Objective: To learn how to best utilize the products library table.
Difficulty: Easy
In this article:
The product table is designed for simplicity and ease of navigation. In this article, we delve into the significance and functionality of each tool listed in the table, guiding you on how to effectively harness their capabilities for your benefit.
Page Layout
Products table layout
Products represent finished goods that you provide to your esteemed customers. A holistic product assembly encompasses the physical components and includes crucial elements such as documentation, packaging, firmware, and software. To effortlessly navigate to the products table, please follow the steps outlined below.
- Log into your Duro account.
- In the left sidebar, select Products.
- This displays a dashboard of all your company's products, regardless of lifecycle status.
Unlike the components table, there is not a shortcut to the products table from your dashboard.
CPN and name
Each product is assigned a distinct Customer Part Number (CPN) value to easily and uniquely identify it within a company's library.
Duro supports several industry-standard CPN schemas, often referred to as "intelligent," "non-Intelligent," and "semi-Intelligent" formats.
The default CPN scheme for all of Duro's package options uses a "semi-intelligent" schema with a fixed-length string of numbers in the following format:
<3-digit prefix> - <5-digit counter>
In this scheme, the first three digits define the product's specific category. The last five digits are simply a counter value that increments with every new instance of the selected category.
If you would like to configure your account to use a different CPN schema or category configuration, please contact info@durolabs.co for more information.
Once assigned, the CPN value is immutable* and cannot be reused by another product, even if the original product is deleted. This is Duro's guarantee to customers to remove the risk of miscommunication between team members and suppliers. Duro does not know if a CPN reference has been used in communications with a supplier outside of Duro's library. So, to be safe, Duro retires the number once assigned, ensuring there is never a chance that two different products use the same CPN value.
*Note: The only exception to modifying a CPN value is if a product is still in DESIGN status and the category has been re-assigned. In this case, the CPN will update to use the new category's prefix code.
This guarantee makes the CPN field the most efficient reference value for tracking the history and usage of products and minimizing the risk of miscommunication between engineers and suppliers. While the product name field is more user-friendly and readable, it is mutable and exposes a risk of subjectivity or ambiguity if not properly written.
Product View
Select a product linked within the product table to view an individual product. Once in product view (pictured above), you will see four separate tiles of information at the top of your screen: Product Overview, Details, Team, and Build Schedule. In the following sections, you will see two images of each of the aforementioned tiles, one in view-only mode and the second in edit mode. To access edit mode, click on the pencil icon in the toolbar in the upper right-hand corner of the product view.
Product Overview
View only Edit mode
The product overview tile displays the product's Customer Part Number (CPN), the External ID (EID), revision value, and lifecycle status. This tile also displays the product picture if one has been set.
Details
View only Edit mode
.
The center tile, Details, contains the following information: MPN (manufacturer part number), MFR (manufacturer of record), MIN QTY (minimum quantity), unit price, lead time, the created date, modified date, and the individual who last modified it.
Note: Primary sourcing information originates from the Sourcing tab and cannot be edited directly within the Details tab.
Team
View only Edit mode
.
The team is one of the things that differentiates components from products; components do not have the Team function, whereas products do. The team is the third tile in the product view, located directly to the right of the Details tile. Here, you can list and assign team members to the following positions: Product Manager, Engineering, Quality Assurance (QA), Procurement, and Manufacturing. Defining the user's roles on the product page allows for more fluid communication.
Build Schedule
View only Edit mode
.
Build Schedule is the second thing that differentiates components from products; components do not have the Build Schedule function, whereas products do. Build Schedule is the fourth tile in the product view, located directly to the right of the Team tile. This feature allows you to set pre-production and launch dates for your product and state how many units of your product will be released per date.
Lifecycle stages
Each component has a status value that identifies the current lifecycle stage. Earlier status stages have more flexibility for editing and use looser data validation rules. As a product progresses toward production, validation rules will become more stringent, guiding you toward a clean, complete, production-ready Bill of Materials (BOM).
Design
This is the earliest stage in which products have the most fluctuation and uncertainty. Products do not use strict revision control while in design status. Users can save their edits to the current revision or as a new one. Products can be deleted while still in design status.
Prototype
In the prototype stage, physical instantiations of a product have been produced, typically at low volumes, and used for functional evaluation. Specifications are being solidified but may change. This is the first stage in which products require revision control. All edits to specification fields, sources, and attached documents will require a Change Order to take effect. In this stage, revision values range from 1 to 999.
Production
Production is the later stage of a product. Units being produced are intended for customers or final usage. Specifications are locked down and should rarely change at this point. All changes are under revision control and require a Change Order. In this stage, revision values will be in the range of A to ZZ.
Obsolete
Obsolete is the final stage of a product once it has been marked to be taken out of production. A product can be registered with an obsolete status for a variety of reasons and should be noted accordingly within the status change. In this stage, revision values range from A to ZZ.
Permissions
The following table summarizes what actions can be performed on products for each status value.
| VALUE | Edit | Add to Change Order | Delete |
|---|---|---|---|
| DESIGN | Yes | No | Yes |
| PROTOTYPE | Yes - Marked Modified | Yes | No |
| PRODUCTION | Yes - Marked Modified | Yes | No |
| OBSOLETE | No | No | No |
Status Progression
As described above, each product can have one of four different values:
Design, Prototype, Production, or Obsolete.
These status values are progressive. Once a value is set and approved through a Change Order, it can not be reverted. This is meant to mirror the natural progression of a component as it matures from an initial concept design through prototyping into production and eventual end of life.
Revisions
Within each status, there can be multiple revisions, each with its own managed snapshot. To identify these incremental versions, the corresponding revision value is used.
While several standards are accepted in the manufacturing industry for a revision value format, Duro's default revision scheme follows a widely accepted revision value of integers (1..999) and single-character letters (A..ZZ).
Note: Custom revision schemes are possible. Contact info@durolabs.co to find out more.
Revision relationship
Each status has an associated revision value. This is to ensure consistency and clear identification of a product's maturity.
The permissible revision values for each status are outlined in the following table.
| Status | Empty | Integers | Letter |
| DESIGN | Yes | 1..999 | A..ZZ |
| PROTOTYPE | No | 1..999 | No |
| PRODUCTION | No | No | A..ZZ |
| OBSOLETE | Yes | No | A..ZZ |
Revision value meaning
While other popular revision management tools have unique values for each revision, they don't have any significant meaning other than being guaranteed unique. Hardware manufacturing does impose meaning on the revision value, so it is important to understand the implication of a revision value.
In simplest terms, products that are still in an early or prototype stage are identified by a numeric revision value (1 to 999), while products in production are identified by a letter revision value (A to ZZ).
This allows a manufacturer at a glance to know what resources and procedures to apply to a design. Often, suppliers have different teams and workflows for prototype and production status. By only looking at the revision value, there's no ambiguity, and the task can be routed appropriately.
Further, teams look for a change in revision value to know they need to respond. Using incremental values helps to identify the chronology of a change quickly.
Product tabs
The product view page has two main sections. At the top is the product summary information, such as thumbnails, status, description, product team, and manufacturing values. The bottom section is further divided into three or four tabs, depending on whether you have created any variants: Documents, Sourcing, Assembly, Variants, and Reports.
Documents
The Documents tab collects all document files associated with the component. Any file type can be included, and each document is revision-controlled. This tab can hold data within the following fields: Name, File Type, File Size, Document Type, Status, Revision, and Last Updated. The Documents table can be customized to present any combination of the aforementioned fields as column headings.
Sourcing
The Sourcing tab lists manufacturers, distributors, and price quotes for procuring or supplying the component. Each component can have its own list of sources from which it is purchased or manufactured. Each source may contain multiple manufacturers, distributors, and prices.
This tab holds two tables, one for the rolled-up cost and one for custom products. The rolled-up cost table holds data in these fields: MPN, Manufacturer, Minimum Quantity, Unit Price, Lead Time, and Last Updated. The custom table has the following column headings: MPN, Manufacturer, MFR Description, Datasheet, Distributor, DPN, DIST Description, Package, Package Quantity, Minimum Quantity, Unit Price, Quote Lead Time, and Last Updated. Both tables in the Sourcing tab can be customized to present any combination of the aforementioned fields as column headings.
Duro makes it easy to capture all sourcing information in an easy-to-read tree structure. A single source has three nested elements:
- MANUFACTURER
- DISTRIBUTOR
- QUOTE
Following this hierarchical tree structure, there can be many manufacturers, many distributors, and many quotes. In other words, one manufacturer can have many distributors, and so on.
Duro will search through all products and components and Change Order fields for strings that match any search terms entered in the Search Bar, giving the largest number of possible matches.
| ELEMENT | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| MANUFACTURER | The original manufacturer or designer of the product. The manufacturer may be a commercial company with their own product line or a contract manufacturer producing custom components. A manufacturer will assign a unique Manufacturer Part Number (MPN) for each unique component, specific to that manufacturer only. |
| DISTRIBUTOR | Many manufacturers of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products will not sell directly to the end user but will sell through multiple distribution channels. A single component from a manufacturer may have multiple distributors each with their own Distributor Part Number (DPN) and quotes. |
| QUOTE | Each distributor's DPN may offer multiple price breaks at different quantities and lead times. |
Manufacturers
| FIELD | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer * | The name of the manufacturer of the component |
| MPN * | The manufacturer will assign a unique MPN for each product. If your company is the original manufacturer, you can use the corresponding CPN (Customer Part Number) value. |
| Description | The manufacturer often provides a short description of their product. This is a helpful field, but it is not required. |
| Lead Time | The number (integer) of days or weeks it takes to receive the product once ordered. |
| Unit | Unit value for the lead time, either days or weeks. |
| Datasheet | Many manufacturers publish PDF datasheets for their products on their websites or those of their distributors. This field allows you to record a link to the datasheet for easy reference. |
Distributors
| FIELD | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Distributor * | The name of the distributor through which the product will be procured. |
| DPN * | Each distributor will assign their own DPN to a manufacturer's product. This DPN value is unique to the distributor only. |
| Description | Often, the distributor will have their own brief description of a manufacturer's product. This is a helpful field but not required. |
| Package | Products can be delivered in one of several different package types. Each has its own purpose and minimum quantities. Example packages include: BULK, PACK, TRAY, TAPE & REEL, CUT TAPE, CUSTOM REEL, TUBE, AMMO PACK, SPOOL, INDIVIDUAL. |
| Package Qty | The number of product units included in an individual package. |
Quotes
| FIELD | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Min Qty * | The minimum quantity for the specific price break and lead time. |
| Unit Price * |
The unit price for an individual instance of the product. Note: The default format for currency is the USD, but this can be customized if needed. Please refer to our Currency FAQ for more information. |
| Lead Time | The number (integer) of days or weeks it takes to receive the product once ordered. |
| Unit | Unit value for the lead time, either days or weeks. |
Assembly
The Assembly tab houses a list of child components and their quantities for the specific assembly. In this location, you can see what products or components need to be produced for the product in question to be considered a finished good. Child components can have data in any of the following categories, which are represented as column headings: CPN/Name, Quantity, Level, Images, Category, Procurement, Workflow State, Revision, Ref Des, Item Number, EID, Status, Notes, Mass (kg), Unit of Measure, Unit Price, Total Price, Total Price, Lead Time, Description, MPN, Manufacturer, and Last Updated. The Assembly table can be customized to present any combination of the aforementioned fields as column headings.
Variants
Duro offers a feature to let users associate similar products as variants, captured in the Variants tab. For example, if the same product is offered in multiple colors, each color option would be a variant of the same product. This allows for easy reporting, efficiencies for procuring components for your build schedule, and visibility in finding Bill of Materials (BOM) differences across variants. Variants alter the form, fit, or function of the original product. The changes are minor, such as having a different color. Not all products will have variants. Variants do not count against your subscription component count limit. Variants show data in three tables: Assembly, Specifications, and Documents. The Variants tab can be customized to present any combination of the variant products shown as column headings.
Reports
The Reports tab of the product page shows the sourcing information for all components in the Product's assembly. It compiles the data into a "flattened BOM," aggregating any components used more than once in the assembly. The table is customizable in terms of the width of columns and columns displayed, and the available field options include the following: CPN, Name, Quantity, MPN, Manufacturer, Minimum Quantity, Quote Lead Time, Last Updated, and Total Price. The Autofit function automatically scales the width of the column to the content displayed within each.
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