Steelwedge Statistical Bill Of Material (sBOM)

Complex manufacturing industries face an explosion of information and data, yet, at the planning and forecasting levels, it is near impossible to discretely manage all the details.
At the other end of the spectrum, demand information is often available at such an aggregate level that it is not useful to operational systems. To combat these challenges, Steelwedge invented the Statistical Bill of Materials (sBOM).

sBOMs are statistically based aggregations of kitted solutions and complex bills of materials. sBOMs mask the complexity of nearly limitless detailed manufacturing BOMs while dynamically managing the relationship between kitted solutions and detailed BOMs and exposing insights hidden in the detailed data.

Studies show that even slight changes in detailed BOMs can significantly impact the cost structure and margin for their associated kitted solutions. As such, they are directly linked to the company's bottom line. Moreover, Detailed BOMs must be carefully managed in order to support inventory and supply planning decisions. sBOMS help manage this complex, inter-dependent product configuration.

Steelwedge sBOM technology offers analysts, executives, sales staff and others a "big picture" view of large volumes of manufacturing data. Planners can interpret and adjust forecasts at this level, and the Steelwedge sBOM technology ensures that the relationship to detailed BOMs remain intact.

Conversely, a detailed BOM can be examined to see what kitted solutions it supports.
This is particularly useful for making tradeoffs when a detailed BOM becomes a scarce resource.

A Leap Forward

Before Steelwedge developed its proprietary sBOM technology, demand planning solutions used simple planning BOMs and multiple, dis-integrated forecasting methods to project future dollar or unit demand at the top-line level. Steelwedge technology goes beyond this basic approach, enabling dynamic prediction based on detailed, dynamic planning bills of materials.