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Electronic Components Inventory Management in OrCAD X

Key Takeaways

  • Live BOM helps with electronic components inventory management and provides a dynamic solution for managing electronic components inventory, leveraging real-time data on over 1 billion parts

  • By automating and synchronizing the Bill of Materials (BOM) with current data from Sourcengine, Live BOM minimizes manual errors, aids in risk mitigation, and ensures timely production.

  • Live BOM’s dashboard facilitates the identification and substitution of obsolete or high-risk parts.

Live BOM window with list of components

Live BOM gives design engineers visibility into market intelligence

Electronic components inventory management is the systematic approach used to control the management, ordering, storage, and use of electronic components required for the manufacturing and assembly of electronics. This process is crucial for designers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers involved in the electronics industry. The primary goal is to ensure an optimal stock of components available to meet production demands without incurring unnecessary costs or experiencing stockouts that could halt production. 

Key Aspects Required for Electronic Components Inventory Management

Key Aspect

Description of Aspect 

Ordering and Procurement

Deciding when and how much to order based on production needs and supplier lead times.

Stock Control

Keeping track of inventory levels to prevent overstocking (which ties up capital and incurs storage costs) or understocking (which can lead to production delays).

Demand Forecasting

Predicting future component needs based on production schedules, market trends, and historical consumption patterns to ensure timely procurement.

Supplier Management

Building and maintaining good relationships with suppliers to ensure a reliable supply of components, negotiate favorable terms, and manage lead times.

Quality Control

Ensuring that the components received meet the required specifications and quality standards to avoid production issues.

Technology and Software

Utilizing inventory management software to track inventory levels, manage orders, and streamline the inventory management process.

Waste Reduction

Implementing strategies to minimize waste by optimizing ordering practices and improving component usage efficiency.

Inventory Management Through Live BOM

In order to address these issues and requirements, Live BOM is directly integrated within Cadence OrCAD X. Live BOM isn’t just a simple list of components required for your project, it is a supply chain management solution that provides real-time insights into the availability, lifecycle status, and compliance of electronic components, natively integrated with OrCAD X  Capture CIS.

It leverages a comprehensive dashboard, powered by Sourcengine, to provide up-to-date information on over 1 billion parts from 3600 suppliers, including details like availability, lifecycle status, and compliance. By automating and synchronizing the BOM with current data, it reduces manual errors, helps in risk mitigation, and ensures timely production and delivery by enabling engineers to make informed decisions swiftly.

Live BOM delivers insights into the following part information:

  • REACH and RoHS compliance
  • Design Risk
  • Market availability
  • Inventory
  • Form, Fit, and Function alternate parts
  • Pricing
  • Lead time
  • Technical parameters
  • Data sheets
  • Alternate suppliers

BOM Health Score showing parts matched and at-risk parts

BOM Health Score showing parts matched and at-risk parts

Working in the Live BOM Dashboard

Live BOM's dashboard enables users to swiftly identify and replace obsolete or high-risk parts with suitable alternatives, showcasing options directly within the entry selection. The database is updated with environmental and lifecycle data from Sourcengine, which is sourced directly from manufacturers and suppliers. Users can view the latest update timeline and manually refresh for real-time data.

Live BOM also provides an availability score to estimate production capability based on current part availability, applicable to both passive and active components, ensuring form, fit, and functional equivalence.  

Explaining How Live BOM Works 

Live BOM, is powered by Datalynq and Sourcengine from Sourceability—revolutionizing the way inventory is managed and natively integrated into OrCAD X. 

  • Datalynq is a market intelligence solution, providing deep insights into supply chain trends, inventory fluxes, and the ever-present risks of component obsolescence. 
  • Sourcengine is a marketplace e-commerce platform and helps with supply chain awareness. 

Political shifts, market concentration, and the challenges of outsourcing accentuate the need for stringent supplier qualifications and advanced procurement strategies, including higher automation and predictive risk analytics. Together, these tools allow for the platform's dashboard to offer alternate component suggestions —delivering access to datasheets, specifications, and material compliance, all aimed at increasing supply chain awareness.

 Live BOM component properties selection

Selected part with properties section in the top right section, shows manufacturer, MPN, compliance, status, availability, price, and more 

What Sourcengine Compatibility Allows

Live BOM utilizes its extensive metadata from over a billion parts, enabling BOM optimization by providing part replacements and cost options. The data used, which includes obsolescence and shortage information, is pulled directly from the Sourcengine's database, streamlining the integration of parts throughout the schematic, especially beneficial for navigating supply chain complexities.

Sourcengine acquires lifecycle data from its network of over 3,600 suppliers, many of which are original component manufacturers. Alternative parts suggested from the database are ensured to be form, fit, and function equivalents, often offering pin-to-pin compatibility.

Experience the revolutionary capabilities of Live BOM for electronic components inventory management firsthand with an OrCAD X free trial, and discover how it seamlessly integrates to enhance efficiency and decision-making in projects.

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