Hello, we recently sold some items which are on backorder and we need to substitute a similar part in order to fulfill a sales order. The item is a 100 watt amplifier. We have other brands and suppliers who also have 100 watt amplifiers and it is perfectly acceptable from our customer’s perspective to use a different part number.
We have a material request which lists part A (original amplifier) and we need to make a purchase order for Part B (substituted, similar part) in order to bring in stock so we can configure and ship out. How does one make a part substitution? I looked at the item and can’t see a field or table which allows for an item to be substituted. Looking for assistance on how to proceed. This seems like it would be a good feature to have since often people need to make these kinds of changes after the order is no longer in draft but has not yet been fully completed.
Yes, an “Item Alternative List” is exactly what is needed and what I was seeking out. Looks like the post you referenced was from nearly a year ago and was merged already but I’m not seeing this materialize into the latest master. We are currently at v10.1.72, is this feature in V11 staging now?
When previously working with Epicor ERP in the manufacturing sector, we had to use item substitution commonly, often switching different screws, bolts, etc to complete projects with parts we had in stock. Nothing significant, but the software made it easy to substitute on the fly when the parts were comparable. Substitution worked for BOMS as well as for finished, for sale goods without BOMS.
I would think that those who use ERPNext in Healthcare as well would find this feature helpful as drugs, often have different generic names but are the same active ingredients and are prescribed interchangeably. Item substitution seems critical IMHO.
I believe yes - the ‘Item Alternative’ code along with all the rest are in the staging branch and tagged Release v11.0.3-beta.30 a few days ago.
“I’m not seeing this materialize into the latest master.”
Yes, my guess is not until staging is all tested and pronounced fit for release - only then will it all be merged into the v10.1.x master, to mark the official release.
Once the Item Alternative code has seen use and is proven a success, that will serve as a model to implement the changes you would like to see. When or how long that takes depends of course on contributions and resources.