My last blog focused on the need for a Manufacturing BOM (mBOM). When organizations start to embrace the value of mBOM and  decide to invest on solutions to manage a mBOM, the first question is where to master it , PLM or ERP ?

The answer to that question varies depending on the maturity level of PLM and ERP adoption and penetration in the organization .  If both PLM & ERP are at the same or similar maturity level, then there are many good reasons to author & manage mBOM in a PLM system and to make ERP a consumer of the mBOM mastered in PLM.

First, in PLM mBOM is integrated with the eBOM and design process . eBOM integration and reuse enables front loading, and helps manufacturing team to lower cost of mBOM authoring and management and shorten time to market.  Manufacturing users can also leverage the 3D visualization data in mBOM for better decisions and  better quality. With the master model approach being adopted by leading organizations, there is lot of Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) on the 3D Master Model, which can be leveraged in both mBOM and downstream process planning.  mBOM can also act as the starting point for detailed process planning to create the Bill of Process (BOP) inside PLM . BOP or Routing can also leverage the 3D visualization data to produce visual work instructions , which will always remain updated with the upstream design changes. The process plans can  also be simulated and validated (feasibility, human ergo, collision etc) before actual execution.  The validated Routing then get sent to Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) along with the visual work instructions. That way there  is full traceabilty from CAD to eBOM to mBOM to BOP and eventually to MES.

The traceability enables users to run where used queries among all products and plants during a change process. This ensures all product changes are evaluated for impacts in both engineering and manufacturing contexts.

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