Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1406534
38 SMT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2021 their systems. What they have now are true API toolkits, which let you develop directly to their ERP systems. We're not touching their website. We don't care about the website. e only thing we use their website for is to verify the data that we're getting over the API con- nection. With these, I like to compare it to the way we booked a ticket to London 10 years ago: we either called or went on the websites for United, American or US Air. Now, with one click online, we see all the airlines offering flights for these prices and these conditions. Here, I can take my bill of materials, hit one mouse click, and I get results from all these different suppliers. BOM Connector as a smart tool takes that information, organizes it, and suggests that based on your rules, you should buy this part from supplier A , this part from supplier B, and this part from supplier C, but if you're willing to go a little more over the edge, or if you're will- ing to wait a few more days, you can get a 3% cheaper price. We take that heavy liing off the customer. We present the data right there. And now, of course, you're back to what you had said at the beginning: My 13-year-old nephew doesn't know what to do with this data, but an experienced procurement person knows ex- actly that's the data I'm looking for. Matties: When you're looking at what's avail- able, is that a real-time stock check? Decker-Weiss: Yes, absolutely, which means your stock levels are appropriate to your geo- graphical region. If I'm in Southern California and the stock is in Arizona, that's a big differ- ence than if the stock is in Malaysia. I see the stock local and relevant to me and I get my pricing, not just some market pricing. So, if I have conditions with any supplier, that's the in- formation I see. Matties: In terms of booking the order, is it done right then and there? If they see it's in stock, they can make the purchase through your system? Decker-Weiss: Not yet. Matties: Is that where you're headed? Decker-Weiss: We're working on that. It needs to be rolled out carefully, because you are plac- ing these legally binding orders and you don't want to have anything wrong. But we absolute- ly will have it by the end of the year. Laing: I think there's another area we haven't touched on. If I get a bill of materials for my customer and I read all the data in, I sudden- ly realize that 100 of those parts are available in stock in my ERP system. I don't need to get pricing information because the parts are already in inventory. It's just that the part is called something different. It's an alternate that they didn't import. When you're subject to the supply chain challenges that we've all just talk- ed about, it's valuable to know the part is sit- ting right there in the warehouse. So, I think that's another big area here that is really utiliz- ing your ERP system to its maximum. Matties: Is that connection already in your sys- tem? Decker-Weiss: It is. Of course, it always sounds easy until you try to do it. Like Mark just said, it's not that easy. We check the daily market We don't care about the website. The only thing we use their website for is to verify the data that we're getting over the API connection.