Today’s Product Innovators Need Intelligent BOM Management

Early BOM Management Solutions

Tabulated BOMs on Drawings

Benefits

Depicted BOMs (parts List) shown directly on drawing

Weaknesses

Not intelligent (raster image)

Spreadsheets

Benefits:

Introduced parent/child structure and basic relationship

Weaknesses

Disconnected from drawings, change orders
Difficult to control changes and track usage

Relational Databases

Benefits

Provided ability to classify and data (e.g., item master, approved manufacturer’s data could be associated with BOM structure data)
Created ability to manage multilevel BOM relationship and search for where-used assemblies

Weaknesses

Early databases required IT/ technical resources and were “home-grown” solutions
Separated from systems and processes that managed change orders, drawings, files, and other documentation

Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

Benefits:

Increased productivity and quality of mechanical or electrical designs (vs. manual, hand-drawn designs)
Provided ability to generate BOM and export for use in downstream systems

Weaknesses

Disconnected design systems (e.g., EDA, mCAD, software)

Product Data Management (PDM)

Benefits

Simplified engineering design team collaboration when working simultaneously on the same designs

Weaknesses

Failed to introduce any real BOM-related advantages beyond what CAD solution offered
PDM solutions typically addressed only one CAD tool and didn’t provide comprehensive way to manage ALL aspects of design (e.g., electrical, mechanical, software)

Enterprise Requirements Planning (ERP)

Benefits:

Improved and helped automate production planning, procurement, and manufacturing processes
Included ability to manage BOM record more effectively

Weaknesses

Focused on latest-release BOM used for production and planning, not on all preproduction revisions in design and development
Did not address supply chain collaboration

As these solutions were introduced, many companies leveraged more than one, resulting in disparate systems across the enterprise. This led to a patchwork of systems in which impacted teams had difficulty identifying the right revision or product design.

Addressing Broader Product Development Processes