Back office configuration rules allow you to define manufacturing rules governing the structure and routing elements to include in a manufacturing order for an instance of a configured part. Rules attached to manufacturing structures and routings tell the system how to interpret valid configuration specifications for the parent part. For example, rules establish how to select the proper structure components based on values for the product's configuration characteristics and options.
Evaluation of a specific configuration results in the specific structure and routing information necessary to manufacture the part. Multi-level configuration structures (see About Configuration Structures), where the configured parent includes other configured sub-assemblies or purchased components, are also considered in back office rules. Configurations for these components are created either by inheriting characteristic values from the parent or by deriving them from rules. Dynamic order processing (DOP) can be used to manage and execute the bill of orders resulting from a multi-level configuration structure.
Configuration back office rules can be attached to different elements of the part's structure and routing, allowing selection and/or manipulation of the following hierarchical outline:
Structure
Configuration Structure Alternate
Configuration Structure Components
Component Work GuidelineRouting
Routing Structure Alternate
Routing Operations
Operation Work Guidelines
Routing Operation Tools
Back office rules assume a starting point of a valid configuration specification, such as a valid sales configuration entered via IFS/Front Office. These values and others calculated or otherwise derived during the configuration explosion can be used within the back office rules.
The application is structured into two different types of rules: Conditions and Actions.
A condition allows you to define logical expressions to determine selection criteria based on specific configuration values or ranges of values. For example, conditions could be used to select or exclude certain components based on configuration values. The expressions are expressed as Boolean logic in the form of an equation, similar to a programmatic IF/THEN statement. If the condition evaluates to True, then the item associated with the rule is selected. For example, you could define a part RED PAINT in the structure with the condition COLOR = RED where COLOR is a configuration characteristic and RED is a discrete option value for the part. If the configuration specifies RED, then RED PAINT is included in the structure. You can also combine several conditions using AND/OR operators and parentheses if desired to make more complex statements like, COLOR = RED AND LENGTH > 20. You can also compare the value of an optional characteristic against Null. An absence of conditions means the item is automatically selected.
An action allows you to define commands to manipulate data during the back office rule evaluation, either by modifying data for the record being evaluated, inserting additional records, or defining characteristics to use in subsequent processing steps. For example, you can set the quantity per assembly for a component based on values in the configuration or by using a configuration formula.
Actions are performed whenever their associated record is included, i.e., if
the conditions evaluate to True. The following action types can be defined as
part of back office rules:
| Action Type | Description |
| Set | Allows you to modify the attribute value for the evaluated record. For example, if a component is selected based on the configuration, a Set action can be used to modify the Quantity per Assembly based on values in the configuration. This action overrides the default quantity per assembly value on the record. The system provides a list of valid attributes to be set depending on the type of structure or routing element associated with the rule. |
| Declare | Allows you to establish a value for a configuration characteristic derived during the course of rule evaluation. You can use this type of action for several different purposes: -To establish a characteristic for use as a temporary variable for further back office rule evaluation. -To derive a characteristic for a configured component or sub-assembly that is derived from the parent's values rather than inherited from the parent. -To temporarily override a value in the parent's own configuration specification without permanently changing the parent order's stored configuration rules. For example, you can temporarily reduce the precision of a numeric value from 10.05 to 10 in order to further evaluate the back office rules. |
| Insert | Allows you to programmatically create new records not
previously defined in the structure or routing. The Insert action requires that you
specify values for each of the record's mandatory attributes, as well as any others
desired. There are five different types of records that can be created via an Insert
action: Structure Component, Structure Work Guidelines, Routing Operations, Routing
Operation Tools and Operation Work Guidelines. An Insert action is associated with a specific record type within the structure or routing hierarchy. Insert is typically allowed for records of the same type, or for child records of this record. For example, from the context of a structure component you can define rules to insert a work guideline for the component, or insert an additional component. |
When working with conditions and actions, you can access a variety of data values relevant to the configuration family. The following data values can be used when defining back office rules:
| Data Value | Description |
| Characteristic Value | Values from the evaluated configuration, either discrete options or variable values. Conditions that reference optional characteristics are evaluated as False if the characteristic is not in the configuration. In addition to those characteristics defined in the evaluated product configuration, you can use any additional family characteristics DECLARED in the course of evaluation. |
| Characteristic Quantity | For those configuration characteristics accompanied by a quantity (see the Configuration Characteristic attribute, Mandatory Quantity). |
| Value | Constant values defined by the user. |
| Formula | Values calculated by configuration formulas. The formula typically utilizes other values in calculating the returned value. |
| Combination | Values returned from a combination table. The combination table typically utilizes additional values in determining the returned value from matching combinations. |
When a configuration specification is evaluated, back office configuration rules are processed level-by-level through the configuration structure as follows:
For more information on configuration characteristics, configuration formulas and configuration families see About Configuration.