Mr. Jackson
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Smarter BOM Management: How Nora IPLM Elevates BOM Health Analysis

In product development and manufacturing, the accuracy of your Bill of Materials (BOM) directly affects cost, lead time, product quality, and supply chain efficiency. Weak BOM management leads to delays, budget overruns, and production mistakes that are costly to fix.

Nora IPLM brings structure and intelligence to your BOM workflows through built-in BOM Health Analysis. Our platform continuously evaluates each item using a range of smart checks, from structural validation and supplier linkage to cost variance and maturity levels. The result is a clear, visual picture of product data health that helps teams identify and resolve issues early.

Table of Contents

What Is BOM Health?

BOM health refers to the structural and operational integrity of your item data within a product’s bill of materials. It answers critical questions:

  • Are parts up to date and finalized?

  • Is cost aligned with estimates?

  • Are suppliers linked to bought components?

  • Are child items in valid states and maturity levels?

It looks at key dimensions such as lifecycle status, cost alignment, supplier readiness, and item attributes.

Nora IPLM’s BOM Health Management capabilities provides automated, real-time analysis of each item. The system calculates a health score, displays icons for quick insights, and offers tooltips that explain the data in plain language. This helps users across engineering, sourcing, and operations spot risks and improve decisions without needing to dig through complex data.

Key BOM Management - Health Analysis Features in Nora IPLM

Structural Validation

• Checks if the item is part of a valid product structure

• Flags orphaned parts that are not linked to any parent assembly

Revision & Maturity Consistency

Our system tracks:

• Whether an item is the latest revision

• If any child objects are more advanced than their parent (a common BOM anti-pattern)

• Use of obsolete parts within active structures

Smart Attribute Detection

Our system tracks:

• Identifies item type: Mechanical, Electrical, Software, Chemical

• Highlights missing or miscategorized items

• Displays item ID and ERP references

Make vs. Buy & Supplier Validation

For precise procurement readiness:

• Flags whether an item is Make or Buy

• Checks supplier linkage for Buy items

• Warns when supplier data is missing

Cost & Weight Variance

No more surprises:

• Compares estimated vs. actual cost and weight

• Applies tolerance bands (10%, 20%) to grade performance

• Visual indicators quickly show overages or underages

Lead Time Visibility

Your BOM is only as good as its slowest component. Nora IPLM:

• Categorizes items by short, medium, or long lead time

• Warns when parts may cause manufacturing delays

Finalization Status Tracking

• Displays whether an item has been marked as finalized

• Supports version tracking and release management

BOM Health Score: One Score to Guide You

Each item receives a BOM Health Score from 0 to 100. This score is based on multiple weighted criteria, including structure integrity, cost variance, revision status, and lead time. The score is visualized using color-coded icons:

  • Green: Excellent

  • Orange: Fair

  • Red: Poor

The score helps users quickly identify which items are ready and which need attention.

BOM health score - Nora IPLM

Parent-Child Validation for BOM Integrity

What makes Nora IPLM’s BOM Health analysis stand out is relational validation:

  • Flags if child items are more mature than the parent

  • Detects state mismatches, like a released child under a draft parent

  • Warns against obsolete children within active assemblies

This prevents structural integrity issues before they affect production.

Using static BOMs for 100 product configurations would require maintaining numerous separate items, leading to complex relations. In contrast, a configurable BOM uses a single superstructure with changing effectivities and rules per configuration.

BOM Structure Configuration - Diagram View

Why Strong BOM Management Matters

Good BOM management saves time, reduces risk, and improves product quality. With Nora IPLM’s BOM Health Analysis, teams can:

  • Catch mistakes early

  • Improve collaboration between engineering and sourcing

  • Shorten development cycles

  • Get to production faster with fewer delays

Everything is built into the item view, making insights accessible without extra effort.

Explore It Now

You can try the BOM Health Analysis feature directly in the Nora IPLM Sandbox. There is no login, setup, or payment required.

Explore the sandbox and see how smarter BOM management can improve your product development process.

Join the Platform Now

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