Welcome to the final chapter of the trilogy on how to become a superhero in today’s digital enterprises!

In the initial blog-post “from Product Development to Manufacturing” we were discovering motivations in different industries and business models why it is important to bring different departments closer together. Our dedicated focus is on product development and manufacturing. In the second blog-post we discovered ingredients that have significant influences on recommendable ways, how to interact digitally between product development and manufacturing. These ways, which we can consider as flavors resulting from the mixture of specific ingredients, will be in focus today.

Approaches of linking product development and manufacturing

From a structural perspective, here are some prominent examples of approaches, how product development and manufacturing are often linked and communicate digitally with each other. These are based on the different possible combinations of before-mentioned “ingredients”:

Prominent Approaches how to link product development and manufacturing

Additionally, the interpretations of single terms might differ from perspective to perspective. You can certainly imagine that a PLM vendor might have a different interpretation of, for instance, a MBOM than an ERP vendor has? From a PLM perspective the MBOM has typically a more generic characteristic for manufacturing engineering purposes. As an example, the EBOM is restructured based on manufacturing needs and requirements or for organizational matters (distribute/’cut’ data for specific personas for down-stream tasks). Commonly, it is considered plant- and customer order-independent (unless the business model follows principles or there is only one manufacturing site). Whereas the typical ERP centric interpretation focuses, besides the potential beforementioned aspects, on essential downstream executions such as logistics and manufacturing. That is to meet, in general, the intrinsic need of every ERP backbone in manufacturing industries, the MRP-Run (MRP II – Manufacturing-Resource-Planning). For digging a bit deeper in these differentiations and why it is important to get them closer (ideologically and technically), see this LinkedIn-post by professor Jörg W Fischer as an example “Why classic m-BOM and M(RP)-BOM are different Things”.

Similar misunderstandings and different interpretations exist for PLM-routings, aka Bill-of-Processes versus ERP-routings. “So, you tell me, that in future you want us to manage our routings in the PLM system only?” …this was the last sentence a PLM consultant heard from a customer after answering with “yes” before being disbanded. Unfortunately, this is based on a true story.

Hence, as an additional hint, before recommending any technical approach and accompanied tool, keep in mind the What you talk about and to Whom you are talking. Besides considering the highlighted “ingredients” from the previous blog-post of the superhero-trilogy.

Before having a look at potential tools of one of the six selected structural constellations, let us have a rough look at those.

1. CADBOM-MBOM: A CADBOM (sometimes also known as document-BOM/structure) corresponds to how CAD designers structure and interpret a product. This structure is then often (even still manually) “thrown” over to manufacturing and recreated in ERP as an MBOM, unless CAD engineers are urged to design in a manufacturing procedure and sequence already.
2. EBOM-MBOM: In context of an is managed in a more sophisticated way than in CADBOM for product development needs. Typically, it is enriched with different kind of data. Such as for quality purposes, grouping and structuring based on functional needs and have it ready for additional tasks by product development, such as mechatronic management or simulations. Based on the EBOM, a MBOM is derived, again potentially re-structured and enriched by further information to meet manufacturing needs accordingly. Ideally, both structures stay smartly linked to each other, on part and assembly level.
3. EPS-xBOM: An Enterprise Product Structure (EPS) is an intelligent order-independent repository-structure to meet, for instance, the need of having a c for customer specific products. It can also address product variants needs in the early phase of product development to ensure to stay close to the ERP backbone business processes. This 150% structure should be part of the ERP backbone and can trigger different tasks and departments in business processes, such as product engineering, procurement, manufacturing, or service. Hence, any BOM (xBOM) can follow the initialization via an EPS.
4. xBOM- plant-specific MBOM: Especially in cases where multiple production sites are available, it is of very importance to synchronize any BOM from product or manufacturing engineering (CADBOM, EBOM, MBOM) to the dedicated plant (plant-specific MBOM). It is then used for MRP runs accordingly.
5. xBOM-WBS/PP: A Work-Breakdown Structure (WBS) is commonly used in project-driven businesses. Manufacturing engineers are often using ERP’s production planning module (SAP PP and PS) to execute project-based customer orders. These tasks can be “frontloaded” by any BOM (xBOM), whereas manufacturing engineers might then receive product development content (or a predefined MBOM) to continue with their actual project-tasks.
6. PS/WBS-WBS/PP: In case no explicit engineering frontloading is happening, such as definition of engineering standards or preconfigured variants, an own engineering structure might even not be existing. The customer project, the work-breakdown structure and its schedule are triggering and linking all participants. Hence, work breakdown structures are also then the natural connection between product engineers and manufacturing.

Tools of superheroes’ choice to realize best fit approaches

To sum up, there are many different flavors, how product development and manufacturing can be linked to each other. However, a trend can be observed in recent years, that option 2 (EBOM-MBOM) is often mentioned as the typical structural touchpoint and link between these two worlds. Companies of different type and industries are looking on this approach. Again, be aware this approach is not the “one-fits-all” solution and try to figure out your flavor of choice (1-6 or another), based on the ingredients that are prevailing in your specific case.

Nevertheless, let us pick option 2 as an example and consider tools that are available with(in) SAP to handle an EBOM-MBOM approach:

Links to product pages:
SAP Production Engineering & Operations
SAP Enterprise Product Development (EPD)
SAP Product & Process Governance (PPG)

If we leave the SAP arena and an external engineering platform is in place, such as Teamcenter, Windchill or 3DExperience, these usually also can manage EBOM-MBOM handovers. This approach can also be an option to consider. However, needs, intentions and later possibilities may be different (referring to initial callout on MBOM vs M(RP)BOM).

In any case of selected approach for engineering, an adequate and efficient integration to SAP is essential, regardless of a CAD-, E- or MBOM transfer to the SAP backbone. The major objective is to integrate engineering, its data and know-how into the digital enterprise best:

How to connect Engineering to the Digital Enterprise – discrete industries

Please note, SAP offers and supports all three approaches. Scenario A with a direct integration to SAP, scenario B including Teamcenter plus integration, and in scenario C the integration to Windchill and 3DExperience.

Final conclusion on How to become a Superhero

In a first consideration we were talking about motivations on why that delicate touchpoint between product development and manufacturing is of outstanding importance and criticality. It needs to be considered in every single digitalization project of an enterprise that belongs to the discrete manufacturing industry.

Then, we identified and investigated aspects a bit closer, that directly have influence on the way product development and manufacturing may best work digitally together. These typical aspects are Industry, Business Model, Organization, IT-Infrastructure, Product Complexity, Production Rate and Production Characteristics.

Mixing these ingredients leads us to the above potential and approaches, whereas case EBOM-MBOM might be the most prominent one today. After having the right approach identified, it ends up in selecting a corresponding tool to meet the needs.

High-level recipe to become a superhero

Let’s pick a quick and simplified example with a potential conclusion. Imagine, company XY, a tier 2 supplier in automotive industry is aware of its losses on time, money, and product quality, because of weaknesses in their change management procedures. Also, the company needs to expand and increase their business to stay competitive, globally. They follow Make-To-Order principles, engineering is preparing on regular basis data for manufacturing that is executed in several sites globally. The handover is a known gap and issue, especially for manufacturing engineers. A heterogeneous IT-landscape makes the company slow and inflexible, a move to S/4HANA is planned, but not sooner than in two years. The company’s products are of low or medium complexity, product engineering is using SAP Engineering Control Center for managing their CAD data. Lot sizes are typically multiple hundred or thousand pieces, and shopfloor has manual and automated operations in place using SAP’s Digital Manufacturing solutions. Approach EBOM-MBOM with the tool might be a suitable and handy candidate. It extends the existing architecture fast and with little effort while enriching existing business processes just as needed. SAP EPD is a future-proof, flexible and intuitive solution with a state-of-the-art user interface that ensures user-acceptance. Because of its standard BTP-based integration capabilities it interacts seamlessly with XY today’s and future SAP backbone.

Let us come to the grand final and recap of a recipe “how to become a superhero” and conclude with some key take-aways:

Key Take-Aways on recipe to become a superhero

The digital interaction between product development and manufacturing is relevant in different granularities in every single enterprise that belongs to the manufacturing industry. However, this area is very often considered as unavoidable evil or even tried to be ignored. Take this as a chance, especially in digitalization projects with business process relevance. Tell and show what is missed, get support where needed, flip the coin, take off and become an enterprise’s superhero!