The developing process of modern manufacturers involves new ways of fast and effective product creation. It requires a constant change in the fabrication; manual techniques and methods must evolve to fulfill the market’s needs. A bill of materials (BoM) is one of the central elements of the manufacturing process. Hence, to correspond to the demands of the current customers, the BoM creation must undergo automation development.
It is crucial to analyze the manual method of its formation to understand the benefits and features of an automated bill of materials. The traditional definition of BoM is a detailed list or diagram of the raw materials, assemblies, parts, and components required to make a product, along with the quantities, labor requirements, and technical equipment (Cinellia et al., 2020). The directions for procuring and using the supplies are also included in BoMs. The structure of a bill of materials is hierarchical. Subassemblies, components, and other additional materials belong at lower levels of importance than the finished product, which is classified as the highest level. For instance, manufacturing pane windows as a product requires window framing, glass, latch – at the prime level, and rubber seal, hinges, brackets, and protective package – at the lowest. Additionally, BoM provides detailed information about the production cost based on the price of individual materials during manufacturing.
A BoM offers complete control over the fabrication process, making it accurate and more efficient, providing a detailed plan to follow. The main benefits include planning purchases, estimating material costs, managing inventory and adjusting the supply chain, controlling expenses, and reducing waste due to limited resources. It is also possible to determine the cause in the case of product failure. Additionally, the examination of BoM data may provide important information about the criticality of raw materials and semi-finished items, guiding how various components may affect the production and distribution of final products.
There are various types of BoM, including software, engineering, manufacturing, and single and multi-layered bills of materials. A codebase’s open-source and third-party components are listed in a software Bill of Materials (SBoM). Moreover, it provides the revisions of the components utilized in the codebase, their patch status, and the licenses that govern them. This information enables security teams to identify any security or license problems immediately.
The detailed bill of materials analysis can be performed on any product manufactured manually or automatically. For instance, the Mongoose Logo BMX bike, manufactured in Asia, primarily in China, consists of many components, each being a part of 4 main groups, forming a hierarchical system. The highest level is the final product – the bike; the second level is the components, wheels, seat, frame, and handlebar groups. The last level consists of 13 subcomponents: rim, tire, spokes, reflector, valves, pedals, chainrings, sprockets, chain, fork, brakes, grips, and seat post. Each detail has the features, suppliers, and raw materials required to produce it.
Looking further into the BoM of the BMX bike, the following parts are produced together: frame, handlebar, and fork. These sub-components consist of the raw materials of high-tensile steel, brass, and aluminum, the largest sub-assembly of the material is in China, and the leading steel supplier is ArcelorMittal. The sub-components made by ArcelorMittal create the main body of the final product. The most important part of the components made of raw metal components is the brakes, which are produced from aluminum alloy.
Other raw materials include nylon plastic for pedals; the supplier for Mongoose is Dow Chemical Company, which sub-assemblies located in more than 37 countries. Another crucial supplier is INNOVA Tires, with factories in Taiwan and China. Its sub-assemblies include rubber manufacturing in Asia, one of the main raw components needed for the BoM of the bike. Thus, the manufacturing of separate components requires working with suppliers from all across the world.
The central assembly of the manufacturer creates the seat, front and rear hub. The seat consists of additional sub-components. Hence it is made of molded plastic in the form of a hard shell that is held together by steel saddle rails and two clamps – saddle and seat post. Both posts are created from the raw material of high-tensile steel supplied by ArcelorMittal. The other essential component to mention in the analysis is the grip, the supplier of which is Odyssey Adam Banton. The Californian company, with factories located mainly in Asia, provides unique components of the raw material of elastic rubber. It is the product of the sub-parts, which are created specifically for the needs of this element of the bike. Thus, every component of the second level includes pre-made parts from the suppliers and sub-assemblies. However, the third category of details includes several sub-components created directly at the manufacture from the raw materials, most of which are located in Asia.
Based on the example of suppliers’ systems in the production sphere, the BoM broadening field is evident with evolution. The latest research shows that further analysis of the created list may provide broader data to optimize final fabrication and the choice of suppliers. For instance, by utilizing the network approach for BoM, there is the possibility to optimize Asian assemblies for a stable and cooperative process. Based on the obtained information, almost all factories required for BMX bike creation are located in China. The network includes synchronized planning, a smart factory, dynamic fulfillment, digital development, and constant data update to follow the progress. Developers considering the capacity through it interpret the overall participation of a part in the final product considering both the occurrence in the BoM network in which it is involved and the required quantities (Cinellia et al., 2020). It provides an analysis of a final product’s dependency on a specific raw material, such as a particular type of steel or rubber, and the safety aspect of the last transport.
As a result, these measures’ evaluation focuses on the degree to which a final product depends on its starting components and assemblies. It determines the weak links in the system, which can affect the failure of the final product or reduce its functionality. For instance, it shows how choosing separate details from suppliers and the material’s origin can affect the
Therefore, the production process is highly determined by the bills of materials of various types. However, manufacturing is one of the central aspects defining the project’s material result. The vital issue here is the process of automatizing the BoM creation, which can decrease the obstacles in the data track during the fabrication. Additionally, the network approach can provide a broader understanding of the results in the beginning phase of production. Hence, applying all mentioned methods to the manufacturing bill allows creators to build a stable and reliable supply management system.
Reference
Cinellia, M., Ferrarob, G., Iovanellab, A., Luccib, G., & Schiraldi, M. M. (2020). A network perspective for the analysis of the bill of material.Procedia CIRP, 80, 19-24.