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BOM Scrub + Find Alternates

Written by Mike Turner

Over the past several releases, we have looked to improve the user experience regarding filling in gaps, suggesting data to enhance the BOM, and tools to help suggest potential alternates when there is a line risk. With that, we also spent the time to simplify and polish the approach in order to reduce the effort on your side.


BOM Scrub

BOMs rarely arrive in a clean, sourcing-ready format. Missing fields, inconsistent manufacturer names, incomplete part data, and unstructured descriptions all create manual work before quoting, sourcing, or compliance analysis can even begin.

BOM Scrub is designed to eliminate that effort by cleaning, normalizing, enriching, and validating BOM data so you can move from intake to actionable sourcing and quoting faster and with greater confidence.

What BOM Scrub Delivers

Data Cleanup & Standardization

BOM Scrub improves the quality and consistency of incoming BOM data by:

  • Cleaning up inconsistent or messy data such part descriptions

  • Standardizing and formatting data such manufacturer names

  • Normalizing data into a sourcing-ready structure

This reduces manual spreadsheet work and improves downstream automation accuracy.

Missing Data Enrichment

BOM Scrub fills in missing information that would otherwise require manual research; examples include:

  • Internal Part Numbers (IPNs)

  • Part Classes

  • Manufacturer details

  • Additional sourcing and component metadata

BOM Scrub leverages multiple data sources simultaneously, such as:

  • Your ERP via configurable BOM Insights imports

  • Historical CalcuQuote data

  • Accuris datasets

  • AI-powered normalization and enrichment

This allows BOMs with incomplete or low-quality data to become immediately usable for quoting and sourcing workflows.

BOM Risk & Health Analysis

Beyond cleanup, BOM Scrub enhances the BOM with intelligence designed to surface operational and supply chain risk early in the process.

Powered by CQ BOM Health and Accuris datasets, BOM Scrub can identify:

  • Supply chain risk

  • Lifecycle concerns and obsolescence exposure

  • Environmental and compliance risks

  • Legislative and regulatory considerations

  • Manufacturing-related component attributes

Examples of enriched intelligence include:

  • REACH status

  • RoHS compliance

  • Conflict minerals indicators

  • PFAS-related legislative data

  • Component weight and manufacturing considerations

  • Additional compliance and sustainability metadata

When to Use BOM Scrub

BOM Scrub is especially valuable when:

  • BOMs are received from customers with inconsistent formatting or missing data

  • You spend significant time manually researching and correcting BOM information

  • ERP-linked data, such as IPNs, need to be mapped into incoming BOMs

  • Compliance, lifecycle, or sourcing risks need to be identified early

  • You want cleaner data before sourcing, costing, or procurement workflows begin

By automating BOM cleanup and enrichment upfront, BOM Scrub helps reduce manual effort, improve data quality, accelerate quoting, and surface risks before they impact sourcing or production.


Find Alternates

Component availability, lifecycle risk, and incomplete customer data are constant challenges during BOM preparation and sourcing. Find Alternates is designed to accelerate the process of identifying valid replacement or approved components so teams can build stronger, more resilient Approved Manufacturer Lists (AMLs).

Rather than relying on manual research across spreadsheets, distributor websites, ERP data, and historical quotes, Find Alternates consolidates internal intelligence and external market data to quickly surface viable MPN options for each BOM line item.

What Find Alternates Delivers

Approved Manufacturer List (AML) Expansion

Find Alternates helps teams rapidly build and expand AML coverage by identifying:

  • Equivalent or compatible MPNs from sources such as DigiKey

  • Engineer-approved alternates from sources such as Accuris

  • Previously sourced or historically approved parts

  • ERP-linked data to lookup the associated approved MPNs based on Customer Part Number (CPNs)

  • Supply-chain-friendly replacement options

  • AI-powered attribute parsing and multiple intelligence sources to infer likely component matches and surface relevant alternates.

This improves sourcing flexibility and reduces dependency on single-source components.

Supply Chain & Lifecycle Risk Mitigation

When BOM Scrub analysis identifies components with elevated risk — such as obsolescence concerns, allocation exposure, or long lead times — Find Alternates helps sourcing teams quickly identify lower-risk replacement options. This enables teams to proactively:

  • Reduce supply chain exposure

  • Improve component availability

  • Increase sourcing competitiveness

  • Avoid lifecycle-related disruptions

  • Create more resilient sourcing strategies

Data Sources & Intelligence

Find Alternates leverages multiple datasets and intelligence sources together, including:

  • Historical CalcuQuote sourcing and quoting activity

  • ERP-linked customer and internal part mappings

  • AI-powered description and attribute analysis

  • Accuris alternate component intelligence

By combining internal sourcing history with external market intelligence, the system can surface alternates that are both technically relevant and operationally practical.

Common Use Cases

Customer Part Number (CPN) Resolution

A customer provides only their internal part number or a vague description. Find Alternates helps identify the corresponding manufacturer parts and approved sourcing options needed to build the BOM.

Risk Mitigation After BOM Scrub

After BOM analysis identifies high-risk components, Find Alternates helps sourcing and engineering teams quickly evaluate replacement options to reduce lifecycle or supply chain exposure.

Expanding Sourcing Flexibility

Teams can proactively broaden AML coverage to improve sourcing competitiveness, reduce shortages, and increase supplier optionality before quoting or production begins.

When to Use Find Alternates

Find Alternates is especially valuable when:

  • Incoming BOMs lack complete manufacturer information

  • AML coverage is limited or outdated

  • Supply chain shortages impact sourcing options

  • Components are nearing end-of-life

  • You want to reduce sourcing risk before procurement

By automating alternate discovery and leveraging both historical and market intelligence, Find Alternates helps teams reduce research time, improve sourcing resilience, and build stronger BOMs faster.

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