Low Level Code

The low-level code represents the lowest level of the item in any current, job, or production schedule bill of material (BOM). A low-level code of 0 indicates that the item is an end item (finished good) and is not a subcomponent of another item. A low-level code greater than zero indicates that the item is a component of another item. The system supports up to 20 levels of low-level coding.

EXAMPLE: To represent a BOM structure where A is made from 1 B and 1 C, and item C is made from 1 D, the system uses the following low-level codes:

You can set the low-level codes by running the Current Bill of Material Processor or you can enable the Low Level Online inventory parameter to keep the codes up to date automatically as you add new materials. Jobs, production schedule releases, and estimate jobs also have low-level codes. To update the low-level codes for jobs and production schedule releases, run the Job and PS Bill of Material Processor after running the Current Bill of Material Processor. To update the estimate job low-level codes, run the Estimate Job Bill of Material Processor.

MRP sets an item's low-level code to the lowest level that it occurs in any BOM. MRP uses the low-level codes during its processing. It processes all items with low-level code 0 first, then all items with low-level code 1, then low-level code 2, and so on. The system uses the low-level code to ensure that, if a component is used in more than one level in a bill of material, the system processes that item only once, when it gets to that item's low-level code. The accuracy of low-level codes is critical to running a successful MRP regeneration.

APS uses low-level codes only when calculating safety stock replenishment. It examines safety stock demands for each item in order by low-level code.

See How Safety Stock is Replenished for more information.