The role of the bill of material in manufacturing systems

In order to meet domestic and foreign competition, manufacturers must become more flexible and responsive to customer requirements. To do this, there is a need to reduce stock levels, customer lead times, product introduction and engineering change timescales. To move towards these goals, effective communication and control of information inside and outside the organisation is essential. Thus, managerial approach and information are key business resources which must be used to gain competitive advantage. To prove the point, the manufacturing plants of ICL-the information subsidiary of STC Plc-have used these principles to develop a Total Quality Management (TQM) and Just-In-Time (JIT) environment which has enabled it to become a ‘world class manufacturer’. ICL has found that a key element in achieving TQM and JIT is the management and control of product information and specifically, the bill of material (BOM). How this document is managed, controlled and structured can directly influence the success of an organisation. ICL has realised this and has developed an integrated system to tackle this problem.