The physical marking requirements are defined by a set of attributes such as serial number, part number, cage code; and the type of physical marking method to use such as label, vibro-peen, etc. The details of the marking process are captured and attached as a specification file to a part marking object. The part marking can be specified as an attribute on a development part only after its attached specification file has been reviewed and promoted to the Approved state, and the part marking object has been reviewed and promoted to the Complete state. Part usage tracking is accomplished by selecting whether the part is to be tracked in the as-built BOM by serial number or lot number. Parts that share common tracking requirements are attached to the same part marking object. | ||||||||||||