Question

Prototype Shop Order is sellable

  • 24 June 2022
  • 5 replies
  • 128 views

Badge +1

In IFS Cloud I am able to create a Prototype Shop Order, produce a serialized part, receive it into inventory and reserve it on a Customer Order. Is it normal? I don’t think it is correct that a prorotype could be sold, furthermore with the same price of a normal item.

Could anyone explain me if there is any setting to prevent this scenario?

Thanks a lot

Stefano


5 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +28

Why does it have a price and a sales part if it isn’t intended to be sold?

Use an availability control to restrict selling it.

Once it is in regular inventory, how does IFS know that it is a Prototype?

It should remain as part of a project or have an availbility control or a condition code, or some other designation that it isn’t regular inventory.

Badge +1

Sure, to avoid problems it’s possible to not create the sales part and that’s it. The problem is when I decide to create a prototype for a part that has already a structure, a routing and a sales part as well, and that has already been sold many times, but this time I’ve decided to try to use a different material or a different production process, that’s the reason why I define the shop order as Prototype. If the system does not recognize that the part has been produced through such kind of shop order, then of course I’ll have to protect it through an availability control ID. I was thinking there was a specific setting.

Userlevel 7
Badge +28

To me as an engineering manager, making a prototype means it has not been made before.  If it has been made before, but now a new version is being made with different material, it probably should also be a new part which then avoids the issue of being available.

Prototyping an existing, previously built and sold part number would not be a normal engineering practice or scenario that would be considered.

Userlevel 7
Badge +23

You can maintain a parallel prototype revision besides the normal production revision of a part ensuring the prototype can be handled separate in inventory relative the normal production part. 

Still, you need to decide what you want to do once the prototype shop order is finished. You can scrap the product (if it is not going to be used for anything), receive it with a different part number than the normal part (substitute part), or receive it together with a W/D/R number and possible an availability control to ensure it is not seen by MRP or reserved to any customer order.

Userlevel 3
Badge +7

Anything, once in inventory, is available to transact against, even prototype revisions.

If you want to restrict this, you need to use effective inventory management with availability controls and quarantine locations etc. When we build prototype revisions, we look to scrap it immediately if to be used for testing, or move it to quarantine and when the design is approved, release it to production for use. If we want to sell a prototype revision part before it is copied to a Manufacturing Structure and made Buildable, we raise an internal concession for approval to do so.

Cheers,

Wade

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