5 Reasons Why OpenBOM is Ready to Replace Excel and Spreadsheets for BOMs?

5 Reasons Why OpenBOM is Ready to Replace Excel and Spreadsheets for BOMs?
Oleg Shilovitsky
Oleg Shilovitsky
4 April, 2019 | 2 min for reading

In the world of business software, replacing spreadsheets or Excel is the most popular topic. Guess what? Almost every successful business software is doing something that people were doing and/or still doing with Excel. It is just so easy and natural to start and do Excel.

Recently, I was reading my 10-year-old Beyond PLM posts about Excel: Why Do I Like my PLM spreadsheets and PLM Excel Spreadsheet From Odes to Woes.

If you need to manage Bill of Materials and other product information, there is something better than an Excel spreadsheet. OpenBOM can do better.

Here are my 5 reasons why you need to replace your spreadsheets tomorrow:

  1. OpenBOM is simple and natural as a spreadsheet. You can use it as a spreadsheet. Add data, copy/paste, add columns, rearrange them, etc.
  2. OpenBOM is online like Google Sheets and allows you to collaborate in real time and do simultaneous BOM editing.
  3. OpenBOM reference instance model allows you to organize central storage of information about components (eg. Manufacturer, Description, Cost, etc.) and then use it in many BOMs without duplicating data.
  4. OpenBOM can manage hierarchies. All the product structure (BOM) data are hierarchical: assemblies — subassemblies — parts. OpenBOM automatically connects things in hierarchies based on part numbers.
  5. OpenBOM does rollups and calculations. You can automatically rollup quantities in multi-level structures, as well as calculate any other roll-up based on custom properties you added to BOM (eg. cost, mass, etc.).

There are many other reasons why to choose OpenBOM — it is visual, integrated with other systems, allows you to import existing legacy data, manage inventory, and many others. Watch my next blog articles.

Conclusion

OpenBOM gives you a way to simplify BOM data management almost without losing flexibility and portability of Excel spreadsheets. And it’s easy to make this move — just register for OpenBOM free user plan and start managing BOMs different in 5 minutes.

Best, Oleg

Leave Your Comment

Related Posts

Also on OpenBOM

4 6
2 February, 2024

For the last few decades, China has become the manufacturing hub of the world. With its large production facilities, skilled...

21 April, 2023

OpenBOM is a cloud-based PLM platform designed to streamline the product development process. One of the critical features of OpenBOM...

6 December, 2020

Data is the new oil, which can provide a huge value in modern business. If you look around these days,...

6 August, 2021

Whether you are at the prototype stage, in pilot-run production, or are in mass production, quality problems most likely will...

16 May, 2019

Formulas in OpenBOM are equations you create in a cell which performs simple arithmetic operations using the designated cells.  The...

13 May, 2021

Contract Manufacturing is becoming a widely used business model in manufacturing. However, it often triggers many questions about managing data...

15 March, 2023

OpenBOM for Altium Add-in is a powerful tool that can streamline the process of creating and managing bills of materials...

22 December, 2020

Our life is surrounded by data. It is especially important when it comes to various engineering, design, and manufacturing activities. ...

14 April, 2023

Product launches are a critical milestone in the journey of your product. It is also a critical moment that determines...

To the top