i-BOM is a web-based application designed to seamlessly integrate and synchronize Computer Aided Design (CAD) Bill of Materials data with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The letter “i” and “BOM” in i-BOM stands for Integrated and Bill of Manufacturing respectively.
i-BOM simplifies and shorten product development and manufacturing time by providing real-time CAD and ERP BOM information exchange. CAD drawings can be quickly converted into manufacturing bill of materials, while changes to drawing properties or ERP bill of materials can be easily highlighted and synchronized both ways.
BENEFITS
Cycle time reduction
CAD drawings in most cases are done by design engineers whilst Bill of Manufacturing are maintained by manufacturing engineers / planners.
i-BOM reduces the time for information between these departments. This savings is significant where design changes is frequent. Thus, the cycle time from design to manufacture becomes faster.
Double-entries are eliminated when both CAD and ERP are integrated. This saves plenty of time in the product lifecycle when new manufacturing BOM is to be created and revised. Purchases will be able to purchase immediately once the new/updated BOM is reflected in the ERP system.
Reduce data entry errors
When CAD and ERP BOMs are not integrated electronically, there will be manual processes to re-enter BOM data such as item code, quantity per into the ERP system. As with all manual processes, they are prone to errors and some can be very costly. For example, if the wrong item code is entered, purchasers end up buying the wrong items or if the quantity per is wrong, they also end up over/under purchase. Using i-BOM, manual re-keying in of data into the ERP is eliminated thus eliminating mistakes due to typo errors.
Centralized management
If re-keyed in manually into the ERP system, manufacturers would have to dedicate headcount just for this non-value added task that could be easily eliminated from the value-chain. Users now do not need to re-enter BOM and can manage changes from a single platform instead of constantly requiring to communicate with design and production departments.
