Manufacturer and vendor data can be used in reports and searches that are supplier-focused.

There are many ways in which you can use supplier data when creating search queries in Windchill. For example, you can search for a manufacturer part name or number, or you can search for an OEM part with a specific setting of the Source attribute (for example, Buy-Single Source).

If you have Windchill PartsLink installed, you can use the Classification search in conjunction with Windchill Supplier Management. When AMLs and AVLs are created, a Part Type attribute, which identifies manufacturer or vendor parts, is published to Windchill PartsLink. When Windchill Supplier Management is configured to work with Windchill PartsLink, you can search for existing parts suitable for design specification using classification information. You can also create rules for assigning the sourcing status, taking into consideration the part classification.

In addition, you can also view the sourcing status information in Windchill PartsLink search results.

Windchill Supplier Management extends Windchill PartsLink reporting capabilities by incorporating supplier information in the reports.

For example, some of the reports provided with Windchill Supplier Management are:

Engineers can annotate AMLs and AVLs within the BOM structure using the Product Structure Explorer. Engineers can also export BOMs with AMLs and AVLs to provide this information to a third party.