Choosing an Alternate (and Why It Makes Purchasing Easier)

When you scrub a BOM, Cofactr surfaces Alternate Parts alongside your Originals. An Alternate is a Form, Fit, and Function equivalent that may be cheaper, more available, or have a shorter lead time than the part you started with. Choosing the right one is one of the simplest ways to lower your cost and speed up an order, and it often clears a part that would otherwise need a Quote.

What is an Alternate?

An Alternate is a Form, Fit, and Function equivalent of the part on your BOM line. The Alternates you will see most are packaging variants of the same Manufacturer Part: tape versus reel, a different reel size, a cut-tape version, or a different reel suffix. Same part, same Manufacturer, different packaging. In some cases an Alternate is an equivalent part from another Manufacturer that your team has approved.

Where You Pick Alternates: The BOM Scrub

Right after you upload a BOM, the Ailana AI scrub opens automatically. Alongside catching No Match parts, merging duplicates, and confirming packaging, it runs Identify Alts. This is where Cofactr suggests Alternates for any line where it found a different option, and you accept or reject each suggestion right there, before the BOM ever reaches your program.

Most of what you will see here are high-confidence packaging Alternates, tape versus reel and similar, and you can accept those with a single click. For each suggested Alternate, take a few seconds to check:

• Packaging. Cofactr uses packaging type for attrition calculations at the program level, so it is worth confirming.

Buyable Versus Needs RFQ

Once No Matches are fixed, every line on your BOM lands in one of two lanes.

Buyable parts can be purchased immediately through the platform. You get listed pricing and lead time, and the part drops straight into your cart.

Needs RFQ parts route to our Procurement Team to source and quote, because the supply, Manufacturer, or lead time and cost is unknown. This is the right path for genuinely hard-to-find parts, and our team will go out and get you the best price and lead time available.

Here is where Alternates matter most. A line often lands in Needs RFQ only because the exact part we matched needs a Quote, while an approved packaging Alternate right next to it is already Buyable. We regularly see a line flagged Needs RFQ that is really just a tape-versus-reel difference the customer is fine with, where the Buyable version is available in a few days instead of sitting in a Quote cycle.

Why It Makes Purchasing Go Better

Choosing the right Alternate can potentially speed up and lower the cost of the order in addition to the following:

• Better Availability and Shorter Lead Time. You get parts sooner.

• More of Your BOM Stays Buyable. Buyable parts purchase once you approve the cart, instead of waiting on a Quote to come back.

• Fewer Back-and-Forths. If you submit an RFQ for a part that has a Buyable Alternate, our team will usually reach back out to confirm you are okay with the variant. Accepting the Alternate yourself skips that round trip.

When You Should Still Submit an RFQ

Some parts genuinely do not have an Alternate, or every available source needs a Quote. That is exactly what RFQs are for. When you submit one, use the notes to list any acceptable Alternates, a target price, and how urgent it is, so our Procurement Team can source against them. Once Quotes come back, you approve the one you want and it becomes Buyable and drops into your cart. Alternates are not about avoiding RFQs. They are about making sure you only use one when you actually need it. Learn about how to submit an RFQ here: Cofactr Ordering Experience - Purchasing Parts