Update and Compare Service BOMs

In service-oriented manufacturing and maintenance scenarios, you often need to compare and synchronize similar BOM structures without rebuilding them from scratch. The Service BOM Compare & Update feature lets you compare a source structure with a target structure and selectively apply differences – with full user control.

With this feature, you can:

  • Detect insertions, deletions, modifications, and movements based on configured fields and hierarchy context.
  • Review all changes in a structured dialog with clear visual indicators.
  • Apply selected changes to the target while retaining full control over each step.

The comparison logic supports:

  • BOM structure (Service BOM lines and sub-lines).
  • Service-relevant line attributes and nested hierarchy context.
  • Field-level differences based on BOM compare field configuration.
  • Recursive comparison for nested Service BOM lines (via the Belongs to Entry No. relationship).
  • Movement consolidation: uniquely detectable parent changes are shown as "Move" (instead of "Insert" and "Delete").
  • User-confirmed updates for full control.

Comparison can be initiated from several sources and applied to the selected target:

  • Service BOM
  • Service BOM Archive
  • Document BOM
  • Document BOM Archive
  • Construction Order
  • Construction Order Archive
Note

A common scenario is Service BOM ↔ Service BOM.
The same compare mechanism also supports Document BOM/Construction Order (including archive variants) as source structures for Service BOM targets.
Changes are always applied to the document you select as the target during compare.

The intended usage model and scope of the Service BOM Compare & Update feature includes:

  • Compare scope: Compares a defined source with a defined target (for example, Service BOM ↔ Service BOM, archive → Service BOM, Document BOM/Construction combinations → Service BOM). The engine detects Inserts, Deletes, Modifies, and Moves and lets you apply selected changes to the chosen target.
  • Recommended practice for reusable structures: Use compare/update to align similar Service BOMs, transfer known-good structures into empty/new targets, and synchronize variants at controlled milestones.
  • Move usage: Movement (re-parenting) is user-initiated (Auto Move or Move). Only uniquely matchable "Insert"/"Delete" pairs are converted; ambiguous cases remain "Insert"/"Delete" for user decision. Out of scope: A generic, rule-based auto-adoption engine and fully simultaneous conflict management across all source systems are not part of the Compare/Update framework.

The following table outlines related tasks, with links to the topics that describe them.

To See
Learn how the Insert, Delete, Modify, and Move actions are determined and applied during BOM compare and update. Action Types in BOM Compare
Use the Service BOM Compare & Update feature. Compare and Update Service BOMs

Feedback
Submit feedback for this page .