How Version Controlled BOMs Reduce Rework in Precision Manufacturing

Today we are going to check how version controlled BOM reduce rework in the precision manufacturing industry.

So, if you are in the precision manufacturing segment of the industry then you already know that the bill of materials is very critical and important to you. To put it the other way it not just a part’s list for you but it is part and parcel of your product’s DNA.

But you know what i have seen that most of the people underestimate the fact that for sure the product will evolve on a constant basis as per your end user requirements and if your bill of materials is not evolving along side with control then for sure you will have to pay the price in the form of leakage of time, money, and foremost the trust of your end consumers.

To make you understand it better i will provide you with an example, so just imaging that your engineering department makes some small tweaks to your component like they changed the alloy that was being used earlier for the production or may be they made some changes to machine’s specifications.

Now, when this is not documented by your team in a proper way down the line after a week or so when your product floor has produced around 500 units based on the previous BOM version, then what? Well, you got that right. Yes, the batch that was produced will ow require rework again.

People are Not the problem but Version Controlled BOM

First, let me take you through the actual things that will start the issues on ground in an actual manufacturing plant:

• On the shopfloor you are still using outdated PDFs and spreadsheets
• The engineering is working on revision C and we see that the production is still stuck on revision A
• Wrong parts are being ordered by your procurement team as they are not able to check the latest BOM update
• And foremost, there is no knowledge of exactly who made the changes, when the changes were made or why the changes were made in the first place to the BOM

So, why have i mentioned these points above is because in industries like aerospace, defense, or medical you will not be able to afford these types of mistakes as these can cost you a lot monetarily. Here, if you get the freedom and the option of tracing so that you are able to check when and which BOM version was used for which batch and period.

Let’s See How Version Controlled BOM via Odoo ERP helps

listen, we have implemented and we know that the modular ERP software like Odoo will be able to overcome this challenge swiftly. Well Odoo manufacturing ERP software stores all of your BOMs and apart from that it is able to control them.

Why Should It Matter in Precision Manufacturing?

Well even a 0.2 mm deviation can be the difference between a perfect part and a customer asking for a return. And most rework scenarios come down to one thing that is miscommunication caused by poor BOM control.

Let’s break it down:

No Version Control	With Odoo ERP BOM Control
Rework, scrap, and wasted time	Reduced rework by up to 70%
Misaligned teams (design vs production)	Unified source of truth
Manual audits and compliance gaps	Full traceability with audit trails

Let’s See an Example – A Precision Valve Manufacturer

We worked with one of our clients who were manufacturing high pressure valves in the oil & gas sector. So what their engineering team would do is that they used to update the specifications quite frequently without a structured revision process. They were basically, i should not say this, but the BOMs were being emailed leading to many updates being missed on.

So, this led to their rework costs bleeding them out to almost making them dry like over ₹1.6 Cr/year was going into wasting their man hours consumed, scrap being piled up along with the warranty issues that usually came up.

But after we have implemented the Odoo PLM and MRP module combo, now what happens is that –

• They now easily roll out controlled BOM revisions
• Every change passes through engineering change order approval first
• Work orders get pulled from live bill of material data

So the results were obvious! 60% reduction in rework in the first quarter, faster deliveries, and happier customers.

Let’s be more sensible to our operations and get the pain points fixed as in 2025 and later than that what we can say for sure is that a static BOM is really a liability that you should get rid of sooner the better.

And to do so you must make use of something like a structure that seems to be a living part, is versioned and moves which the pace of your business process change like Odoo ERP which infact provides you with a structured system for the BOM with version control, traceability and helps you to maintain compliance ready documentation.

What’s happens if you don’t make the change?

If you are not making the change over then one this is for sure silent costs will leak on your shopfloor if you are utilizing your outdated BOMs leading to loosing your precious time, wasting your materials and foremost loosing the trust of your customers all together but all of this can now be prevented.

Lastly, i just want to say that i’d be more than happy to help you through with how version controlled BOM works inside Odoo starting from engineering change order creation to real time work order sync. Just drop us a mail at sales@apagen.com or call us on +91 9971800665.