Acumatica ERP Manufacturing Tools: Bill of Materials/Routing

As we discussed in last week’s post, modern manufacturing software solves many challenges and provides invaluable benefits to manufacturers seeking to reduce costs, manage growth, streamline processes and gain a competitive advantage. In this article, which is part 1 in our 3-part Manufacturing Tools Series (Part 2: Material Requirements Planning, Part 3: Production Management)​ we’ll look at how Acumatica’s Bill of Materials and Routing Software can help businesses efficiently plan and manage inventories, costs and manufacturing processes as well as full revision control.

What is Bill of Material & Routing Software?

A bill of materials (BOM) is a comprehensive list of parts, items, assemblies and other materials required to create a product as well as instructions necessary for gathering and using the required material. Everything on a bill of materials needs to be exactly right to produce high-quality end products while maintaining equipment effectiveness and production rates. Bill of materials management is critical functionality for ensuring modern manufacturing operations are accurate and consistent and is often included as part of an ERP system.

BOM/Routing software automates the process of listing the individual components that make up a manufactured product. Users can create item profiles for every part that goes into a specific product, then use these to create multiple lists for a single product to show subassemblies. BOM software is also necessary for growth. Optimizing accuracy and quality from the beginning of this process allows manufacturers to increase production volume and scale the business.

What Can BOM/Routing Software Do for My Business?

Any manufacturer with plans to scale the business and take on a larger volume of orders needs true automation to manage the increased complexity of a modern manufacturing operation. For years the BOM/Routing process was performed manually on paper. Spreadsheets eventually replaced paper, but the manual entry of data is tedious and mistake-prone. If you still rely on Excel spreadsheets, it might be time to switch to an ERP with BOM functionality. These solutions help companies manage and automate this critical task. Automation is crucial when working with multiple teams, sites and service providers on the same project.

With software like Acumatica’s Bill of Material/Routing module, you can create, maintain and control master data definitions of products and processes with one-screen. The module creates production specifications and is the framework for the planning functionality in all Acumatica Manufacturing Edition modules.

With its integrated functionality, you can directly connect materials, work instructions, attributes and overhead costs to an operation to accommodate the time-phased release of materials. The BOM/Routing module is multi-level, meaning you can list the components required to produce an item as well as any sub-assemblies and their components. It also provides both an engineering and a costed view of the entire product structure. Finally, with multiple costing methods and capabilities you can calculate costs at average, standard and actual cost and add tooling costs and overhead costs, both fixed and variable.

Key Benefits of Acumatica’s BOM/Routing Module

Coordinate Activities

• Manage your entire business with complete real-time information on your operations
• Coordinate labour, machines and inventory, and optimize them for your company’s processes

Stay on One Platform As You Grow

• Adapt the software to meet your changing needs
• Leverage powerful features and functions for multiple production environments

Gain Total Control of Revisions

• Maintain a complete revision history of your BOM/Routing
• View various revisions, both past and future
• Identify the reasons for each revision

Support All Your Costing Methods

• Allow for multiple costing methods: average, standard and actual
• Add tooling costs and overhead costs, both fixed and variable

Want to learn more about ERP software? Check out the other posts in our What is ERP series! ​(Financial Tools: Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, General Ledger; Distribution Management: Advanced Inventory Management, Purchase Order Management, Sales Order Management; Manufacturing Management: Bills of Material/Routing, Material Requirements Planning, and Production Management)​

Think Acumatica Manufacturing Edition could be a game-changer for your business? Find out more here.