What Is Manufacturing Bill of Material Software?

Your engineering teams design brilliant products, but translating those designs into efficient manufacturing processes requires coordination between multiple departments, suppliers, and production schedules. For many businesses, having the right manufacturing bill of materials (MBOM) software is the difference between profitable production and costly delays. But what is MBOM, and how do these systems benefit manufacturers? Learn more here. 

Manufacturing bill of materials software is a digital system that organizes, manages, and tracks all the components, subassembly structures, materials, and instructions needed to build your products. The MBOM definition has evolved from the traditional paper-based systems that manufacturers used for decades to document their production requirements. Today, MBOM software is found in most modern production facilities, connecting design teams, production monitoring, and supply chains through a single source of truth.

The Difference Between EBOM and MBOM

EBOM and MBOM are often confused, but they’re not exactly the same thing. An engineering bill of materials (EBOM) focuses on the product design perspective, listing components as engineers envision them, while a manufacturing bill of materials (MBOM) translates designs into the practical reality of how you'll actually build the product on the shop floor.

Both systems share the core goal of defining what goes into your product, but EBOM captures the "what" from a design standpoint, whereas the meaning of MBOM addresses the "how" from a production standpoint. You need EBOM during the design and development phases when your engineering team is creating and refining the product concept. MBOM becomes critical when you're ready to move into production, as it accounts for manufacturing processes, assembly sequences, and shop floor realities that weren't part of the original design considerations.

Beyond knowing what manufacturing BOM software is, you need to know how to find the right one. Look for solutions that offer comprehensive features, from initial cost estimates to final quality control.

Cost Estimation and Analysis

Cost estimation and analysis features help you calculate the true expense of producing each product by factoring in materials, labor, overhead, and manufacturing processes before you commit to production. This allows you to identify cost-saving opportunities early in the design phase, compare different manufacturing approaches, and provide accurate quotes to your customers. When you can see exactly how each component and process step affects your bottom line, you can make more informed decisions about materials sourcing, production methods, and pricing strategies.

Integration Capabilities

Integration capabilities allow your MBOM software to communicate seamlessly with your manufacturing ecosystem, including inventory management, procurement, and quality control. Connectivity eliminates data silos that force your team to manually transfer information between systems, reducing errors and saving valuable time. Strong integration features also mean that changes in your MBOM automatically update related systems, keeping everyone working with the same accurate, real-time information.

Revision and Change Management

Revision and change management features track every modification to your MBOMs, maintaining a complete history of what changed, when it changed, and who made the change. Version control keeps your teams aligned by preventing confusion about which MBOM version is current. Role-based access control adds another layer of protection by allowing only authorized personnel to make changes while giving different team members appropriate levels of access based on their responsibilities.

Collaboration Tools

MBOM tools should facilitate smooth communication between internal teams like engineering, production, and quality assurance, allowing them to share updates, ask questions, and resolve issues without leaving the system. These same MBOM tool uses can extend to external collaboration with suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders who need visibility into your processes or specifications. Ultimately, you’ll reduce delays, prevent miscommunications, and keep projects moving forward on schedule.

Integration with PLM and ERP Systems

Integration with product lifecycle management (PLM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems creates a unified environment where design data flows seamlessly. For example, when your engineering team updates a design in your PLM system, those changes automatically reflect in your MBOM system and trigger appropriate actions in your ERP system for procurement, scheduling, and inventory management. Tight integration between these systems eliminates manual data entry and potential errors that occur when systems operate in isolation, while also providing end-to-end traceability from design updates to finished products.

The answer to “What is MBOM software?” will vary because each manufacturing industry has unique regulatory demands, complexity levels, and production challenges. While the core functionality remains consistent, your MBOM tool should adapt based on industry requirements and manufacturing processes. For example:

• Automotive manufacturing: Automotive manufacturers use MBOM software to manage components across multiple vehicle models and track complex supplier relationships. They need robust change management capabilities and comprehensive traceability features to support recalls and warranty claims.
• Electronics and consumer goods: Electronics manufacturers rely on MBOM tools to manage rapid product iterations and track component obsolescence. They require advanced version control systems for frequent design updates and strong integration capabilities to coordinate global supply chains.
• Medical devices: Medical device manufacturers use MBOM software to maintain detailed documentation and strict regulatory compliance. They need comprehensive audit trails and role-based access controls to demonstrate compliance throughout rigorous testing processes and protect intellectual property.
• Aerospace: Aerospace manufacturers depend on MBOM systems to manage extremely complex assemblies with thousands of components. They require advanced materials tracking and comprehensive change control processes to support long product lifecycles and stringent safety requirements.

By now, you should understand what manufacturing BOM software is, but you may be wondering why you need it as part of a broader BOM management strategy. The answer is that manufacturing bill of materials software delivers measurable improvements across your entire operation.

Enhanced Efficiency

Enhanced efficiency comes from eliminating manual processes and time-consuming searches so your teams spend less time hunting for information and more time adding value to your products. Automated workflows also guide materials and components through your production process without constant oversight. To maximize this benefit, choose MBOM software that integrates well with your existing systems and provides intuitive interfaces that your team can adopt quickly.

Improved Inventory Management

Improved inventory management results from having precise visibility into what raw materials and other components you need, when you need them, and how much you currently have on hand. MBOM software helps you avoid extremes of excess inventory tying up your cash flow and shortages that halt production lines. It can even identify opportunities to standardize components across multiple products. You'll see the greatest improvement when it connects directly to the relevant systems, creating automatic reorder points and purchase suggestions based on your production schedule.

Design Accuracy and Product Quality

Design accuracy and product quality improve when your manufacturing teams work from detailed, up-to-date MBOMs that specify exact components, assembly instructions, and quality requirements for each product. Clear documentation reduces the guesswork that leads to assembly errors, while change management features verify that everyone builds products using the latest approved specifications. Find MBOM software that includes visual elements like drawings and photos to help your production team understand exactly what they're building and spot potential issues.

Cost Reduction and Accuracy

Ultimately, using software for your manufacturing bills of materials benefits your bottom line through cost reduction and accuracy. When you can analyze the true cost of each component and manufacturing step before production, you can identify less expensive alternatives and more efficient processes. Accurate cost data also helps you price your products competitively while maintaining healthy profit margins. Look for MBOM software that includes robust reporting and analytics capabilities to help you spot trends and opportunities that might not be obvious from day-to-day operations.

Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory compliance becomes more manageable when your MBOM software maintains detailed records of what went into each product, when it was built, and who was responsible for each step. This documentation can be invaluable during audits, recalls, or quality investigations. Choose software that includes configurable workflows and audit trails, which help you demonstrate compliance to regulators and customers and prevent non-compliant products from reaching the market.

So, what is manufacturing BOM software? The answer depends on your needs. That’s why it’s so important to find an experienced, customizable solution like DELMIAWorks. We go beyond traditional software by building your MBOM around your actual operations and processes, not just component lists. Our MBOM software captures the complete picture of what it takes to build your products, including labor requirements, tools, dies, fixtures, setup times, scrap rates, and efficiency factors that other systems overlook.

Our flexible platform supports multiple manufacturing types with unique elements tailored to your specific production methods. Whether you're running discrete manufacturing, process operations, or blended recipes, DELMIAWorks provides the depth and flexibility that manufacturers like you need to scale their operations efficiently.

Ready to see how manufacturing bill of materials software can streamline your production operations? Contact our team today to discover how DELMIAWorks can help you build more accurate BOMs that drive real results on your shop floor.