Alternate-Part Groups: Stop Shortages from Stopping the Line
Supplier shortages, incomplete batches, urgent rush jobs — in these scenarios "finding a substitute" is a shop-floor norm. Pre-build the substitution relationships into the BOM, and when a shortage hits, the system proposes the solution directly — no need to chase procurement, process and quality every time.
- Primary part + multiple alternates sorted by priority, classified as "fully equivalent / restricted / emergency"
- Restricted substitutes note the customer-approved scope (approved only by customer A, requires re-sampling, etc.)
- MRP automatically decides whether to enable alternates when primary-part stock is insufficient
- Alternate-usage records are archived for later engineering improvement and supplier evaluation