Suppliers & manufacturers

simple-plm tracks two distinct entities around sourcing: manufacturers (who makes the part) and suppliers (who you buy it from). One part can have many manufacturer part numbers (MPNs) and each MPN can be stocked by multiple suppliers. Keeping them separate lets you change buying habits without rewriting the BOM.

Manufacturers and MPNs

A manufacturer record holds the company name and a list of part references. Each part-to-manufacturer link carries the manufacturer part number (MPN) — the string the manufacturer themselves uses. Example: your internal R-10K-0603 might map to Yageo’s RC0603FR-0710KL and Panasonic’s ERJ-3EKF1002V.

Suppliers

A supplier record is your buying relationship — Digi-Key, Mouser, a local distributor. Suppliers carry stock entries that link a specific MPN to:

• supplier_part_number — the SKU you’d put on a PO.
• cost — unit price (in your org’s default currency, with quantity breaks optional).
• lead_time_days — how long from order to receipt.
• moq — minimum order quantity.

Why the split matters

When a manufacturer EOLs a part, you swap an MPN — your internal PN and BOMs are untouched. When you start buying from a new distributor, you add a supplier and stock entries — again, no BOM edits needed.

On disk

plm-data/manufacturers/Yageo.yaml

name: Yageo
parts:
  - pn: R-10K-0603
    mpn: RC0603FR-0710KL

# plm-data/suppliers/DigiKey.yaml
name: Digi-Key
stock:
  - mpn: RC0603FR-0710KL
    supplier_part_number: 311-10.0KHRCT-ND
    cost: 0.012
    lead_time_days: 1
    moq: 100

See plm manufacturers and plm suppliers.