Autodesk Fusion Operations defines a product as being a series of operations through which a raw material goes.
You can use an Excel file to import multiple Products and Operations to Autodesk Fusion Operations.
This feature allows you to use the functionalities of a spreadsheet to fill the file with hundreds of Products and its’ operations quickly.
To import several Products at once, follow the steps below:
1. On the left menu, click in ‘Products’
2. Click ‘Import’ and then ‘Import Products’
3. You can choose to import or download a template file in case you are not sure which columns to include.
In the Product importer file, there are some columns that stand for product attributes (A to B, N to O, Q to Y, AH to AL), and others that stand for operation attributes (C to M, P, Z to AB).
The file should be previously prepared as follows.
Products related columns:
Product code (column A): the code you want to be the identifier of your ‘Product’. This is a mandatory field.
Product Name (B): small description of the product; it should be something simple and easily recognized by everyone.
Product Parameters (N): If there are variations to your products, those can be modelled by creating different product codes, or by adding product parameters. You can check more info here.
Product Observations (O): Fill in if you want to add comments to your product.
Product Custom Fields (Q): custom fields that your product may require; these can consist of a product attribute that is constant and it must be added in format ‘customfieldname1:value1,customfieldname2:value2’. If you need help to create these custom fields, reach out to us.
Product Labels (R): if you want to associate labels to the products, you should add them here.
Product Family (S): grouping your products by ‘Families’ is a good way to have your products’ setup organized; in case you want to add more than one ‘Product Family’, those can be separated by commas in the format ‘family1,family2’.
Product Notes (T): fill if you want to add extra information to your product.
Product Lead Time (U): estimated production time for this product in the production order (in days); this field will be used to calculate the start date for production orders, considering the sales orders due date.
Color (W): if your product has a color, it can be entered in this field. The product colors are shown on the tablet, making it easier for workers to recognize the production orders ; learn more about it in this article. The importing format is the hex color code (for example, for color green the code is #008000) - you can find color codes here.
Unit Cost (X): if filled, it will be the default unit cost for products on purchase orders.
Unit Price (Y): if filled, it will be the default unit price for products on sales orders.
Unit Weight (AC): is a numerical field that stands for the weight of each unit of the product.
UoM - Weight (AD): is the Unit Weight unit of measurement (whether it is kilograms, grams, tons, pounds, ounces, etc).
Automatic Serial Number (AG): if the serialization feature is active and the serial numbers aren't automatically generated, it's possible to enable this option via importer. The column value must be 1/0 or true/false to enable/disable the option. When active, the serial numbers will be automatically generated according to your auto serial number format in the settings.
Minimum stock level (AH): when inventory level goes under this value, it highlights the product in red; also, the system suggests you production or purchase order for this product in the MRP.
Maximum stock level (AI): value used to suggest production or purchase order for the product - suggestion will consider the quantity needed to reach this value.
Minimum amount (AJ): when a new purchase order or production order is placed, this is the minimum amount to purchase/produce.
Quantity multiple (AK): when a new purchase order or production order is created, its quantity must be a multiple of this value.
Scrap allowance (AL): (%) increases production order quantity to consider this value; it is considered when creating production orders from sales orders and in BoM.
Some of these columns are also described in the article How to Create a Product.
And if you prefer to customized your importer please check this article.
Operations related columns:
Operation Code (C): list here the operation codes associated with the products’ production flow you are importing; each line should contain only one operation. This is a mandatory field if your products have one or more operations, and should be left blank in case the product is a raw material.
Operation Name (D): serves to easily identify any operation.
Company Time (E): theoretical standard time for the operation to be completed; it assumes the format ‘00H00’ or ‘00H00m00s’. If the product has operations and this field is blank, the system will default the value to '00H01m00s'.
Customer Time (F): time that you budgeted in case your company is performing a subcontracted operation. This is the time that you agree with your client. It assumes the format ‘00H00’ or ‘00H00m00s’. If the product has operations and this field is blank, the system will default the value to '00H01m00s'.
Quantity ratio (G): quantity of product produced in the specified company time. If the product has operations and this field is blank, the system will default the value to '1'.
Section (H): you can divide your warehouse into sections and then associate your operation to those sections; the input type here is ‘section1,section2’; learn about sections here.
Wastes (I): waste codes that represent the wastes produced by this operation; format: ‘waste1,waste2,waste3’.
Operation parameters (J): for operations, the parameters are an information that is associated to the production record, that is prompted on the tablet at checkin or checkout, according to the parameters' settings; the input type is ‘param1,param2’.
Operation Checklists (K): fill here with the checklists’ names you want to see in your operations.
Machines (L): machines where the operation is performed; format: ‘machine1,machine2’.
Options (M): o=optional, r=recovery, nt=no time, nq=no quantity, t=team, mp=multiple PO, bp=barcode print, il=input lot, pb=prepare batch, psrl=product serializable; format: ‘option1,option2’.
Operation Labels (P): In case you want to print labels in operations, this is where you add them; the format of this column is ‘label1,label2’.
Operation Notes (Z): notes about the operations.
Operation Lead Time (AA): Number of days that the operation takes from starting to finish - this is considered for scheduling purposes.
Operation Times per product (AB): Number of times this operation must be performed to be considered finished.
Don’t forget you can check the articles about How to Create an Operation and Operations Configurations, where you have most of these columns defined.
4. Choose the excel file to import (1) and click in ‘Start to send’ (2).
5. Read carefully the color-warnings that may appear:
Yellow warnings - there is an issue with the selected line of the file you imported; however, the system will adapt it and import the file anyway. You must recheck what might have been changed and if you agree with it.
Red warnings - the system will not import the line with the warning, because something is wrong and a workaround cannot be applied. Nevertheless, you can ignore a line and import the rest of the file, by clicking the check mark ✔️ in the line column.
6. Click on the ‘Confirm’ button and your ‘Products’ have been uploaded!
Notes:
1. Consider formatting the columns in text before you begin filling;
2. Do not use formulas in cells;
3. Only the first page of the file is imported. You can use other pages but only the first one will be taken into account.
How to import operations to already existing products?
The procedure is the same as described in the points 1 to 6. But in this case an important note is that: any operations added to already existing products will always be added to the end of the flow.
For example:
A product with a flow as presented, needs a packaging and shipping operation.
To add that operation we use the importer:
Since there were no red warnings only a yellow one informing that the product already exists we can confirm the new flow includes in the end the 'Packing' and 'Shipping' operations.
If you still have some doubts about the ‘Product Importer’, feel free to reach out in our live-chat feature or directly to your CSM.
Need help? Request a Fusion Operations expert to contact you here.