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Column Settings for Linked Materials Rows
Column Settings for Linked Materials Rows

Edit summary row columns for linked materials either in the product or once for every instance where that linked material is used.

Evelyn Ritter avatar
Written by Evelyn Ritter
Updated over a week ago

What is Product-level vs Material-level Data?

For the data in the summary level rows of your product that contains linked materials, like the simple product example below, some of that data is related to the product, and some of that data is related to the material.

When you have a linked material in a product, some information about that material should be editable in the product (like the quantity data) - this is considered product-level data. For other information, the data should be editable once, but reflected everywhere the material is used (like unit weight data) - this is considered material-level data. Most information used in a Bill of Materials (or BOM) is material-level data. In the example below, the product-level data is highlighted in green and the material-level data is highlighted in blue.

In Summary:

Product-level data:

  • Changes from product to product for the same material

  • Is editable in the product, and therefore appears in white when in the product BOM

  • Examples: Quantity, Weight, Product % by Weight

Material-level data:

  • Every product using the material has the same material-level data

  • Is only editable in the material, and therefore appears in grey when in the product BOM

  • Examples: Part Name, Description, Unit Weight, Recycled Content %

Using Product-level vs Material-level Data

Within 3E Exchange, whether a particular 3E Exchange standard column is a product-level or a material-level attribute is pre-defined in the system. For a list of all the columns and whether they are product-level or material-level attributes for linked materials, read our Column Titles and Definitions Article.

When you add custom columns, you get to choose whether the column is product-level or material-level. In the "Data Templates" ->" BOM Column Template" area, you can add custom columns to your template. For example, I added exposure, and can edit it using the edit button, as below:

From there, I will see the edit column dialog and be able to select whether it should be a product-level or material-level field. Because the exposure potential depends on where the part is used, I will mark this as a product-level field.

Getting Help

If you have questions about using 3E Exchange or the material covered in this help article, reach out in chat in the bottom right-hand corner or email support@3eco.com.

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