Bill of Material import field reference and situation how-tos

What this covers

This article explains which columns to include in a Bill of Material import for common tasks, which fields are required, and what every Bill of Material import field does. Use it to add, change, or remove the components that make up your kits and assemblies. The Bill of Material import is only available in the [Admin importer].

Field names below are the Zenventory defaults. If your company renamed fields in the Lexicon, your screens and sample file show your names instead.

Prior To Import

Both SKUs must already exist (Components and Kit/Asssembly)— unlike the items importer, the BOM importer will not create items. If either SKU is not found the import fails with an error.
Blank quantity = delete — this is an easy one to accidentally trigger. If a customer re-exports and reimports a file with any blank quantity cells, those components will be removed from the BOM silently.
Assemblies vs Kits — if the master item is flagged as an Assembly rather than a Kit, the BOM is stored differently internally. The import handles both, but customers should make sure their master item type is set correctly before importing.

How do I set up the file?

Multiple components per master item — use the same Master Item SKU on multiple rows, each with a different Component Item SKU and Quantity to build up a full BOM.

Required Fields for the BOM Import:

Your BOM upload file must include these three columns:

Master Item SKU — The SKU of the kit you are defining.
Component Item SKU — The SKU of the item(s) that will be included as a component(s).
Quantity — The number of units of the component used in one unit of the kit.

Each row represents one component. If a kit has multiple components, include multiple rows with the same Master Item SKU. Each component that makes up a kit will need its own line in the BOM import file.

In the example above, there are two kits represented: KIT123 and KIT345.

KIT123 is made up of the following components:

C1 with a quantity of 1
C2 with a quantity of 1
C3 with a quantity of 2
C4 with a quantity of 1
C5 with a quantity of 13

KIT345 is made up of the following components:

CompA with a quantity of 1
CompB with a quantity of 1

Each component for each kit would appear on its own line in the BOM import file, using the appropriate Master Item SKU (KIT123 or K345)

Mapping reference table

This table lists every field on the Bill of Material import mapping screen, in the same order and under the same section heading (Item). Use it to decide which of your file's columns to map to each field, and to check that your data is in the right format.

For each field, the table shows:

What to map this to for Bill of Material: what the field does on the kit or assembly.
When is this field required?: whether the field is always needed or optional.
Format: the type of value the field accepts, such as text or number, and its character limit.

Field names are the Zenventory defaults. If your company renamed fields in the Lexicon, your mapping screen shows your names instead.

Mapping Field	What to map this to for Bill of Material	When is this field required?	Format
Item
Master Item SKU	The SKU of the kit or assembly the components are for. It must already exist within the selected client. A SKU that isn't found fails that row. If the item isn't set as a Kit or an Assembly yet, the import sets it as a Kit. Use the same Master Item SKU on each row for that item's components.	Required	Text, must match an existing SKU, 100 characters
Component Item SKU	The SKU of an item that goes into the master item. It must already exist within the selected client. A SKU that isn't found fails that row. Assembly components can't be Kit or Drop-Ship items. A kit component that contains the master item is rejected. On a Kit, a row where the component is the master item itself is skipped.	Required	Text, must match an existing SKU, 100 characters
Quantity	How many units of the component go into one unit of the master item. Whole numbers aren't required. Negative numbers fail that row. On a Kit, a blank or 0 removes the component. On an Assembly, a blank or 0 saves the component with a quantity of 0.	Required (on a Kit, blank or 0 removes the component)	Number, up to 6 decimals
Unit of Measurement	The unit the component quantity is measured in. If blank, or the same as the component's own unit, the component's unit is used. Any other value must match a unit of measurement already set up in Zenventory, or the row fails. Capitalization doesn't matter.	Optional	Text, must match an existing unit of measurement, 24 characters

Situation how-tos

Situation	Columns to include	What to know
Build a kit	• Master Item SKU (the same on each row) • Component Item SKU • Quantity	Use one row per component. If the master item isn't set as a Kit or an Assembly yet, the import sets it as a Kit.
Build an assembly	• Master Item SKU (the same on each row) • Component Item SKU • Quantity	Set the master item as an Assembly before importing. Otherwise the import sets it as a Kit. Assembly components can't be Kit or Drop-Ship items.
Add components to an existing kit or assembly	• Master Item SKU • Component Item SKU • Quantity	Only include the components you're adding. Components already on the item that aren't in the file are kept.
Change a component's quantity	• Master Item SKU • Component Item SKU • Quantity (the new amount)	The row updates that component's quantity. Other components aren't changed.
Remove components from a kit	• Master Item SKU • Component Item SKU • Quantity = 0 (or blank)	Removes that component from the kit. Only works on Kits.
Remove components from an assembly	• Not possible by import	On an Assembly, a quantity of 0 is saved as 0 and the component stays. Remove it from the assembly in Zenventory.
Replace a whole kit or assembly	• Not possible in one step	The import never replaces a whole list of components. It only adds, updates, or (on Kits) removes the components in the file. To replace a kit, include a 0 quantity row for each old component you want removed.
Use a different unit of measurement	• Master Item SKU • Component Item SKU • Quantity • Unit of Measurement	The unit must already be set up in Zenventory, or the row fails. Leave it blank to use the component's own unit.
Import kits and assemblies for a client (3PL)	• Select the client in the import window (there's no client column)	Master and component SKUs are looked up within the selected client.
Undo a Bill of Material import	• Not possible	Undo Import doesn't reverse Bill of Material imports. Test with a small file first, and check the kits or assemblies before you import the full file.

How the import handles kits and assemblies

Kit or Assembly?

Set the master item as a Kit or an Assembly before you import.

If the master item isn't set as either one yet, the import sets it as a Kit. To build an assembly, set the item as an Assembly first.
Kits and assemblies handle a 0 quantity differently. On a Kit, 0 removes the component. On an Assembly, 0 is saved as the quantity.

Will my file replace the whole kit or assembly?

No. The import only changes the components that are in your file.

A component that isn't on the item yet is added.
A component that's already on the item has its quantity updated.
Components that aren't in your file are kept.

Can I undo a Bill of Material import?

No. Undo Import doesn't reverse Bill of Material imports. Test with a small file first, and check the results before you import the full file.