Manufacturing BOM
What is a manufacturing BOM (MBOM)?
A manufacturing BOM (MBOM) – manufacturing bill of materials – lists all the materials and components needed to produce a specific product. The manufacturing BOM serves as a master definition that informs the organization what to make, while complimentary information explaining how to make the product is provided in the bill of process (BOP).
The manufacturing BOM is generated in manufacturing process planning software within a manufacturer’s product lifecycle management (PLM) system. As products across many industries have become more complex and include mechanical, electronic, and software development, the creation of the MBOM within integrated PLM software has become essential to ensure both accuracy and flexibility.
The manufacturing BOM is distinct from the engineering bill of materials (EBOM), although a modern PLM ensures that all BOMs associated with a product are defined and managed to be consistent with each other. While the EBOM emphasizes how materials and parts relate to the product’s functional design, the MBOM reflects how the materials and parts build a complete product. The EBOM is based on design data, and the MBOM is based on the EBOM.
The manufacturing bill of materials lists all the materials and components needed to produce a specific product.
Functions of MBOM software
Functions of MBOM software
Effectively and efficiently managing the MBOM has become more complicated recently for many manufacturers, both because of the need to maintain consistency with the EBOM and because of growing customer demand for product choices and variations. An individual product definition and MBOM for each variant quickly grows to an unwieldy data set, and keeping all variant MBOMs individually up to date with any design changes is unacceptably time-consuming. Manufacturing BOM software addresses these difficulties by delivering effective BOM management throughout planning, development, and manufacturing.
Manufacturing BOM software provides a common source of BOM information across the manufacturer’s organization. It allows manufacturers to coordinate upfront planning of available product options and features. It connects the product definition to partners and suppliers in need of manufacturing, service, and support knowledge.
MBOM software features:
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Flexibility in MBOM definition and management built on a common, accurate product definition, up-to-date across design, development, manufacturing, and service
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Reconciliation of the MBOM with the engineering BOM (EBOM) to ensure that engineering and manufacturing BOMs correctly correspond to the current product design or process changes
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MBOM configuration management that enables a single definition of variability, which can be leveraged throughout the product lifecycle
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MBOM change management that tracks changes as they are being made and automatically enables traceability between change and product data and coordination of the impact of change on the bill of materials
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Design and context management to search and filter product and MBOM information for each user’s particular needs
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MBOM visualization that allows stakeholders across the enterprise to interact with an accurate 3D representation of the MBOM
Benefits of manufacturing BOM software
Supported within a modern PLM system, MBOM software provides a complete, up-to-date source of information that eliminates the need for standalone spreadsheets and systems.
Additional benefits:
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Accelerated product development and transition to manufacturing
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Cost-effective, accurate execution of planned products
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Rapid visualization and validation of MBOM updates to address product or process changes
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Reduced delays and greater on-time delivery