Disassemblies are internal transactions used to manage the deconstruction of your assembled inventory into its component parts, just like the Assembly process, but in reverse! For instance, you can break down a kitted product into its elements so that your inventory reflects Stock On Hand (SOH) for the individual components, instead of the kit.
When a Disassembly is completed, the disassembled product's SOH will decrease, and the SOH of its component parts will increase, based on the quantities outlined in the Disassembly. The disassembled product's Average Landed Cost (ALC) will also be used to provide a value for the component stock that's produced from the Disassembly, ensuring the value of your stock remains accurate throughout the production process.
🤓 Tip: If you purchase stock in large quantities, e.g., pallets, crates, and cases, but only expect to stock, sell, or use those products in smaller units, e.g., individuals, singles, and packs, use the Multiple Units of Measure feature to automate receipting bulk measures as smaller units for your SOH.
Prerequisites for creating Assemblies
For a Disassembly to be created, either manually or automatically, the following conditions must be met:
Products being disassembled must have the Type setting "Assembled Product" enabled in the product record's Details tab.
Products being disassembled must have a Bill of Materials (BOM).
Products included as components of a Disassembly must have the Type setting "Component Product" enabled in the product record's Details tab.
Tutorial Videos
Disassembly & Auto Disassembly
How to break down products into smaller units
Create a Disassembly
Disassemblies can be created either manually or automatically. If an assembled product's Bill of Materials (BOM) has the setting "Can Auto Disassemble" enabled, a Disassembly will be automatically created and completed to break down the assembled product and add SOH to its components in these situations:
When the assembled product is receipted on a Purchase Order.
When the assembled product is returned via a Credit Note.
This Auto Disassembly is useful when you purchase or receive pre-assembled products but prefer to manage the individual components in your inventory.
However, if the assembled product is already in your inventory and it needs to be broken down, you can manually create a Disassembly:
Add Disassembly from the main menu.
Add Disassembly from a Bill of Materials.
The Parked status Disassembly that's manually created will automatically populate the component products and quantities expected from the Disassembly's Disassemble Quantity, based on the assembled product's BOM.
Add Disassembly
To create a new Disassembly:
From the main menu, go to Production > Assemblies > Add Disassembly.
Use the Product Code and Product Description fields to select the product that's being disassembled. Or click on the magnifying glass icon to use the advanced Product Search.
The Disassembly will be created in Parked status and given an auto-generated Disassembly Number.
Add Disassembly from a Bill of Materials
To create a Disassembly for a product from its BOM:
Open the product's BOM.
Click on the drop-down icon on the Add button in the top-right corner.
Select Add Disassembly.
A Disassembly for the product will be created in Parked status and given an auto-generated Disassembly Number.
Manage a Disassembly
Whilst the Disassembly is in Parked status, you can make any necessary edits to the details, components, and quantities advised. Any changes made to the component quantities or costs on a Disassembly will not change the assembled product's BOM. And any changes made to a BOM will only apply to Disassemblies created after the BOM's changes were saved.
There are three functional buttons available in the top right corner of a Disassembly:
Delete: Only available whilst the Disassembly is in Parked status, the Delete button removes the Disassembly from your account, with no changes made to your SOH. The Disassembly will not be available to view or use after it has been deleted.
Print: Generates a PDF version of the Disassembly, using the Doc Designer template selected in the Disassembly.
Save: Applies any changes made to the Disassembly whilst in Parked status.
In the bottom right corner of the Disassembly, the following total values are displayed:
Disassemble Cost Total: Displays the total value of the stock being disassembled, calculated as the assembled product's ALC x Disassemble Quantity.
Disassemble Cost Lines Total: Displays the sum-total value of the Disassemble Costs of the Disassembly Lines.
The Disassemble Cost Lines Total must equal the Disassemble Cost Total for the Disassembly to complete.
Disassembly details
At the top of a Disassembly, you will find the data fields that outline the main parameters of the deconstruction process, such as the warehouses the assembled stock will come from and where the component stock will be stored, and how many units of stock will be disassembled. The table below describes each Disassembly detail field and how they are used.
Disassembly detail fields | Description |
Source Warehouse | The warehouse from which the assembled products' SOH is taken to produce the component stock. When the Disassembly is completed, the assembled product's SOH will decrease in this warehouse by the Disassemble Quantity. |
Destinations Warehouse | When the Disassembly is completed, the warehouse where the component products' SOH will be added. |
Disassembly Quantity | The quantity being disassembled. If you update the Disassemble Quantity, the component quantities will recalculate proportionally. |
Disassembly Quantity | The assembled product's total SOH availability in the Source Warehouse. |
Disassembly By | Choose the date by which the Disassembly needs to be completed. |
Template | Use the drop-down menu to choose which Assemblies Doc Designer template will be used to generate a printed or emailed version of the Disassembly. |
Bill of Materials (read-only) | The assembled product's BOM reference number will be displayed. Click on the Bill of Materials field name to open the BOM. |
Disassembly Lines
Below the Disassembly's detail fields is the Disassembly Lines tab, which displays a grid that lists all of the component products and quantities currently included on the Disassembly. Edit the components and quantities in the Disassembly Lines tab to align with any real-world adjustments needed until the Assembly is completed.
To add components to a Disassembly:
Open the Disassembly, and go to the Disassembly Lines tab.
Search and select the product being added in the Component Product field.
Enter the total component quantity expected from the assembled product's Disassemble Quantity in the Quantity field.
Click Add.
The table below outlines the grid columns in the Disassembly Lines tab, where included component products are listed, and describes how they can be used.
Assembly Lines grid column header | Description |
Image (read-only) | Displays the component product's default image. |
Product Code | The unique code of the component product. |
Product Description | The component product's description. |
Quantity | The number of units that will be added to SOH for the component product. Click on the field to edit. |
Unit | The component product's base unit of measure. |
Available | The component product's current available SOH quantity in the Source Warehouse. |
Stock On Hand | The component product's SOH quantity in the Source Warehouse. |
Disassemble Cost | The total cost that will be attributed to the quantity added to the component product's SOH. By default, a weighted distribution method, using the component's ALC, is used to calculate each disassembly line's disassemble cost. If the component has no SOH, its Last Cost will be used instead. If a component is a Never Diminishing Product (NDP), its Cost will be used, but the Disassembly Cost for all components included will become editable. Click on the return arrow icon in the Disassemble Cost's header to revert the edited costs to the default calculation. |
Serial | If the component product is serialized, click on the Serial field to assign serial numbers to the quantity that will be added to the component product's Destination Warehouse. |
Batch | If the component product is batch-tracked, click on the Batch field to assign batch numbers to the quantity that will be added to the component product's Destination Warehouse. |
Delete | Click on the bin icon to remove the component and the Disassembly Line from the Disassembly. |
🤓 Tip: If manually distributing costs across your components, make sure the Disassemble Cost Lines Total matches the Disassemble Cost Total to ensure all costs have been accounted for.
Using Never Diminishing products in Disassemblies
To account for intangible costs that are attributed to the disassembly of a product, you can use Never Diminishing Product (NDP). NDPs can be added as a Disassembly Line to be included in the distribution of the assembled product's cost.
If your account is integrated with an accounting provider, such as Xero or Quickbooks, when an NDP is added to a Disassembly, an additional column called "Expense Account" will be displayed. By default, the Expense Account selected in the NDP's product record, or BOM, will automatically populate, but you can use the drop-down menu available in its Disassembly Line to select an alternative Expense Account for the NDP's cost to export to when the Disassembly is completed.
Serial and Batch Numbers
If the product being disassembled is serialized or batch-tracked, a Serial Number or Batch Numbers tab will be displayed in the Disassembly, respectively. Through the Serial or Batch Numbers tabs, you must allocate the appropriate serial and batch numbers from the assembled product's Source Warehouse SOH, before the Disassembly can be completed.
Within the Serial or Batch Numbers tab headers, a fraction is shown to identify how many units of the disassembling stock have a serial or batch number assigned. You can only complete the Disassembly if the fraction in the header is complete and highlighted in green. If the fraction is incomplete or highlighted in red, the serial or batch numbers assigned need to be reviewed and updated.
To assign serial numbers to the SOH being disassembled:
Open the Disassembly, select the Serial Numbers tab
An "Add serial numbers" pop-up window will show; use checkboxes or the free text field to tick or list the serial numbers of the SOH that will be disassembled.
Click Save.
To assign batch numbers to the SOH being assembled:
Open the Assembly, select the Batch Numbers tab
An "Add batch numbers" pop-up window will show; use the Quantity fields to select the batch numbers of the SOH that will be disassembled.
Click Save.
Complete a Disassembly
A Disassembly can only be completed if there is enough assembled SOH in the source warehouse. When completed, the Disassembly will remove the assembled products' quantity from the Source Warehouse's SOH, and the Destination Warehouse's SOH will increase by the quantities set per component product.
To verify stock updates after completing a disassembly, check the SOH for the component products within the destination warehouse. If discrepancies arise, review transaction details or confirm warehouse settings.
To complete a Disassembly, you can either:
Open the Disassembly and select Disassemble in the top right corner.
Find the Disassembly in View Assemblies and hover over the individual or bulk actions available, and select Complete.
📌Note: Once a Disassembly is in Complete status, it cannot be edited, reversed, or deleted.
If you need the disassembled components to be reconstructed, you can create a new assembly manually. This ensures that your inventory reflects the re-created assembled product.
Frequently asked questions
Why do you need to put costs on component products in a Disassembly?
Why do you need to put costs on component products in a Disassembly?
As a Disassembly will be adding stock for your component products, the increase in SOH needs a value to be attributed to it, in order for your inventory's total stock value to remain accurate. As the component's stock is disassembled from a product already in your inventory, the Average Landed Cost (ALC) of the product being disassembled is used to calculate the value that's attributed to the component stock it produces.
Can Supplier Costs be added to a Disassembly?
Can Supplier Costs be added to a Disassembly?
It is not currently possible to add costs incurred from a third-party supplier to a Disassembly. If additional costs need to be added to the value of the component stock produced from a Disassembly, we recommend completing a value-only Stock Adjustment.
Why doesn't the cost of an Assembly and a Disassembly for the same product match?
Why doesn't the cost of an Assembly and a Disassembly for the same product match?
The costs of an Assembly and the Disassembly will not always match due to the differences in how their costs are calculated. Whilst Assemblies and Disassemblies are inverse transactions, the Disassembly cost of an assembled product is not always expected to match its original Assembly's cost. This is because the Disassembly's cost is populated from the assembled product's current ALC, which will fluctuate with each transaction processed, whereas the Assembly's cost is a sum of the component ALCs and supplier costs.
Can I undo a Disassembly?
Can I undo a Disassembly?
It is not possible to undo a disassembly after is has been completed. However, you can recreate the original product by performing a new Assembly for the same quantity of stock, or by creating a Stock Adjustment.