Manufacturing ERP where the BOM is a decision tree
A cable is a stack of decisions before it is a product, and the material cost moves while you are quoting it.
What does a cable manufacturer need from an ERP?
Two things above all: a variant structure that can cost thousands of made-to-order combinations without a new BOM for each, and one live copper rate that every quotation costs off. BMI Cables replaced 150 spreadsheets by moving both into Facto.
The product is a combination, not a part number
Conductor, number of cores, insulation, armouring, sheath, voltage grade. Multiply those out and you have thousands of made-to-order variants, most of which you will make once. A system that wants a hand-built BOM per finished good turns into a data entry department.
Your material cost moves daily
Copper and aluminium rates change while a quotation is open. The rate has to live in one place, every quotation has to cost off it, and you need to know which quotes went out at last week's rate when this week's arrives.
Length is the unit, and it changes at every stage
Drawing, stranding, insulation, armouring, sheathing. Material is consumed by length and by weight at different stages, scrap appears at each one, and reconciling issued weight against despatched length is where the margin quietly leaks.
Drum and packing details are part of the order
Drum size, returnable or not, the length per drum and the marking on the sheath are all order-specific. They belong on the job card and on the despatch document, not in a WhatsApp message to the packing supervisor.
Test certificates travel with the despatch
Routine tests against the drum that shipped, with the results reachable when a customer calls about a reel they received four months ago. A test register that lives separately from despatch cannot answer that question.
Variant costing and quotation
One live conductor rate driving every quotation, and a variant structure that costs a combination without needing a hand-built BOM for each of the thousands you could make.
Production and job tracking
Progress by stage from drawing through to sheathing, with material consumed by length and by weight where each applies, and scrap booked at the stage that produced it.
Inventory and stores
Live conductor stock valued against the current rate, drum and packing material tracked as order-specific, and consumption booked against the job that consumed it.
Quality and traceability
Routine test results recorded against the drum, so a certificate can be produced against a despatch months later from the same record production ran on.
How does Facto handle thousands of cable variants?
Through a variant structure rather than a BOM per finished good. You define the choices that make a cable, conductor through to sheath, and a combination costs itself off those. That is what stops a made-to-order cable plant turning into a data entry department.
Can quotations cost off the current copper rate?
Yes. The rate lives in one place and every quotation costs off it, so a rate change is one update rather than a sweep through spreadsheets. You can also see which open quotations were costed at the previous rate.
Which cable manufacturers already use Facto?
BMI Cables runs production, inventory, purchase, costing and finance on Facto after moving off roughly 150 spreadsheets, across a five-module rollout that took six to seven months. The full account, including the parts that went slowly, is on our case studies page.
