Business management · Product Engineering (PLM)
Production Planning knows what the product is made of. PLM keeps why it is that way: which lifecycle stage it is in, the specification with tolerance, the approved drawing and certificate, and the engineering change that says why the bill of materials went from version 3 to 4, who approved it, what to do with the old stock and when it takes effect. The new bill of materials version is created directly in Production Planning, the new product moves through five decision gates and every component has its approved supplier.
The problem and the fix
If any of these situations sounds familiar, it is because they happen in almost every graduation company, until the right system comes in.
The product structure changed and nobody can say why, who asked for it or since when it applies.
Every change to a product in production goes through an engineering change with a code, reason, what changes, effectivity and reviews, and the new bill of materials version is created in Production Planning from it.
A component was replaced and the old stock sat idle in the storeroom.
Each affected product records the disposition of the old stock: use until depleted, rework, scrap or return to supplier. Effectivity can be immediate, from a date or when stock runs out.
Before replacing a part, nobody knows how many products use it or how many open orders depend on it.
The where-used lookup climbs the tree up to 6 levels, and the impact shows the parent products, the open production orders that consume the item and the stock on hand.
The drawing on the shop floor is not the latest approved one, and the product certificate expired without anyone noticing.
Documents with a version that goes up on its own and an approval that makes the previous one obsolete. Certificates and test reports have an expiry date, and the dashboard warns as far ahead as the company chooses.
The new product was launched without anyone formally deciding it was ready.
A project in five gates, with deliverables per gate and a decision recorded with a written review. Moving on requires the mandatory deliverables, and only the last gate moves the product to released.
The purchased part goes into the structure with no approved supplier for it.
Suppliers approved component by component, with status, manufacturer part number and expiry, plus a list of parts in released structures that have no approved source.
In practice
Everyday situations at graduation companies, from the problem to the result, using the modules on this page.
Engineering decided to replace a component with a cheaper one, but there was stock of the old one and open orders using it.
The impact showed the parent products, the open orders and the stock. The change was opened as a cost reduction, effective when stock runs out, with a use-until-depleted disposition.
The old stock was used up, the new bill of materials version was created and released in Production Planning, and the product revision went from B to C, with the reason on record.
The same engineer who requested changes also approved them, and the customer's audit flagged it.
The company started requiring two approvals per change, and the module does not let whoever opened it review it.
Every change now has reviews recorded by other people, with the history ready to show at the next audit.
A new product was moving into production without its validation test finished.
The project was at the validation gate with a mandatory deliverable pending, and the decision to go did not pass. The committee decided to hold.
The test was completed, the project was resumed and moved on to launch, taking the product to released.
How it works
Every step is a real module, and what comes out of one goes into the next without anyone typing it again.
Module by module
7 modules and 34 features on this page, all running on the same class, graduate and event records.
Which stage each product is in and what it must meet to be compliant.
Drawings, artwork and certificates with version, approval and expiry.
From the request to the new version released in Production Planning, with approval levels and segregation of duties.
What changes if a component is replaced, with no side spreadsheet.
The development funnel in five decision gates.
Who is approved to supply each part, and what has no source.
Who looks, who maintains the sheet, who runs changes and who approves.
Compare the modules and choose the setup that fits your operation.