How to manage BOM for your hardware project

We live in an era of the democratization of manufacturing. Use to be you had to go to have a large factory build your product. Not any more. These days you can work with contractors, suppliers, buy components online and manufacture small batches of your hardware product using Kickstarter (or similar) funding. There are tons of articles written about hardware startups. I won’t repeat them here. However, here are few links to check if you want to learn more: Bolt.io, Hax, Highway1.io, Greentown Labs.

Today, I want to give you a few recommendations of how to manage a BOM; one of the most fundamental elements to deliver your hardware product. BOM management systems help you manage all the components you need to engineer, manufacture, and order your hardware . Despite there are being many tools available, Excel or spreadsheets are often used. While it is easy to start with spreadsheets, it’s not usually an optimal thing to do. So, below, find a few easy steps you can follow to make it easier on both yourself and your team:

Get correct information about parts. Most websites allow you to download spreadsheet with information about components. You can import these spreadsheets into openBoM as Inventory (Part catalog) and use it in BOMs.

Working with preferred providers and inventories. openBoM allows you to work with different inventories. You can configure a BOM with different catalogs and compare product cost and many other aspects of product

Keep data up to date and allow everyone to stay on the same BOM. openBOM is a cloud tool available at your fingertips on a browser. It is very easy to get on openBOM and share data with your team. And every single change made is available immediately to your team across the globe, in Boston, San Francisco, Shenzhen, or any other place.

Connect data between Inventories and BOMs. When data is changed in Inventories (part catalogs) it is immediately reflected in BOMs. By managing inventories and BOM you can insure all information is connected and up to date.

Search, where used query and data discovery. openBOM search dashboard allows you to discover information about the components you use. Combined together with where used queries, it is an ultimate tool to keep your information updated and focus on the right components and tools.

Conclusion. Follow my recommendations and try to use openBOM on your next project. It will help you get your product delivered at the right cost and at the right time by managing data and collaborating with your team, contractors, and suppliers. Registration to openBoM is free, click here to get started. I’d be interested to help you and advise how to make your BOM smarter and easier to manage.

Best, Oleg

PS. We should know each other better. If you live in a Greater Boston, please let’s have a meeting (coffee is on me). If you’re located in other places, let’s have a virtual coffee session — I will figure out how to send you a real coffee for our virtual coffee session.

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OpenBOM (openbom.com)

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Online tool to manage you Bill of Materials and Part Catalogs. Real-time collaboration for teams and supplier, sync data with CAD, PLM, ERP. More - openbom.com

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