Use item substitution for bill of materials
During planning, you can use alternative materials for items that are based on bills of materials (BOMs). When configuring item substitutions for a BOM, you can define a set of items that can replace a specific material. Additionally, you can assign a priority to each substitute within the group. When master planning is executed, it first uses the preferred material if it's available. If the preferred material isn't available, the system then selects the substitute material with the highest priority that is in stock. If no substitutes are available, master planning generates a planned order for the preferred material.
Your organization must be running Supply Chain Management version 10.0.40 or later and have the feature Item substitution for bill of materials in Planning optimization enabled in Feature management prior to using substitution in planning for BOMs.
Set up plan groups
In a BOM, a plan group is a group of items that can be substituted for a particular material. To set up a plan group, navigate to Product information management > Setup > Bills of materials and formulas > Plan groups. Select New in the Action Pane. Enter a Plan group and Description.
Set up item substitution for BOMs
To set up item substitution for BOMs, go to Product information management > Bills of materials and formulas > Bill of materials. Open the BOM that you want to set up the substitution for. Expand the Bill of materials lines FastTab and select the line for the material you want to create a substitute for. Set the Plan group, Priority, and Quantity. Select Save in the Action Pane.