How to Update Material Data in Bulk Using Excel

Owned by John Peberdy
Last updated: Jul 28, 2022
4 min read

If you’re looking for a general guide on using import, refer to this guide.

This guide will help you update many materials to save you from having to navigate within Phenix to each material one by one.

1. Exporting the Materials File

Skip this and the next step if you already have the data you need in an Excel file.

Using the export functionality, you can generate an Excel file that contains your material data, including custom attributes. Because it’s generated by Phenix, the import process of this file is simplified because the columns are automatically mapped.

  1. First, navigate to the “Materials” page under “Setup”

  2. Optional: Filter to the applicable material type

  3. Press the “Export Materials” button

2. Updating the Materials File

Edit the file in whatever way you wish. The columns are ordered like this:

  1. The first few columns are some built-in attributes.

  2. After this are as many or as few custom attributes as are present for the material or material type.

  3. Next are other built-in attributes, for example, for wheel authoring and inventory functionality.

Hint: Scroll right for fields such as Forecast

3. Importing the Materials File

The last step is to load the file back in. To do so, go to the import section.

Use the updated file:

When you use a template file created by Phenix, you’ll notice all columns are automatically mapped and usually can immediately “Continue” past this step.

In case you’re adding a new attribute, scroll down until you see the unmapped column (The button will have a white background rather than green)

 

Select “New Attribute”

Continue through the import wizard as usual.

4. Follow-up and Related Tasks

The following tasks may need to be done next.

4.a. Updating Production Rates or BOM Consumption

  1. If you use per-material production rates, follow the same procedure with the “Export Production Rates” buttom.

  2. If you use BOM Item or Resource Consumption, follow the same procedure with the “Export BOM Items” buttom.

These two files can be loaded using the following imports of the same name:

 

4.b. Recalculating values in wheel sessions

If you use Wheels, do the “Recalculate Saved Values” operation for each relevant wheel session to update the calculations and simulations.

 

4.c. Adding new Materials to Wheel Sessions

Refer to step 3 on this page on how to add materials to an existing wheel session: