Product Family Overview
A Product Familyis defined as a grouping of products that are similar but slightly different in order to meet certain market needs. A product is an item that a company sells. A product may have different versions called a variant specifications, such as differing sizes or differing colors.
A product and variant specification can be defined in many ways in Windchill, such as Product container, End Item, Variant Specification. The problem with this is that there is not a single solution that allows a company to use this data to define a Product Family.
A Product Family can be defined as a structure consisting of 4 types objects:
• Product Family is the main object that defines a product family and the root level of the product family structure.
• Product Model Grouping is used to define an organizational breakdown to categorize product models within the product family.
• Product Model the actual product defined within a product family, which can represent a product sold such as an SKU or customer-specific order, or a representative configuration used for planning and validation.
• Variant Specification is a different version of a product, such as a different set of options. For more information, see Managing Variant Specifications in a Product Family.
Product Family Relationships
• A Product Family can be related to a product model and product model grouping.
• A product Model Grouping can be related to a product model and product model grouping.
• A Product Model can be related to a Variant Specification.
Visibility
Product Families can be created and accessed using the Product Families menu from the Navigator in a Product or Library context.
Product Family Members exist in the context of either a Product or Library, and are created in that context’s default domain (and default folder) for access control purposes.
Product Families can be found in the Product Family Table on a Product or Library information page.
All Product Family objects can appear as search results using advanced search.
Related Links