I recently spent some “quality” “Zoom” time with my colleague, Jim Roche, who is CIMdata’s A&D Practice Director. Jim was excited to talk about his upcoming presentation, The Multi-View BOM Value Potential, at the CIMdata PLM Market & Industry Forum, which takes place over the late March to early April time frame as a live event in North America and as virtual events in EMEA.

The first thing on the table in our discussion touched on the hype surrounding the Multi-view BOM

For decades, the Digital Thread has been core to the PLM vision. The concept of linking multiple representations of a product, each tuned to the needs of various creators and consumers along the lifecycle, is powerful. With recent advances in PLM technology, enablement of the Digital Thread has become technically possible, even for industries producing complex products, such as automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, military vehicles, and medical devices, where quality is imperative.

With all these advances in enabling technology, what do you see in industry? Are there any adopters?

Industry leaders are starting to implement multiple-view bill of materials (multi-view BOM) solutions and envision expanding them upstream and downstream throughout the product lifecycle. While the potential benefits of automatic reconciliation and synchronization across lifecycle views are many and substantial, and the prospect of providing autonomy to Manufacturing and Service Engineering to resolve production and customer service issues more quickly and efficiently is compelling, the journey is challenging.

So, there are some implementations, but how do you know what the benefits are and what the business value really is?

Since it is still early days, there is not much available in lessons learned or guidance from those leading the way. We at CIMdata will share several significant use cases at the upcoming CIMdata PLM Market & Industry Forum. The defined benefits that constitute the business value expected from these implementation investments will be shared. Time will tell whether we can realize these or other benefits, but as they stand, they represent the best thinking of those leading the way.

You have done a significant amount of research on Multi-view BOMS; what excites you the most?

CIMdata has been deeply involved in several of these pioneering efforts. With the knowledge and experience gained, we have reported the fundamental nature and value of the multi-view BOM approach over the past few years and key considerations and methods for successful planning and implementation. We have examined the potential benefits and risks of implementing this new solution to re-engineer and optimize core processes within a manufacturing enterprise.

Additionally, the capabilities of currently available commercial PLM solutions were verified in 2020 in a collaboration between several major PLM solution providers and members of the CIMdata administered Aerospace and Defense PLM Action Group (Group).

Tell me more about the A&D PLM Action Group

Formed in February of 2014, the Group had four charter members – Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, and Gulfstream. Over the years, the Group grew to eleven members and with industry consolidation currently stands at eight, with Rolls-Royce Engines, GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, and SAFRAN joining the founding four. The Group is an association of aerospace & defense companies within CIMdata’s Community Program. The Group’s mission is to function as a PLM advocacy group for setting the direction for the Aerospace & Defense industry on PLM-related topics that matter to the members; promoting common industry processes and practices between the members and with their supply chain partners; defining requirements for PLM-related capabilities; communicating with a unified voice to PLM solution providers; and sponsoring research on member-prioritized industry and technology topics.

You mentioned the A&D PLM Action Group verified commercial PLM solution multi-view BOM capabilities. What did they find?

Early work by the multi-view BOM project team explored the dichotomy between single BOM and multi-view BOM approaches, analyzed current state “pain points,” and, within this context, proposed an architectural solution with supporting architectural principles. The team subsequently developed a set of use cases that illustrate BOM Restructuring and Accountability requirements and collaborated with PLM software providers to perform benchmark demonstrations of these use cases on current and under development PLM solutions. The team evaluated the demonstrations and reported their findings in mid-2020. Their report concludes that the use cases are valid, and that commercial technology has matured to a level where the implementation of multi-view BOM management within an aerospace OEM is a practical possibility, albeit with caveats. This report and the predecessor position paper upon which the use cases were based are available at the A&D PLM Action Group’s website www.ad-pag.com.

The idea of members of the A&D industry and their supply chain partners, defining requirements for PLM-related capabilities, and then going a step further to communicate with a unified voice to PLM solution providers sounds impressive. Can you tell me more?

From the Group’s inception, members have consciously adopted the posture of collegial cooperation with PLM solution providers. They have followed a defined process for engagement at each of four stages in the progression of their project workstreams. PLM solution providers are informed when the Group decides to invest in a topic and invited to participate in initial research, review project team direction statements and position papers before finalization and publication, and, when appropriate, are invited to participate in project workshops and, in this case, benchmark demonstrations.

Thanks, Jim. I look forward to hearing your presentation at the end of March.

A look at the benefits associated with a multi-view BOM approach.