Using Kitted Parts

Kitted, or Phantom, Parts are used to represent a combination of other Parts for which assembled inventory (or kits) should not be kept on hand. The components of the kit make up the Part's Bill of Materials, which remain in stock, and the user will be prompted to pick them during the reserving process, after which the kit will then be assembled and shipped on the order. Kitted Parts can be used to represent both Finished and Manufactured goods, the logic of which is clearer in the following examples:

  • Finished Goods - The classic example is a Finished Good kit. Assume a company sells red, green, and black epoxy paints which come as two cans in a box per color. One of the cans is the colored base paint, which is unique depending on the color selected, and the other is the uncolored hardener, which is common to all three colors.If sales percentages for all three colors are predicted, boxes are stocked, and kits fully built with paint and hardener accordingly, the predictions will most likely be incorrect. A point will come when there is hardener in black kit boxes, but no hardener available for excess red kits. This causes workers to take hardener from black kits and use it to build and sell red kits, resulting in skewed inventory. The alternative is a Phantom Part representing a Finished Good kit, where boxes, colored paints, and hardeners are stocked separately. When a kit is sold, the Sales Pick list can have the Phantom Part BOM on it, telling the employee to pull one box, one can of colored paint, and one can of hardener for each kit that is shipping.
  • Manufacturing - Another example is a Raw Material Phantom Part, which could be composed of a cap and a bottle that go together. Everywhere that there is a cap, there is a bottle (and vice versa), and these two items are used in a lot of Finished Goods. First, assume all packaging BOMs for the Finished Goods include the cap and bottle separately, on their own BOM line. If/when the cap changes color or style, the BOM Updates function would be used to modify the cap Part in all BOMs. The alternative is to define the cap/bottle combination as a Phantom Part and include the Phantom Part as a single line on all packaging BOMs. The Issue/Reserve Inventory form automatically explodes the Phantom Part and displays the cap and bottle individually. Now, if/when the cap changes, it must only be modified on one BOM (for the Phantom Part) and that would effect every place this Phantom Part is used.

Kitted Parts can also be used as part of the DEACOM Pricing Hierarchy. An advantage to this approach is that the pricing functions the same as Item Master List Prices and is therefore easily reportable and modifiable. Additionally, when using Kitted Parts, the Sales Pick List, BOL, and Invoice can be set to print the BOM details of the kit contents, as opposed to just the kit Part Number itself. While using Kitted Parts can be very helpful, companies should consider several factors when deciding between using a kitting process or production Jobs, which may include how much work is involved in assembling the kits and whether that work/labor should be tracked. The kitting process should be used when minimal, untracked labor is required; If the process requires significant labor, then a Job should be used instead. For more information on using Kitted Parts as part of the pricing hierarchy, refer to the DEACOM Pricing Hierarchy and Configuring Sales Pricing Rules pages.

Kitted parts also work within packages. The Add Package Line form now contains line number in the Part dropdown box. This means the user can see the components of a phantom/ kitted part in the dropdown of the package creation screen. There are currently checks when adding parts to packages lines to determine if the quantity added to the package matches the quantity being shipped. This should still occur but ensure if the same shipping/sales order lines are split across packages those are considered in the total package line quantity checks. When the same part is on multiple lines of the sales order the part will appear in the part number field multiple times. Once for each line.

  • For example:

Phantom 1

Part A - Qty 2

Part B - Qty 2

Sales Order 1

Line 1 - Phantom 1 - Qty 1

Line 2 - Part A- Qty 3

If this condition is true, the grid will show:

Line 1 - Part A Qty 2

Line 1 - Part B Qty 2

Line 2 - Part A Qty 3

Line 1 Part A and Line 2 Part A should be able to added to the same package as separate lines, or to separate packages.

Line 1 and Line 2 Part A could also be split into packages of qty 1 part A each. Total of 5 packages.

Configuration

Refer to the Designing a Part Numbering System and Creating Parts page for the general requirements for configuring a new Part and the below Process section for additional required information.

Process

The full process of creating and using a Kitted Part includes the following steps:

  • Creating the Item Master - Assign a Part Number to use for the kit, item defaults, and properties.
    • The general rules for configuring a new Part are covered in Designing a Part Numbering System and Creating Parts.
    • Key Item Master fields to review include:
      • "Order Type" field on the General 1 tab - Should be set to "Kitted" for Finished Good Kitted Parts or "Normal" for Manufacturing Kitted Parts.
      • "Inventory Relief Phantom" flag on the Properties tab - Should be checked to indicate the Part represents a kit.
      • "Backflush BOM at Job Finish" flag on the Properties tab - Should be checked if the Kitted Part is a Raw Material phantom.
      • "Require Lot Control When Relieving" flag on the Properties tab - Should not be checked.
      • "Unit Serialization" flag on the Properties tab - Should not be checked.
    • For the additional flags to check, refer to the "Kitted Part" column on the Item Master Properties Tab Templates page.
  • Configuring the BOM - List the components and quantities that make up the kit itself.
  • Setting pricing - Determine the price of all components and packaging of the kit.
    • The price for the entire kit is set using the "List Sale Price" field on the Item Master Costs 2 tab.
    • When the kit is added to a Sales Order, the price specified will populate on the Sales Order line.
    • Additional information on how pricing is handled and evaluated in Deacom is available via Understanding the Deacom Pricing Hierarchy and Configuring Sales Pricing Rules.
  • Modifying system settings and documents - Ensure all forms and documents associated with using Kitted Parts display the required and pertinent details.
    • Key System Options fields to review include:
      • "Show Phantom BOMs During Shipment" flag on the Sales 1 tab - Should be checked if, during the shipment of phantom Parts, the BOM should display for the part, rather than the Kitted Part Number itself. Note: This flag allows Lots to be selected when shipping the order, as opposed to only when reserving the order.
      • "Kit Part Text" field on the Sales 2 tab - Must contain an expression used to display kit components on Report Layouts as desired. Fields available for use are listed in the System Options page.
    • The Sales Pick List, BOL, and Invoice Report Layouts must be modified to print BOM details of the kit contents. This is done by including the expression "ALLT(kit)" on each Report Layout, which prints the results of the expression defined in the "Kit Part Text". Lots reserved for items on the phantom part BOM are also available for display on these reports. In addition, the expression "ALLT(phantcodenum) + ALLT(phantdescrip)" can be included to display the kit's DEACOM Part Number and description.
    • Further information on modifying documents is available via Managing Report Layouts, Modifying Sales Order Pick List, Modifying Bill of Lading, and Modifying Sales Order Invoice.
  • Picking inventory - Easily view all required components, rather than inherently knowing the Parts and quantities that compose each kit, and select specific Lots to pick and ship the kit.
    • If configured as discussed above, the forms and reports used throughout the system will display the BOM details of the kit contents, rather than the kit Part Number itself.
    • When it comes to shipping a kit, Phantom Parts may be shipped, in full or in part, using the main, Warehouse Management System, and Direct Store Delivery applications.
    • More information on these processes can be found in the Picking Inventory and OutBound Inventory pages.

FAQ & Diagnostic Tips

TIP: Beginning in version 16.02.095, users can substitute one item within a kitted part when reserving inventory or direct shipping and the system will still allow the other pieces of the kitted part of be reserved normally.