PDXpert PLM Software
Product Lifecycle Management
Designing an Access bill of materials database? Watch out...
Developing your own Microsoft Access bill of materials management software is certainly attractive. After all, you just want a list of parts and quantities, right? And isn't this a perfect use of Microsoft Access or other inexpensive desktop database?
Probably not.
Because you'll also want to...
Basic Requirements
- •Search for items across various data properties
- •Auto-generate part numbers by category
- •Identify unreleased or obsolete parts
- •Approve changes to BOMs
Advanced Features
- •Maintain version history of BOMs
- •Attach electronic files to BOM items
- •Create multi-level BOM reports
- •Export BOMs for partners
Compliance & Usability
- •Manage material content for regulations
- •Modern UI with drag-and-drop
- •Online user documentation
- •Add more users as you grow
⚠️ The Reality Check
Creating a useful bill of materials database application is difficult and time-consuming, and requires the complete understanding of subtle business rules for revision control and change processing. How will you ensure the preceding revision is canceled when the new revision is released? Will new item revisions automatically replace canceled revisions? How are units of measure converted?
Do your users want to attach design files and assembly instructions to items on the BOM? What's the best recursion routine for printing indented product structures? What performance can you expect from your Access bill of materials database as your company grows? Do you really want that phone call every time someone has a question?
What starts out as a "fun little project" quickly becomes a major distraction.
💡 There's an Easier Way
Let our BOM database experts do it for you!
Simple, flexible bill of materials software: PDXpert PLM
"PDXpert PLM is very customizable, and easy to use and implement. I have experience with more expensive modular systems and PDXpert can pretty much do what any of those expensive ones do."
PDXpert product lifecycle management (PLM) has been specifically designed to provide the following BOM management capabilities:
Search & Navigation
- ✓Quickly find relevant items using powerful attribute search
- ✓Easily drag-and-drop current data onto BOM markups
- ✓Navigate up and down BOM hierarchy with double-clicks
Status & Control
- ✓Instantly know item status (unqualified, qualified, obsolete)
- ✓Work separately with current releases and proposed markups
- ✓Enforce rules for each assembly type
Analysis & Reporting
- ✓Insight into assembly costs and RoHS/WEEE materials
- ✓Full audit trail of all BOM changes
- ✓Report and export in PDF and Excel formats
Scalability & Flexibility
- ✓Change system rules without special programming
- ✓Support growth from single user to hundreds
- ✓Scalable Microsoft SQL Server backend
The Smart Investment
Leverage our man-years of professional software development at a substantially lower cost than an in-house BOM software development project. We'll let you focus on your company's product priorities.
PDXpert PLM software can increase sales revenue through faster product releases; lower product costs by using more accurate BOMs; and reduce administrative overhead by providing important supporting information (like cost and material roll-ups) automatically.
See for yourself how PDXpert PLM is better than an Access BOM database
PDXpert PLM has been specifically designed for small and mid-sized companies moving up to automated bill of material management. It's easy for users to find their items using free-form text search, then create complex products by simple drag-and-drop BOM construction.
Ready to upgrade from Excel spreadsheets?
- →Discover the valuable benefits of adopting a PLM software solution
- →Download a free, fully-functional trial of PDXpert PLM software
- →Review PDXpert PLM's affordable license options
- →Contact us to answer your questions
Access Database Risks
- ⚠️Becomes a major distraction
- ⚠️Enormous development costs
- ⚠️Limited scalability
- ⚠️Ongoing maintenance burden
PDXpert Benefits
- ✅Professional development & support
- ✅Lower total cost of ownership
- ✅Enterprise scalability
- ✅Focus on your products, not IT