Many small manufacturers try to get by with ERP systems designed for anything but a manufacturer. Often, these are accounting systems with some distribution capability, but they typically lack full Bill of Materials (BOM) control.

What does this mean? Just because a company is small doesn’t mean they produce simple products. Many shops build products with multiple stages of assembly, requiring components, subassemblies, and finished goods to all work together in a coordinated process.

Though some distribution systems can offer simple “kitting” capability, they lack full BOM control, so they can’t easily handle subassemblies and their components.

Visibility Across Production

Kitting is the process of grouping required parts and materials into a single package before assembly begins. For example, a manufacturer may kit together all parts needed to assemble a medical device before production begins.

While useful for simple assembly or packaging operations, kitting does not provide the detailed breakdown required for true manufacturing environments.

It typically lacks multi-level relationships between components, detailed production planning, and visibility into how lower-level assemblies fit into the final product.

A Bill of Materials, on the other hand, is a complete structured list of all parts, materials, components, and subassemblies required to manufacture a product.

A BOM defines not only what goes into a product, but also how components work together throughout the production process.

Multi-level BOM capability allows manufacturers to manage products that contain assemblies within assemblies, often across several production stages.

Full BOM Control

Without accurate Bill of Materials control, shops may face inventory shortages, excess inventory, production delays, and inaccurate scheduling.

If systems cannot track component usage in production, inventory levels may be inaccurate. Missing lower-level components can halt production of an upper-level assembly, even when finished items appear to be scheduled correctly.

This level of control gives manufacturers the tools needed to plan materials more accurately, reduce shortages, improve scheduling, and gain visibility throughout the entire process.

PBS Manufacturing

PBS Manufacturing provides complete BOM control, allowing you to build out simple or complex bills of materials. Leveraging this information helps you plan inventory across all levels of the BOM.

PBS can help you quickly and easily schedule not only the finished product in production, but automatically plan your lower-level components in seconds. This ensures each level of production is completed in time for the next stage.

The system can help you get close to 100% on-time delivery through accurate production and material planning.

An engineering manager, a PBS Manufacturing user in Long Island explains, “I have the full Bill of Materials structure and control that I need. When I look up our inventory, I can say that I have confidence in the numbers – it has never let us down. I don’t have to go find out if we have something and count it myself to know what we have.”

There’s a common benefit that comes from this level of control — reduced lead times.

From the same PBS Manufacturing ERP customer, “We have reduced our order lead time. For example, we recently had a rush order arrive at 3 PM in the afternoon. This order was completed and was shipped out on the next morning’s UPS pick-up. Our lead time is indeed down to minutes, from days.”

These experiences highlight how full Bill of Materials control improves inventory accuracy and shortens lead times for better customer service.

PBS Manufacturing ERP provides the visibility needed to coordinate every stage of production, reduce material shortages, have needed inventory on hand, and shorten lead times for better customer service.

Explore PBS Manufacturing, an affordable yet robust system designed to serve the needs of small to mid-sized manufacturers. Or, contact us – we are here to help.