PLM Demo Videos with Polaris
See demonstrations of how Polaris is using product lifecycle management technologies to help drive its digital transformation.
Watch NowWhat is BOM Management?
BOM management is the capturing, configuring, and managing of all product data that is developed throughout the lifecycle of a product. Effective BOM management is critical to a manufacturer’s success no matter the size or the number of parts in the product.
Your Digital Transformation Starts With BOM Management
Most manufacturers are grappling with speed and agility in the face of growing numbers of product options and variants. Homegrown tools and processes make it very challenging to find and ensure traceability and associativity of the right product information.
By adopting a parts-centric approach to managing their bill of materials, manufacturers can foster collaboration from the point of product conception through manufacturing, device connectivity, and field service.
Benefits of BOM Management
Here are ten ways manufacturers can realize immediate benefits from a digital product definition that provides full connectivity across engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, sales, and service.
Support a range of BOM structures
Provide specific BOM views for departments, each of which are associated with the others, ensuring traceability between parts (CAD, electrical, mechanical, software, and so on).
Comprehensively manage configurations
Create “closed-loop” lifecycle system consolidation and automatically incorporate the configuration flow from upstream definitions into downstream configured BOMs.
Ensure change management and traceability
Products evolve rapidly. Easily manage changes to a product’s definition and ensure your deliverables reflect product development changes across the enterprise.
Optimize downstream utilization
Ensure data accuracy and configurations of upstream and downstream deliverables to optimize workflows and processes across the organization.
Enable collaboration and IP protection
Share relevant, accurate, up-to-date data that can be accessed and used with minimal rework to maximize productivity—all while protecting intellectual property (IP).
Create BOM-based reports
Enable users to better understand the digital product definition, allowing them to query and find specific information and understand patterns, as well as analyze the products.
Make BOM transformation a reality
Enable a group to change the original BOM to a view that works for them. Downstream users can plan their BOMs earlier in the process rather than wait for engineering drawings.
Start Your PLM Foundation the Right Way
Are you still using engineering drawings and spreadsheets as your product definition? It’s time to switch to a part-centric approach. Explore how a part centric BOM can provide a holistic digital product definition, streamline collaboration, reduce complexity and more in this new eBook. Download now to learn how to improve your product management.
Key BOM Management Software Features
Comprehensive out-of-the-box configuration management for a model-based digital thread. Downstream digital content is associative (not copied) with traceable links to manufacturing, service, and more.
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Visualization: See product configurations in 3D including loading components on demand, perform interference checking, color coded search and visual compare in Creo View, while fully leveraging these viewables in downstream in process plans, work instructions, catalogs, AR, etc.
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Editing: Create and manage product designs including inline editing, autocomplete search, save-as, import from spreadsheet, and driving BOM built from CAD
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Compare: Compare product structures including differences in parts, bill of materials, CAD, documents, etc. View differences and explore in 3D
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Part replacements and supersedes: Define relationships of interchangeability including alternates, substitutes and part obsolescence
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Part classification: Define attributes that streamline finding parts using graphical navigation or attribute searching. Ensure part standardization through classification driven naming
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Options and variants: Build configurable product platforms and create configurations and 3D deliverables for design and downstream needs such as MBOM and process plans
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Part AML/AVL: Tie supplier part information to product design and allow definition of preferred suppliers for commodity parts. Enable part request process for supply chain and engineering collaboration
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Integration for embedded software: Link software deliverables from SCM tools to BOM to provide a complete product definition including software
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Transformation: Associative engineering, manufacturing, and service bill of materials views to streamline reconciliation; support for textual and graphical transformation
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Part types: Define parts definitions that help describe and capture different business needs with varying attributes, lifecycles and access control.
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Part history: Timeline history; compare information and part structure directly from history table
Customer Stories
Learn how these companies have adopted a parts-centric approach to managing their BOMs in order to drive their digital transformation.
Types of bills of material
Engineering BOM (EBOM)
Enable product design to associatively create the EBOM from up-to-date CAD and PLM data.
Manufacturing BOM (MBOM)
Enable manufacturing teams to associatively create the MBOM from the EBOM and prepare process manufacturing plans and work instructions.
Service BOM (SBOM)
Enable service teams to associatively create the SBOM from the EBOM. Prepare work instructions, manage service parts and information, and establish connected field service.
Learn More About Windchill
Explore PTC’s Windchill enterprise PLM solution. With its breakthrough PLM capabilities, Windchill enables you to adopt a parts-centric approach to managing your bill of materials with a single source of truth to all product data. Experience true closed-loop lifecycle management from early concept through all iterations, design cycles, and stages until your product is fully released.
