OpenBOM Educational Webinar #5 discusses how to assign part numbers. Compares Intelligent vs Non-intelligent Part Numbers and give some tips on how to organize Part Numbering schemas

1. Part Numbers - Intelligent or Just
Numbers?
Steve Hess
Director of User Experience, OpenBOM
stevehess@openbom.com
Wednesday September 25, 2019
© OpenBOM, 2018 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

2. This webinar is NOT a deep dive into part
number or BOM theory. I will suggest one path
forward at the end.
This is a “Marketing Free” event!
This webinar is 30 minute or less thoughtful
discussion about the part number types and
methods and how they can best serve your
organization.
© OpenBOM, 2018 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

3. From Wikipedia: (slight modification)
A Part Number is an identifier of a particular part design used
in a particular industry. Its purpose is to simplify reference to
that part. A part number unambiguously identifies a part
design within a single corporation or organizational group,
and sometimes across several corporations or an industry.
Examples of a Part: Part, Assembly, Document, Process or Instructions, Raw
Material, Labor, Disposal fee, etc, anything that is consumed to create your
product.
© OpenBOM, 2018 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

4. Globe Skateboards ™ From Webinar #4
Wheel 1
Wheel 2
Wheel 3
Skateboard S100
Screw 1-4
Skateboard
S100
Deck Assy Axle Assy x2
Nut x2
Wheel x2
© OpenBOM, 2018 (Newman Cloud Inc.)
Wheel Board Axle Screw
Axle x1
Screws x8
Tape x2.5
Deck
Deck

5. Part Number is the lifeblood of manufacturing...
© OpenBOM, 2019 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

6. There are basically two types of Part Numbers methods
Intelligent: The various digits or positions in the part number sequence have
some meaning. Sometimes referred to as Significant.
Non-Intelligent: The part number is simply a number which begins at a certain
value (1000 for example) and marches forward one at a time in a sequence.
1001, 1002, 1003, ….. These are just numbers.
© OpenBOM, 2019 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

7. Significant/Intelligent
Pro: Allow items to be easily recognized by their PN, often they may move through
a process like change control faster. May be easier to search for and find in digital
systems. Comfortable and familiar to team members.
Con: Maintenance of the part numbering system is an ongoing (costly) activity.
Adding a new product code or other metadata to meet the needs of an
unanticipated part category can be expensive and time consuming.
→ A simple change to a part may cause a part number change!! Can be very
expensive to propagate that change through a product structure!
© OpenBOM, 2019 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

8. Insignificant/Non-Intelligent
Pro: Easy. Fast. Literally no maintenance of the part numbering system. Easy to
“dispense” the next part number without analysing or knowing the properties of the
part. Little institutional knowledge required. Low training demands. Lower cost.
Con: Requires a flexible and organized open system to manage BOMs and
product structure. In order to be useful, related part information (metadata) must
remain associated to the part number and be retrievable by all members of the
extended enterprise.
© OpenBOM, 2019 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

9. Legacy (older) systems often use significant part numbers because:
● They are typically data silos closed to manufacturing and/or difficult and costly
to extend
○ My manufacturing team only sees a paper drawing, so that is the only
place I have to communicate information.
○ I need to know if this is a “Machined” part and I have no place to store
that information… I’ll just add a “-M” to the part number.
○ I need to add a new product code quickly, I’ll just use a Px code at the
front of every part number.
○ My vendor needs to build the correct rev so I append it to the part
number as “Rev-C”
○ Yada yada yada
© OpenBOM, 2019 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

10. Typical legacy BOM
Built in Excel, Significant PN and some details…. Responsibility on the designer
to keep the part number and other information in sync. Ugh!!
© OpenBOM, 2019 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

11. Let’s compare with a more advanced data manager or BOM tool which can associate part
numbers AND related information
32” Skateboard Deck Assembly at revision A
Intelligent: DA-100032-1-A
Non-Intelligent:
Part Number Prod Code Size Type Revision Purchased
1000 Deck 32 Assembly A Yes
Product code
Type
Part number
Size
Revision
© OpenBOM, 2019 (Newman Cloud Inc.)
Intelligent vs Non-Intelligent

12. Live demo...
Open the Significant Excel
Change Tape from Not purchased to Purchased
Change Deck revision
Open Webinar #5 BOM
Add Quantity - spelling is correct
Type a letter to show validation
Add Tape 1002
Open Webinar #5 Catalog
Configure the part number and uniqueness
Add some items to Catalog
Open Webinar #5 BOM
Add items to BOM
Add more properties to Catalog
Update BOM - see new properties
© OpenBOM, 2018 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

13. Suggestions when creating a part number plan
Part number length: 8 characters of consistent length = 40K+ part numbers
Character set: Numbers, not letters. If you must use letters USE CAPS. No leading zeros. No
special characters like *&^%[]/$#@. No periods. No spaces. Use dashes to break up the sequence if
needed. Enforce uniqueness.
Never store Rev or State or any phase information in the part number. When the part lifecycles the part
number will change. That costs money and seriously breaks BOMs and ERP.
Enforce Form, Fit and Function as the design guideline. (upcoming webinar)
In a large company a part number change take weeks and cost over $10K
© OpenBOM, 2019 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

14. References
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Part_number
Part numbering schemes (Arena): https://www.arenasolutions.com/resources/articles/part-numbering/
Part identification: http://beyondplm.com/2011/07/29/pdm-part-numbers-and-the-future-of-identification/
© OpenBOM, 2019 (Newman Cloud Inc.)

15. Questions?
Please type into the webinar panel or send to support@openbom.com
More information at www.openbom.com
© OpenBOM, 2018 (Newman Cloud Inc.)