How to Exchange BOM Information from Kingdee PLM to Windchill PLM?

[ScottMorris]

Version: Windchill 12.0

Use Case: Would like to collaborate with an external supplier in China using Kingdee PLM to obtain their BOM (product structure) and import into Windchill. This will be a one-time activity for pre-production builds and a bi-weekly activity once we get to production builds.

Description:

Have not been able to confirm what BOM capabilities exist in Kingdee PLM with my external partner. I am not sure if it is a product issue or communication issue. In either case, I would like to have my external partner export a product structure so I can ETL it into Windchill. 

Right now we are using a manually edited spread sheet process and I would rather work directly from a BOM report out of Kingdee PLM so we have a consistent data input source. 

[avillanueva]

Is this for a single BOM starting point or all BOMS? Given that its bi-weekly, it might make sense to have this is a semi-automated, manual task. Not much I can find online about this company other than their website. What export formats to they support? REST?

[ScottMorris]

We've been told there is no RestAPI access to their PLM solution, so we're trying to work with a standard export from their PLM. Taking the one-off BOM's is straight forward for the non-production builds, but once we get to production, we'll need a better process for managing the updates in Windchill. 

The BOM Template (XLSX) we send them is working, but we all question the accuracy of the data and would rather have an export from their PLM. I just got two BOM exports from the external partner today and we're looking at ETL methods now. 

Still curious if anyone else is in the same situation and trying to obtain BOM data from an OEM partner and what methods they are using to stay in sync with their OEM. 

[HelesicPetr · Accepted solution]

Hi @ScottMorris 

I would say that if you want to use OOTB spreadsheet and not customization, then you should transfer your input from external PLM to a correct format for Windchill.

I usually use an excel macro where I write a VBS function to generate correct format for importing from external source 

PetrrH