component Item, the list will be saved into a new (the next) revision of the existing Part Choice List Item. The solution(s) – based on enabled Suppliers that vend the chosen part – will be retrieved from the applicable part catalog and displayed back in the Manage Supply Chain Part Choices dialog. OK out of this dialog; the solution(s) will be retrieved from the vault and presented in the All Solutions region for the item in the BOM Catalog.

Managing the Part Choice List for a Vault Item

Additional solutions can be added manually to a vault-based catalog item (of type Core-Managed or Extra-Managed) at any time. You can also create/manage the vault-based Part Choice List Item for the targeted Component Item directly from the BOM Catalog. Interaction with the Part Choice List is performed within the Part Choices dialog. This dialog is accessed using the Create / Edit PCL Solutions List command on the drop-down menu associated with the  icon at the top-right of the All Solutions region.

Define the list (or modify it) by choosing parts as required (as described in the previous section). When the OK button is pressed, the part choices made will be saved. If this is the first time adding part choices for a Component Item, the list will be saved in an initial revision of a new Part Choice List Item. If this is an amendment to an existing list for a Component Item, the list will be saved into a new (the next) revision of the existing Part Choice List Item. The solution(s) – based on enabled Suppliers that vend the chosen part(s) – will be retrieved from the applicable part catalog and presented in the All Solutions region for the item in the BOM Catalog.

Selected Solutions

Selected Solutions - chosen solutions to be used for items in the BOM Catalog.

This area of the BOM Catalog tab presents real-time information on selected solutions for the items in the catalog – solutions that can be ultimately included into a generated manufacturing BOM. For each catalog item, the selected solution(s) presented – from all of its possible solutions (as presented in the All Solutions region) – are determined in one of the following ways:

• Default Solution – by default the solution with the lowest Actual Price (based on number of boards in a production spin) will be used as the singular selected solution. In the All Solutions region, this solution is distinguished by the use of bold highlighting.
• Ranked Solutions – up to three different solutions can be selected for use through assignment of rank.

The following data is presented for each solution:

• Rank – rank applied to the solution. A ranked solution will appear as a sub-solution entry in the region .
• Target Price – manually-entered target price for the catalog item. By default, this entry will initially be 0 for all item types.
• Actual Price – this is the actual pricing (cost per unit) after taking into account the applicable price break offered by the Supplier and based on the specified production quantity. The applicable price break is determined by the total number of units required for the selected catalog item, which is the number of those items used on a single board multiplied by the number of boards nominated in a production spin (the value entered in the Production Quantity field at the top-right of the BOM document).
• Manufacturer – name of the Manufacturer who makes the chosen part.
• Manufacturer PartNo – part number for the chosen Manufacturer part.
• Supplier – name of the Supplier vending the chosen Manufacturer part.
• Supplier PartNo – part number used by the Supplier for the vended Manufacturer part.
• Stock – current availability, i.e., how many parts the associated Supplier currently has in stock.
• Supply Risk – a qualification of the state of the supply chain; can have the following states:
  • No Solution – the catalog item has no supply chain solutions currently defined for it. Add a solution as required.
  • Clear – the selected solution for the catalog item (or highest ranking solution for multiple, ranked solutions) has an actual price equal to, or less than, the specified Target Price set by the designer AND is adequately stocked for the specified production quantity.
  • Price target missed – the selected solution for the catalog item (or highest ranking solution for multiple, ranked solutions) has an actual price greater than the specified Target Price set by the designer.
  • Not enough stock – the selected solution for the catalog item (or highest ranking solution for multiple, ranked solutions) is not adequately stocked for the specified production quantity.
  • Not enough stock,Price target missed – the selected solution for the catalog item (or highest ranking solution for multiple, ranked solutions) has an actual price greater than the specified Target Price set by the designer AND is not adequately stocked for the specified production quantity.

Display of Ranked Solutions

Where ranking has been employed for the solutions associated with a catalog item, the highest ranked solution will be presented as the main selected solution entry, along with sub-entries for all ranked solutions. Use the expand/contract control to the left of the item to gain access to these sub-entries.

Presenting ranked solutions in the Selected Solutions region for a catalog item.

SUPPORT FOR OLD-STYLE COMPONENT APPROACH

Many designers still employ old-style component methodologies. For passive components (resistors, capacitors, inductors), it is common to see libraries of schematic components where those components share a common symbol but when placed on the schematic, are given different values parametrically. So a group of capacitors might share the one symbol, and therefore have the same Design Item ID, but through a differentiating parameter, they are given different values of capacitance and are therefore unique in terms of distinct physical components that are required when the board is manufactured and assembled.

The ActiveBOM has functionality to detect and separate any components in a design that share a common-Design Item ID - presenting them as unique entries in the BOM Catalog tab and allowing you to correctly and independently assign solutions for them.

Flagging Ambiguity

The Status Ambiguous Component is used to reflect the situation where multiple components exist in the design with the same Design Item ID but differ in their parametric information.

Components that share a common Design Item ID are highlighted in the BOM Catalog using the status Ambiguous Component.

Facilitating Differentiation

While several components in a design can use the same symbol/design item ID, it is their parametric data that distinguishes them - typically a different value in their Comment field. For the ActiveBOM to be able to essentially compare, detect, and separate these common items, there needs to be some way to define the distinguishing parameter to be used. For unmanaged components (non-vault or DBLib-based), identification is extended through the use of a customizable set of parameters. This set is determined through the Document Options dialog (with the BOM document active, click Design » Document Options from the main menu).

Specify component parameters by which to differentiate components that possess
the same design item ID.

Simply add parameters with which to differentiate the common design items. Controls are available to add new parameters to the list, edit existing parameters, or remove parameters, as required. For each parameter, use its associated Parameter State field to specify whether it is included as a variable for differentiation (Check) or excluded (Ignore).

Determine whether a parameter is used in component differentiation.With the required parameters specified, click OK. The ambiguous components will be 're-assessed' for uniqueness based on the parameters enabled for checking. The BOM Catalog data will be refreshed and the results presented. If components were successfully differentiated based on the supplied parameters, they will be listed as their own distinct entries and their status will change to Up to Date. If differentiation could not be proven, the condensed component entry will remain along with the status Ambiguous Component. In this case, add another parameter through the Document Options dialog that differs between the affected components.

An example of successful differentiation. Three unique capacitor components share the same Design Item ID - CAP - but differ in their capacitance values,
specified through their respective Comment parameters. By specifying the Comment parameter be used for checking, the single condensed entry in the BOM
Catalog correctly becomes three distinctly unique entries.With ambiguity resolved, you can proceed to define separate and distinct supply chain solutions for the components.

Variant Support

To support variants, the BOM Editor includes a Variants toolbar. Select which variant of the design to use with the BOM using the drop-down field at the left. This provides a listing of all currently defined variants for the design. To use the ActiveBOM feature with the core base design, ensure that the entry is set to [No Variations].

Quick access to the Variant Management dialog is provided using the  button on the Variants toolbar.