Bill of Material Flow Chart  

(Exploded multi-level Bill of Material for a  wood table)

.

SIM*plicity product engineering logic  eliminates most  conventional bills of material. Dynamic logic (parametric plus  "options and features") allows one generic bill to  be used for a whole family of products regardless of style, color, size, etc.

  • All similar products can use the same parametric (Dynamic) bill of material. If you make kitchen cabinets, one bill would suffice for all wall cabinets - regardless of the size, number of doors or door style. 
  • If you need to change a construction detail  (machine type, process speed, etc.)  you only do it once - not on hundreds of bills.
  • Product identification and options can change bill of material routing, if necessary. For example, upholstered products: SIM*plicity knows which products and/or fabrics can't be cut be processed on  automated cutters and assigns them for manual cutting.

Other product engineering features include:

  • Mix and match static and parametric bills.
    • Static bills can be used for unique parts and these also have the option and feature controls of SIM*plicity's dynamic bills.
  • Automatically calculate machine speeds and output.
    • Operation times are calculated using machine speed formulas that are a function of the parts dimensions.
  • Panel Optimization.
    • Depending on the necessary quantity of parts required SIM*plicity chooses the most economical panel to use. 
  • Dynamic Bill of Material generator.
    • At order entry a unique bill of material, incorporating only the options and features selected is automatically created for each product. This  eliminates confusion in travelers and the factory documents.
  • Reality checks (safety, weight, panel size, etc.)
    • Logic prevents you from stretching or shrinking parts beyond safe limits or the availability of materials.
    •  You can specify material changes or increased thickness for oversize panels.
    • If size exceeds a machines capability alternative routings will be automatically selected.
  • Use both English and Metric Measurements.
    • A typical situation is where English measurements are used in dealing with customers and suppliers while the shop is exclusively metric. SIM*plicity automatically converts measurements (with the necessary degree of rounding) as needed.
Multi-level mazes of complex Bills of Material are easy to decipher with SIM*plicity’s  display

1

 Select any product, component, or assembly from the SIM*plicity database.  

2

Product options  (selected on the tabs above the displays) and sizes determine materials and construction. On the display  green balls signify the items and processes that the "product options" selected. In this example, an Oak top was selected rather than maple, the width of the table determined the length of the rail, and  cartoning (along with the related labor operation) was chosen rather than paper packing.

3

Bills can either be “static” (a specific bill for a single component or product) or “dynamic” (used for a whole product line). Both types can accept parametric size changes as well as options and features.

4

 Selecting a line on the b/m displays the details . If the line is not active (no green highlight), the reason is displayed. Clicking on ‘+’ displays a lower level  B/M for a component (see table rails -above).

5

Supplementary information for an item is indicated in the check boxes; inventoried items are flagged (to be produced only as needed, rather than for customer orders),  Items cut from panels transfer optimization and grain information, and externally sourced items are automatically purchased. 

Click here for details on creating and editing Bills of Material

Click here for Glossary of Bills of Material

 

These colored ball flow charts are also used to indicate order progress where green indicates completed operations, yellow partial and red those that haven't been started. See Example below and for more details  follow this link:

 

Order Progress Screen

 

 

More SIM*plicity 

 


Manufacturing business software to help your company prosper:

Complete MRP / ERP software solutions customized  for your exact needs

 

         Please double-click either button for download!

 

 

 These are completely free They are not just demos. They are complete systems  without time limits or other restrictions for single user systems. Our only charges are for networked installations.  click  here for more information.

 

 

SIM*plicity tutorials:

(Click  any underlined item for more details.)

Features that help your company  Examples from SIM*plicity  Discussion and Features
Customer Orders

 

 

Order Entry Overview

 

<<< Please read this introductory overview first.

 

Customer Details: shipping information, history, etc. The utmost in options and feature controls. Automatic pricing with more than 400 variables (size, color, add-on's etc.)  Simple to set-up and easy  to use.  More than an "Order Configurator": these variables interact with dynamic (parametric) bills of materials to create complete manufacturing documentation. 

 

Item Details Options to enter and display product information.

 

Order Entry Tools Because we automatically transfer all pricing variables and "engineering limits" to  Order Entry,  SIM*plicity eliminates the typical delay for orders to first go to Engineering and Pricing prior to Order Entry.

 

Batch Order Entry Input Customer Order details directly  from Excel.

 

Order-Project Costing Display actual costs during Order Entry or during  "material takeoff" -Quotations.

 

Order Progress (status)

 

Graphics display with real-time visibility of all in-process orders.
Product Entry Instructions

Guidance to the operator in entering complex items .

 

New Product Entry Add new customers and products on the fly.

 

Zip and Postal Code Tutorial

Factors in entering address data for uniformity and to ensure automatic freight calculation

 

Sales Discounts and Commissions Information on entering discounts and sales commissions.

 

SPEED-UP

Tips to increase order entry productivity.

 

Invoice Details - Setting Variables

Order Entry Display Variables

 

Variables for printing (and exporting to accounting software) invoices

 Order Entry variables for display and printing

Deposits and Payments

Record and display deposits and partial payments

 

 MRP2/ERP  Planning and Shop Floor Control Advance Plan

 

 

Customer and factory (internal) orders create inventory and labor demand for specific days.  SIM*plicity schedules individual machines within each work station/cell and generates material requisitions.

 

Workstation Control

 

Planners can control and balance workload at every machine.
Production Planner/Scheduler Shifting production (date or workcenter) automatically updates all related processes. Graphics displays with drill-down" information effectively links Planning to Shop Floor Control.
MRP2/ERP Tutorial

 

Workstation Control allows supervisors to fine tune schedules and report production.

 

Purchasing and Inventory Control Requisition/Purchasing

 

 

 

New orders automatically updates long-term material plans. Shop floor control module interacts with purchasing to automatically flag needs that won't be met and adjusts schedules accordingly.

Buy-out items are  purchased as soon as customer  order is processed - including automatic pricing of options and features.

 

Inventory Details

Knowing the materials "on hand" and what they cost is not enough! SIM*plicity calculates the exact date needed, where it should be stored and details of its physical characteristics.

Vendor Information

 

Access complete contact information on vendors and their employees.

Purchasing Messages

Inventory Adjustments

 

Adding Standard and Text Messages to an individual item Requisition or to an entire Purchase Order

Tools to record and adjust physical invnetories.

 

Accounting and Cost Control

Product Cost Summary

Options & Features Overview

Order/Project Costing

 

 

Know the true cost of every item that you build!

Automatically calculate the cost of "work -in-process" inventory.

Instantly estimate the complete cost of every Order and Quotation. Change an option or feature and the cost is automatically updated!

Please  also read ABC Cost Control

Product Engineering Bill of Material Flow Chart

Dynamic Bills of Material

Static Bill Display

Glossary

Bills of Materials  are the core of true manufacturing systems. They link together customer orders, manufacturing instructions with  material and labor requirements.

Dynamic (parametric) Bills of Material are used for entire families of products eliminating the need at most companies for 90% of individual Bills of Material. However, Static (Conventional) Bills of Material are still valuable and our system incorporates them with a full range of Options and Features

Plan and Perform Project Takeoff

Project and/or Product Estimate

Estimate and control complex projects.
Sales Management

 

Sales by Customer and Product Line

Marketing Program Formats

Cost of Goods Sold report for every order. Volume and margin reports for each sales rep.

For each customer select default discount programs, special product discounts and choose from multiple selling companies (OEM, etc.)

SUPPORT

Getting Started

FAQ's - SIM*plicity Support

Why Systems Fail

Favorite Story

 

Training, customization and 24/7 real-time support by the developers of this software.  A commitment to excellence - today, tomorrow and for the past 30 years.

 

 

                    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feldman Engineering identifies and transfers appropriate technology to make your factory more efficient.  For information about factory layout, manufacturing methods or systems contact FEC Consulting (email link) 

SIM*plicity is our software. Development, installation, customization and support from a single source!  Please contact us at FEC Software Services (email link) for details.

 

Consulting Articles  Strategy Software Search  Contact Us SIM*plicity Support  Home