Cross-references and equivalents: one part, one card
328-0730 and 3280730 are the same part; a Komatsu number and an aftermarket one may be too. How a parts catalogue keeps one card per part, and says who decided.
Two common catalogue problems are duplicate records for the same part and unverified claims that different parts are interchangeable. Consistent number formatting helps prevent duplicates; documented cross-references help the team review substitutions.
Consistent part-number formatting
328-0730 and 3280730 are one card on Terramine Desk, shown in the brand's own spelling. Number-shape rules per brand keep new numbers in the same form: Liebherr never has dashes, a 3-3-2 shape is Komatsu, bare digits are decided by the rest of the enquiry. Before any new card is made, up to 300 numbers are checked against the catalogue and shown to you, so nothing gets in without approval.
Record equivalents as structured groups
Numbers from different brands that are the same part are kept as one group, not as a remark in a description field. The group is searchable, and it is used everywhere a part is looked up: supplier ranking, pricing from price lists, and the agent's lookup on the phone. An equivalent is always marked as one, never passed off as the original.
Separate brand category from condition
"Aftermarket" and "used" are different questions, and a catalogue that has one field for both will get one of them wrong. Terramine Desk records both: original, OEM or aftermarket; and new, remanufactured or used. A supplier's answer keeps the brand and quality they offered, so the quotation says exactly what is being sold.
Record who created the cross-reference
Every cross-reference records who made it and when. When a customer disputes a substitution, you know whose call it was, and you can undo it for everyone at once.
Keep each cross-reference traceable to the person who recorded it. Confirm the required specification before using an equivalent in a customer quotation.
Signs your catalogue needs this
- Searching a number with and without dashes gives different results.
- Two suppliers quote "different" parts that turn out to be the same.
- Nobody can say why a part is listed as an equivalent.
- The phone team cannot tell a caller whether you have an alternative.
How cross-references support daily work
Cross-references are where a trader's knowledge lives. Kept as groups with a name against them, they rank more suppliers for every order, price more lines from the lists, and let the agent tell a caller at night that an equivalent exists.
How to improve an existing catalogue
Nobody starts clean. Load the price lists you already have, let Terramine Desk check every number against the catalogue before a card is made, and merge the duplicate spellings it shows you. Then record cross-references as they come up in real work: a supplier offering an equivalent, a customer asking for an alternative, a salesperson who knows two numbers are the same part. Each one is a group with a name against it, and each one makes the next RFQ faster to price and the next supplier ranking longer.
The systems: TERRA-308 CROSS, TERRA-306 CATALOGUE and TERRA-110 LOOKUP.
Are 328-0730 and 3280730 the same part?
Yes, and Terramine Desk keeps them as one card, shown in CAT's own spelling.
What is the difference between OEM and aftermarket here?
Original, OEM and aftermarket describe who made the part; new, remanufactured and used describe its condition. Both are recorded.
Can the voice agent offer an equivalent?
It can say that an equivalent exists and what it is, never its price or supplier.