Product Updates

The BOM Builder

The AI-powered, CMMC-compliant BOM Builder makes quoting assemblies fast, easy, and secure.

What we built

Whether your buyer sent you a model, a print, a spreadsheet, or a zip with dozens (maybe even hundreds) of files, setting up a part’s bill of materials is an important and time-consuming element of quoting any assembly. Today, Paperless Parts has released a new AI-powered interface – called the BOM Builder – where estimators can automatically create, organize, and update multi-level assemblies, making this task faster, easier, and less manual.

Key Features of the BOM Builder include:

  • AI-powered BOM table extraction from prints or spreadsheets.
  • A spreadsheet-style interface where users can quickly enter, paste, and organize BOM data
  • Flexible BOM structure that allows the BOM to be built in any order—by part number, assembly group, or customer documentation structure.
  • Easy drag-and-drop when attaching files to parts, moving components between subassemblies, and visually managing the BOM structure.
  • Indicate which parts are purchased in bulk and quickly associate any hardware with purchased component records.
  • Mistake-proof editing tools (undo, autosave, and easy rearrangement) that eliminate rework and reduce training time.
  • A “Split PDF” action that allows users to break up large drawing packages and assists in assigning them to the right parts in the BOM. 

Get detailed instructions on how to use these new tools in our Knowledge Base article, or watch beta customer Tawny Bush from Reata Engineering demonstrate the feature here. 

Why it matters

Setting up the bill of materials for a large, complex assembly is manual and time-consuming, no matter what system you’re quoting out of. Paperless Parts has historically made this process easier by breaking out the BOM from CAD files, but even if your buyer does provide one, entering component-level information (like part number, revision, and description), organizing files, and making the changes required to take the EBOM to an MBOM are all still time-consuming tasks that are typically performed by a skilled estimator. We heard from shops that they may even no-quote assembly-heavy jobs because the time investment to quote them relative to the winning percentage is so low.

In beta testing, the BOM Builder has reduced overall setup time for assemblies by up to 90%, even when users are quoting from PDFs. Some shops have even been able to eliminate Solidworks and other CAD systems from the quoting process, as they can now manipulate CAD BOMs easily within Paperless, saving them time switching systems and money on expensive CAD licenses. 

Want to learn more?

Want to see how you can use the BOM Builder to quote assemblies in record time? Reach out to your CSM or our support team, attend our Power Lunch on Thursday, 4/17/25, or join us for our live BOM Builder session at our upcoming user conference, POWER 2025, today.