Adding Supply Chain Information to a Component in Altium Designer
Parent page: Working with Managed Components
As a board designer, the components you use will have defined symbols (and other domain models) and some key parametric data, but at the end of the day they are just 'symbols of design intent' - having meaning in the context of the project design, but holding no physical meaning outside of that design. Each of these design entities needs to be 'embodied in the real world' either by purchasing an off-the-shelf (OTS) pre-manufactured item, or by having it made to spec (MTS).
In the Supply Chain Area, a procurement specialist often does not know what a particular component in the design represents. What is required, is an indication of what needs to be procured - which physically-manufactured components can be used to implement that design component. The best person to indicate which real-world components can be validly used to implement the design-level components would be the designer. As part of the Unified Component modeling paradigm, Altium caters for exactly that through the provision of a Part Catalog and the concept of making Part Choices.
Part Choices can be made while defining the component, prior to its release to your managed content server, and can be modified at any time thereafter by editing that managed component. This document looks at the concepts of Part Catalog's and Part Choices, how supply chain information can be added to a managed component after its release, and how that information can then be used - while designing, and as part of a Bill of Materials.
The Part Catalog
There are two types of part catalog - Global and Local. The type of catalog employed depends on your design environment. The following sections summarize these two catalog types.
Global Part Catalog
This is Altium's managed, cloud-based part catalog database. The Global Part Catalog stores items representative of actual Manufacturer Parts, along with one or more items representative of Supplier Parts - the incarnations of those Manufacturer Parts, as sold by the Suppliers/Vendors. Each Supplier Part is a reference to an item in a parts database - the aggregate parts database of the Altium Parts Provider (which itself interfaces to, and gathers the parts from, enabled Suppliers).
This catalog is used when:
- A managed content server is not being used. That is, using older component management methodologies that utilize SchLib, DbLib, or SVNDbLib as their 'backbone' for component storage.
- A legacy Altium Personal Vault is being used (and you are not actively signed in to a managed content server).
Local Part Catalog
This is a managed local part catalog database, dedicated to the management and tracking of manufacturer parts and their associated supplier parts. The catalog is installed as a service (Part Catalog Service), provided through your managed content server's platform, and works only with that Server.
The local Part Catalog stores items representative of actual Manufacturer Parts, along with one or more items representative of Supplier Parts - the incarnations of those Manufacturer Parts, as sold by the Suppliers/Vendors. Each Supplier Part is a reference to an item in a parts database - either the aggregate parts database of the Altium Parts Provider (which itself interfaces to, and gathers the parts from, enabled Suppliers), or a linked local parts database (if supported by your managed content server).
Part Choices
Mapping itself - from a Component Item in a managed content server, to nominated Manufacturer Parts in that Server's local Part Catalog - is performed using Part Choices. Each Component Item references its own list of Part Choices. The revisions of that Component Item will utilize that same list of Part Choices.
The designer can feel truly empowered by being able to specify Manufacturer Parts that are truly interchangeable at manufacturing time in the context of any usage of that component in their design - the very essence of true part equivalency. And it is this intelligent mapping of a component, that turns the humble managed component into a truly Unified Component. The unified nature of a managed component, through the chosen part choices made for it, ultimately creates a link from that component, all the way through chosen Manufacturer Part(s), and on to the Vendor (Supplier) Parts that each itself references. From the designer's perspective, the component is hooked directly into the supply chain.
Real-time data is made available - fed back from the relevant parts database - to let the designer know the current costing and availability of the chosen parts, and from all enabled Vendors that sell those chosen parts (as defined in the local Part Catalog). And not just the designer gets to see this information. The procurement specialist can also keep abreast of supply-chain information, as it is made available in the Server for each Component Item therein.
Part Choices map the design component to the real-world manufactured parts that have to be sourced by the procurement team. This gives the procurement team a beneficial
and timely 'heads-up' on what those parts should be.
A part is no longer available or has suddenly become cost-ineffective? No matter, provision is made for real-time updates to be sent back to the Design Area as soon as a change occurs. With this vital 'heads-up', the designer can take that choice of part out of the associated list of Part Choices for that component and essentially 'off the radar'. And at any time additional new, truly equivalent parts can be added to the list, should something more appropriate, available, and cost-effective come along.
Accessing Supply Chain Information
When browsing a Component Item in your managed content server using the Explorer panel, supply chain data for that Item is presented in its Supply chain aspect view. Access to this view can be made by clicking the Supply chain tab, at the bottom of the view.
Accessing the Supply chain aspect view for a Component Item.
This view presents the following regions of information:
- Solutions - this region lists one or more Manufacturer-Supplier Part pairings. When a Manufacturer Part is chosen and added to the associated Part Choices list, the software looks up that part in the local Part Catalog, and the Vendor links associated to it. These are then presented in this region. So if you have added a Manufacturer Part that has two associated Vendor links in the catalog, there will be two Manufacturer-Supplier Part pairings listed. Each part pairing consists of the Manufacturer name and Manufacturer-specific part number, along with the Supplier name and Supplier-specific part number. The current stock availability of each vended part is also presented.
- Pricing - this region presents pricing information for the currently selected solution, in terms of cost per part. This information comes direct from the applicable parts database. Where available, the pricing for different quantity bands is also presented. Currency is that of the Supplier.
Making Part Choices
Interaction with the Part Choices list associated to a Component Item is performed within the Part Choices dialog. This dialog is accessed using the applicable command on the drop-down menu associated with the 
button, at the top-right of the Solutions region of the view. If the Component Item has never had any part choices made for it, the command to Create Part Choice List reflects this. If the Component Item already has an associated Part Choices list, then the command will be Edit Part Choice List.
The Part Choices dialog - your direct interface to the Part Choices list for a managed component.
The dialog is essentially divided into two regions, as detailed in the following sections.
Part Search
On the left-hand side - Part Search - you browse the supported (and enabled) Parts Providers for the part(s) you require. Layout and behavior is similar to the Part Search panel. Type keywords by which to search in the field at the top, apply any filtering using the options accessible by clicking the 
button, then click the 
button (or press Enter) to proceed with the search.
button to access the Data Management - Parts Providers page of the Preferences dialog. From here, you can modify keyword-related options used when searching for parts. Note however, that the list of suppliers is Read-only - this is controlled centrally by the managed content server - through the Part Providers page (Admin - Part Providers) of the Server's browser interface.Search results based on keywords entered will be displayed below. The results are grouped by <Manufacturer> <Manufacturer Part Number>, with all enabled Suppliers vending that part listed thereunder.
Results are grouped by Manufacturer (and Part Number). The sub-listing represents all Suppliers that vend that
particular Manufacturer Part, and which are enabled as Suppliers as part of your Server's configured Part Providers.
Selecting an entry in the list of results will display detailed information for that part in the region below, including parametric data, any documentation (e.g. datasheets), pricing and stock information. Documentation can be opened and perused for more detailed information regarding a part:
- Manufacturer - this is a clickable link to the Octopart website, providing detailed information on that manufacturer part.
- Supplier Part Number - this is a clickable link to the Supplier's website, providing detailed information on that vended part.
- Documents - double-click on an entry to access the datasheet. All datasheets are hosted on the Ciiva website.
Browse the engineering parameters of a selected Manufacturer Part to ensure it can meet your design requirements, or access websites and datasheets for more detailed information.
Manufacturer Part Choices
Once you find a part that meets your engineering criteria for the design component, select any one of its Supplier child entries and 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 list of Part Choices that will be stored with the Component Item when you click OK.
Select a Supplier to be able to add its parent Manufacturer Part to the Part Choices list.
The list simply presents added parts in terms of Manufacturer and Manufacturer Part Number. You can add as many parts as you like to the list, but remember that they must be equivalent in regards 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.
When you click OK, the part choices made will be saved. All enabled Suppliers vending a specific Manufacturer Part will be added as solutions back in the Supply chain view for the Component Item, in the Explorer panel.
Defined Part Choices are presented as solutions, back on the Supply Chain view for the Component Item, in the Explorer panel.
Accessing Supply Chain Information as You Design
As a designer, the ability to specify, at design time, which Manufacturer Parts can be used to implement your design components, gives you greater control and effectively streamlines the procurement process. You don't wait anxiously after design data is sent to manufacturing, wondering if the components procured for assembly will perfectly reflect your design intent. You are in the driving seat, with procurement able to see your choices at an early stage.
But sometimes even the best laid plans can go astray. What happens if you had a single part choice and that part is now no longer available? Or maybe a price change to a component could cause blow-out costs during manufacturing and assembly. In this case, the ability to make design-time part choices loses its edge, if you are unaware of such changes to the cost and availability of the very parts you have 'authorized' to be used.
To retain the advantage that design-time part choices provides, Altium Designer delivers real-time display of cost and availability for chosen parts, directly within the Schematic Editor as you design. This is facilitated by extending the software's Design Insight feature to include Supply Chain Insight.
Supply Chain Insight is enabled and configured from the System - Design Insight page of the Preferences dialog.
Enable Supply Chain Insight as part of your system preferences.
As you hover the mouse over a component on a schematic sheet, supply chain information will be displayed in the Supply Chain Insight pop-up, provided that:
- The component has been placed from a managed content server - it is an instance of a named-revision of a Component Item in that Server, and
- The component has part choices made for it - at least one Manufacturer Part has been chosen in the component's associated Part Choices list.
Example supply chain information accessed by hovering over a managed component on a schematic sheet.
Suddenly seen that a chosen part is not available, or that its price no longer justifies its use? No problem. You can access the Part Choices dialog and make changes to the list of Manufacturer Parts as required. Choose a cheaper component, or one that is available - the choice is yours, and the choice can be made while you are still designing and not after the design has left your hands!
Not happy with current part choices? - make changes as required on-the-fly as you design!
Including Supply Chain Information in a BOM
Related page: BOM Management with ActiveBOM
Once supply chain data has been defined for your managed components, you can then include that information in your Bill of Materials. This can be done for a Static BOM, generated for the project, by enabling the Include Parameters From Server option, in the Source Options region of the Bill of Materials dialog.
Including supply chain data for managed components in a Static Bill of Materials, generated for the project.
Alternatively, you are perfectly positioned to use ActiveBOM. ActiveBOM offers a more sophisticated approach to BOM management, and is designed to be used when the components have been placed from a managed content server. It is added as an additional project document (.BomDoc) and acts as a mapping file, bringing server data into the design project in a configurable, spreadsheet-like format. Its greatest strength is the way it brings live component costings right into the project, giving instant visibility to component availability and potential supply risks.
Supply chain solutions, sourced using an Item's associated Part Choices list, are an integral part of Altium Designer's ActiveBOM feature.
Note that while the same Bill of Materials dialog is used when generating the BOM, the solutions are available without needing to include parameters from the Server.
Including supply chain data for managed components in a Bill of Materials, generated for the project from an underlying ActiveBOM document (*.BomDoc). Note that the option
to Include Parameters From Server is not enabled.