How do you usually share 3D models with BOM information across teams?
Hi all,
I’m doing some research on daily workflows in mechanical design, manufacturing, and supply chain.
When engineers need to share 3D models (STEP/IGES, etc.) together with BOM (part numbers, quantities, suppliers), what’s the common practice in your team?
Do you send STEP files + Excel spreadsheets separately?
Do you rely on screenshots or 3D PDFs?
What’s the biggest pain point when your supplier, purchaser, or project manager needs to review both 3D geometry and BOM data?
Have you tried lightweight viewers or cloud solutions? How well did they work?
I’m especially curious about:
Where miscommunication or rework usually happens.
If file size, software licensing, or compatibility is an issue.
If you wish there were simpler tools for this workflow.
Thanks in advance!
Any insight from your real-world experience would be super valuable 🙏
1 Answer
Well, that depends strongly on the person or department you need to send it to. In general, I would split the needs into the following categories:
Purchasing
Only needs a simple “shopping list.” No assemblies or project structures are required. For manufactured parts, however, part drawings are necessary for pricing and ordering purposes.
Manufacturing / Production Planning
Similar to Purchasing, but with more detailed information related to the manufacturing process, such as material type, raw stock (e.g. angle or flat steel), and treatments (hardening, surface coatings, etc.).
Picking / Assembly
Needs structured BOMs to pick, sort, and assemble the required quantities. They usually work with internal IDs (e.g. article or drawing numbers), but additional information helps to verify the correct parts are being picked.
Organizational
Covers any system that manages all necessary data for each component. This can include physical parts, assemblies, or even services (engineering, assembly, repair).
In my experience, the most critical point is change management. Especially when a project or product is modified while parts are already in pre-processing. For example:
Let’s say a part requires an 8 mm bore. The part is already ordered from a supplier or scheduled in your own production. For some reason, the bore size changes to 10 mm. From a mechanical engineering point of view, the workflow might be:
Transfer the part document into a “change” state
Update the bore from 8 mm to 10 mm
Insert a version annotation
Release the part again with REV 1
So far, so good. But how does the manufacturing department—or your supplier—know that you revised the part? Even worse, what if you replace a part with a different one, changing the article number? For instance:
Part 123 is added to the BOM
Part 124 is removed from the BOM
Part 123 is not necessarily the issue, but part 124 is: how does anyone in your organization know that 124 is no longer valid in the BOM?
In my experience, this is the most critical case—when engineering is still ongoing but parts are already in manufacturing.
