Line-side inventory - ION Manual
When to use line-side vs kitting
| Part profile | Use |
|---|---|
| Serial tracked, lot tracked, or otherwise traced through the aBOM | Kit it. |
| High-cost, scarce, or program-controlled | Kit it. |
| Cheap, high-velocity, interchangeable, untracked | Line-side. |
| Cheap and high-velocity but needs lot-level recall | Line-side, lot tracked. Auto-consumption still records the lot consumed. |
The location hierarchy
Auto-consumption keys off the location hierarchy around the work center:
- Workstation: the location attached to the run step.
- Child: a tote or rack whose parent is the workstation, pulled from directly.
- Parent: a work area or cell that contains one or more workstations.
- Sibling: a line-side rack that shares the same parent as the workstation. Multiple workstations under one parent can pull from the same sibling rack, the most common pattern for shared consumables.
Assign the line-side rack to the correct parent location. A rack under the wrong parent is never consumed from.
How automatic consumption works
Automatic consumption is set up through the Auto-consumption of line-side inventory ION Action. You configure which run step triggers it and which locations it pulls from. When that ION Action runs, it reads the run’s mBOM, finds available line-side inventory in the configured locations, deducts the required quantity, and records the installs onto the run’s aBOM. Configure the ION Action to match how your line operates, and confirm its behavior in your environment before you rely on it.
Replenishment
Refill line-side inventory before it runs out, using one of these patterns:
- Reorder points: set a reorder min and max on the part. When on-hand drops below the min, the part surfaces in Autoplan as demand.
- Supplier-managed: build an ION Action that watches a location’s inventory level and triggers an outbound action, such as a webhook to the supplier or a draft PO line.
- Manual refill: move quantity from the master stock location to the line-side bin with the standard inventory-move action, ideally on a fixed cadence.
Truly untracked items
For materials you don’t track at all, such as masking tape or shop towels, you have two options:
- Create the part as untracked, stock the line-side bin with a high quantity, and let auto-consumption deduct against it. When the physical bin runs out, reset the quantity with an inventory adjustment rather than a receipt.
- Leave the part off the mBOM entirely, and treat it as shop overhead rather than a part.
Model the item as a part when it appears on a drawing or contributes to traceability. Otherwise leave it off. When you stock a high arbitrary quantity, the on-hand number drifts from physical reality over time, so reconcile it periodically.