Bulk Editing BOMs

Streamline the creation and editing of complex or lengthy assemblies—as well as item groups—with the bulk edit process.

What you’ll learn in Bulk editing BOMs

• Know the prerequisites for performing successful bulk edits on bills of materials (BOMs).
• Understand how to export, edit, and import a bulk edit BOM file.

Video Transcript

Bulk editing BOMs: topics and related videos

Welcome to our video, Bulk editing BOMs! In this presentation, we will explain how to use a bulk edit to add or edit bills of materials.

A bill of materials, or BOM, lists the component items—along with their quantities and costs—in an assembly. It can also be used to specify the items in a kit, also known as an item group.

A bulk edit is particularly helpful if you have BOMs with many components or that contain subassemblies.

Please note that if you will be adding any new assemblies or components to the BOM spreadsheet, those items must be defined in SOS Inventory first. You can add the assembly and component items, one at a time, directly into SOS Inventory, or you can add them all at once via a bulk edit for items. Regardless of the method you choose, do not attempt to import your BOM data file until all new assemblies and components are in the system—or your import will fail.

If you need to add new assemblies or components, first view these videos, all of which are related to assemblies and bulk editing items:

Building assemblies, Part 1: Creating an assembly, components & BOM focuses on adding items directly into SOS Inventory. But this presentation is also relevant if you are adding assembly items via the bulk editing process. The tutorial highlights fields that are of specific importance to assemblies and their components.

Also recommended are videos on bulk editing items: Bulk editing: Introduction, Bulk editing rules, Bulk editing items, Part 1: Preparation , and Bulk editing items, Part 2: Working with Data. All these videos are important if you plan to use the bulk edit process to add or edit assemblies and item groups.

Editing BOMs

The first step in any bulk edit process is exporting the bulk edit file. But before you do, we highly recommended that you manually create a BOM for at least one assembly or item group in SOS Inventory.  When you download the exported file, you can then use that BOM as an example to follow while editing the spreadsheet.

When you are ready to download the data file, go to the Company Menu and select Export Data. On the Export Data page, go to the Standard block and select BOMs. The system will then download a file in the format you choose on the export page, which you can then open with your spreadsheet software. The newer Excel option is highly recommended.

Now let’s go over the spreadsheet columns used for bulk editing BOMs.

The Assembly column contains the assembly or item group’s name, while the Component column lists the names of each component item or service needed to build the assembly or item group. The Quantity column specifies how many of each component is required to build a single assembly or to be included in an item group. Enter a note when necessary for a particular component or service.

You can ignore LineNumber and SosAccount columns.

Make sure you enter each assembly’s name only one time. Do not enter it for each component within the same assembly.

If you are using categories, you must preface each item name with its category name, followed by a colon–as shown here in Jewelry: and Widget1:. But you can eliminate this requirement by enabling one inventory setting. Go to the Settings menu and select Inventory Settings. Check the box for Find Items By Short Name and save the change. Then you can omit the category and colon on the items that you enter.

If you are adding a new BOM, be sure that the spelling, case, and any spacing you use on the spreadsheet for the assembly and component items match those found in SOS Inventory.

When you are finished editing your document, upload the file into SOS Inventory. Go to the Company Menu and select Import Data.

In the Importing field, select BOMs. Choose your File to import. Then select Preview.

SOS Inventory will display up to ten rows of edits so that you can ensure that you have imported the correct file. If the preview is as expected, select Import. The system will send you a notification letting you know whether your import has been successfully completed.

If after the import, the Items list does not display and you receive an error message, please contact the Support desk for assistance in resolving this issue.

This concludes Bulk editing BOMs. Thank you for watching this presentation!