Supplier compliance validation fails when CAD specifications include custom material codes

PLM Windchill
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1

We’re experiencing validation failures in our sourcing module when suppliers submit proposals containing CAD assemblies with custom material codes. Our engineering team uses extended material properties in Creo that map to internal codes (MAT-CUST-####), but the supplier compliance validation rejects these during the proposal review.

The validation error shows:


MaterialValidationException: Unknown material code MAT-CUST-2847
at SupplierProposalValidator.validateMaterials(line 234)

Our supplier catalog integration seems to only recognize standard material codes from the base material library. When engineering specifies custom materials with compliance requirements, the system can’t verify supplier capabilities against these specifications. This is blocking 15-20 supplier proposals weekly and creating significant delays in our sourcing process.

Has anyone successfully integrated custom CAD material codes with supplier compliance validation in Windchill 12.0? We need the validation to check both standard and custom material codes against supplier certifications.

2

We had similar issues last year. The problem is twofold: first, the CAD material mapping doesn’t automatically populate supplier qualification tables, and second, the compliance validation logic is hardcoded to expect specific material code formats. We ended up creating a custom material code registry that bridges CAD specifications with supplier capabilities. It required extending both the part master data model and the supplier qualification workflow to cross-reference custom codes.

3

The real issue here is that material code verification happens at the wrong stage in your workflow. By the time suppliers submit proposals, the custom material codes should already be validated and mapped to supplier capabilities. You need to implement pre-validation during the RFQ creation phase so suppliers only see materials they’re qualified to provide. This prevents the downstream validation failures you’re experiencing.

4

I worked through this exact scenario at my previous company. Here’s a comprehensive solution addressing material code verification, supplier catalog integration, compliance validation, and CAD material mapping:

Step 1: Extend Material Code Registry Create a custom MaterialCodeMapping soft type that links CAD material codes to supplier qualification data:


// Pseudocode - Material code mapping:
1. Create MaterialCodeMapping object extending WTObject
2. Add attributes: customCode, standardEquivalent, complianceCategory
3. Link to SupplierQualification through reference attribute
4. Implement validation rules in type definition

Step 2: Enhance Supplier Catalog Integration Modify the supplier profile to include custom material capabilities. In your supplier onboarding workflow, add a step where suppliers map their certifications to both standard AND custom material codes. This populates the MaterialCodeMapping table with bidirectional references.

Step 3: Custom Validation Logic Extend the SupplierProposalValidator class to check custom material codes. The key is implementing a lookup that first checks if a custom code exists in MaterialCodeMapping, then validates against linked supplier qualifications. Add this before the standard validation runs.

Step 4: CAD Material Mapping Synchronization Implement a scheduled job that extracts custom material codes from CAD metadata (Creo extended properties) and syncs them to the MaterialCodeMapping registry. This ensures new custom materials automatically become available for supplier validation. Run this daily or trigger it on part release.

Step 5: Compliance Validation Rules Create a validation rule set specifically for custom materials. In the compliance validation configuration, add logic that:

  • Checks if material code matches MAT-CUST-* pattern
  • Looks up MaterialCodeMapping entry
  • Validates supplier has qualification for that custom code OR its standard equivalent
  • Logs audit trail for compliance tracking

Step 6: Supplier Workspace Enhancement Give suppliers read access to MaterialCodeMapping through their workspace. They need to see custom material definitions and requirements during proposal preparation. Add a material specification viewer to the supplier portal that shows both standard and custom codes with their compliance requirements.

Implementation Impact: This approach maintains compliance validation integrity while supporting custom material codes. The MaterialCodeMapping acts as a translation layer between engineering’s custom codes and supplier capabilities. Validation failures will only occur for legitimate mismatches, not system configuration gaps.

Configuration Note: In your site-specific properties, add:


com.ptc.windchill.supplier.validateCustomMaterials=true
com.ptc.windchill.supplier.materialMappingEnabled=true

This solution addresses all four aspects: material code verification through the mapping registry, supplier catalog integration via enhanced profiles, compliance validation with custom rules, and CAD material mapping through automated synchronization. Your 15-20 weekly proposal blocks should resolve once suppliers can properly declare custom material capabilities.

5

Look into the supplier workspace configuration too. If your suppliers are accessing a limited view of your material specifications, they might not have visibility into the custom material definitions and therefore can’t properly map their capabilities. The compliance validation is doing its job - it’s catching mismatches between what’s specified and what suppliers claim they can provide. You need better upstream communication of custom material requirements.

6

I’ve seen this before. The default supplier validation only checks against the standard material library tables. Your custom material codes aren’t being recognized because they’re stored as extended attributes in the CAD metadata but not mapped to the supplier qualification database. You need to extend the MaterialSpecification object to include your custom codes in the validation scope.

7

Check your supplier catalog configuration. There’s a property file that defines which material attributes get validated during compliance checks. By default it only includes standard material codes. You’ll need to add your custom material code attribute to the validation rules and ensure your supplier records include capability mappings for these custom codes. Otherwise the validator has nothing to compare against.