BOM Management in Fusion Manage PLM - Why It Matters & the Editor Features You’ll Actually Use

Fusion Manage at a glance: process + project backbone

Fusion Manage is Autodesk’s configurable PLM for managing processes, changes, and projects throughout the product lifecycle.

Three pillars make it effective:

• Process management: Governed workflows—ECR/ECO, NPI stage-gates, CAPA, deviations, supplier onboarding, document control—assign owners and due dates, enforce approvals, and issue revisions/effectivity as an outcome of process, not ad-hoc edits.

• Project management: Programs, milestones, tasks, and dashboards keep delivery visible and accountable. Every task links to authoritative PLM items, documents, and BOMs, so decisions rely on live data, not screenshots.

• Data management: A single, structured backbone for product data—items, BOMs, and documents. Engineers and non-engineers work from the same source of truth, ensuring traceability across revisions and configurations. BOM editor features support EBOM/MBOM/SBOM alignment, while item records and document control provide consistency across design, manufacturing, and supply chain

That foundation—clear workflows and accountable projects—is exactly what robust BOM management needs.

Where BOM management fits

A product has multiple valid BOM views:

• EBOM (engineering-true),
• MBOM (manufacturing-ready),
• SBOM (service-ready).

Managing them in Fusion Manage means structure, quantity, supplier choice, and effectivity move under controlled change and sit in project context. Sourcing, planning, production, and service all work from one governed record.

The BOM Editor: your workbench inside PLM

With guardrails in place, the BOM Editor lets teams shape structures quickly— Drastically reducing reliance on spreadsheets (EXCEL).

1) EBOM → MBOM structural edits

• Drag-and-drop re-parenting to mirror operations (cut → bend → weld → paint → assemble).
• Phantoms & kits to batch work or ship sets without polluting design intent.
• Make/Buy flips and alternates to reflect sourcing reality.

2) Add what CAD didn’t model
Insert purchased items—cables, motors, fasteners, adhesives—at the correct subassembly level so the MBOM matches shop-floor needs.

3) Quantities, units, and rollups

• Support pcs, m, kg, area/length with conversions and scrap/yield.
• Roll up weight/length/material to plan buys and nesting.

4) Operation context (light routing cues)
Tag components with operation hints (laser, CNC, weld, coat, assemble) to accelerate work-order creation or subcontract packets.

5) ERP-aligned parts “bins”
Expose curated purchase catalogs fed from ERP so authors drag approved items—with exact codes/descriptions—into the MBOM. No retyping, no duplicate masters.

6) Multiple outward-facing BOMs
Maintain a Manufacturing BOM, Supplier BOM, or Subcontract BOM from one product record; export each in the ERP schema (CSV/JSON/XML) with revision, ECO ID, and effectivity.

7) Visual confidence
3D/exploded views highlight selections in the BOM to avoid misplacement—especially when adding non-modeled items.

8) Validation & guardrails
Required fields, unit checks, and inline warnings prevent bad data from reaching ERP/MES.

EBOM → MBOM → SBOM: lifecycle in practice

1. EBOM mirrors design and references drawings/specs.

2. MBOM reshapes structure, sets make/buy, adds purchased elements, tags operations, and prepares clean ERP loads.

3. SBOM trims to serviceable parts, adds alternates/kits, and carries date/serial/lot effectivity for field accuracy.

Baselines snapshot structures for audits and supplier packages; every release is tied to an ECO for full traceability.

End-to-End with coolOrange: Vault → Fusion Manage → ERP

Fusion Manage works best at the center, but it needs clean inputs and reliable hand-offs. coolOrange provides the rails:

1) Vault → Fusion Manage with powerPLM

Publish engineering truth from Autodesk Vault into Fusion Manage—items, EBOMs (file- or item-based), key properties (material, mass, finish, make/buy), and related PDFs/DXFs/STEP.

• Triggers: On lifecycle state, via job automation, or on demand.
• Why it helps: Eliminates re-typing, aligns EBOM with CAD/Vault, and preserves traceability as changes continue under ECR/ECO.

2) Fusion Manage → ERP with powerGate

Transfer manufacturing-ready MBOMs (plus Supplier/Subcontract views) to ERP with field-level mapping.

• Payloads: Items, quantities/UoM, scrap/yield, supplier refs, attachments; include revision, ECO ID, effectivity.
• Optionally two-way: Return ERP IDs/statuses so PLM dashboards reflect business readiness.
• Why it helps: ERP receives cleaner, more manufacturable structures, reducing import failures; purchasing and planning act on the same governed release.

Business value of this chain

• Single source of change truth: Engineering intent → governed transformation → transactional execution, all linked by ECO/revision.
• Speed without risk: Automations replace spreadsheet gymnastics; validations stop bad data upstream.
• Lower total cost & easier upgrades: Decoupled interfaces keep flows stable across system versions.
• Adopt incrementally: Start with EBOM publication, then introduce MBOM editing, and finally enable ERP hand-off. A critical step before integration is validating master data—materials, suppliers, and catalogs must be aligned across systems—so that BOMs flow cleanly into ERP without duplication or mismatches.

 
Quick wins to prove value

• Purchased-only rollup grouped by supplier → instant RFQs.
• Raw-material planning via weight/length rollups + scrap → fewer shortages.
• Subcontract packets as a dedicated export → less back-and-forth with vendors.
• Electrical completion (add motors/cables) without touching CAD or hand-coding in ERP.

Bottom line

Fusion Manage provides the process and project backbone that makes BOM changes accountable and visible. The BOM Editor provides the speed and precision to transform EBOMs into manufacturable MBOMs and serviceable SBOMs—under change control, with 3D context, ERP-aligned parts, and clean exports. Coupled with coolOrange powerPLM (Vault → PLM) and powerGate (PLM → ERP), you get an end-to-end flow that replaces spreadsheet sprawl with a governed, upgrade-friendly pipeline—so every release is manufacturable, purchasable, and serviceable on day one.