Clockwork Business Solutions partnered with a leading printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer to implement a tailor-made SAP Business One solution. The goal was to streamline every aspect of the PCB production lifecycle—from engineering change management to shop-floor visibility, quality assurance, and cost control. After a phased rollout, the manufacturer saw a 41 percent reduction in rework, achieved 100 percent audit readiness at all times, eliminated unexpected month-end cost variances, and accelerated time-to-market by fully synchronizing procurement and production workflows.
1. Introduction and Industry Context
Printed circuit boards power almost every modern electronic device—from cars and solar inverters to medical equipment and everyday consumer tech. Modern PCBs often feature six, eight, or more layers of copper and insulation, incorporating components such as BGAs, fine-pitch ICs, RF transceivers, and power management modules. As product complexity increases, so do engineering change requests (ECRs), quality regulations, and supply-chain risks for long-lead items.
Many PCB manufacturers still rely on spreadsheets, paper documents, and disconnected systems for BoM (bill of materials) control, shop-floor tracking, and compliance record-keeping. This fragmented approach creates opportunities for errors, mid-cycle production stoppages, and “surprise” cost overruns at month end.To resolve these issues, Clockwork Business Solutions deployed SAP Business One with a configuration tailored for PCB environments—optimizing workflows across high-mix, low-volume builds as well as high-speed mass production.
2. Key Challenges
2.1 Complex Multi-Layer Bills of Materials
A typical PCB product may have separate BoMs for raw materials, subassemblies (e.g., test fixtures, coating frames), and final packaging. Maintaining revision control presented significant hurdles: engineering teams issued ECRs that weren’t always propagated to procurement or the shop floor, resulting in part mis-picks, rework, and scrap
2.2 Lack of Real-Time Production Visibility
Shop-floor data on yields, downtime, scrap rates, and throughput was collected manually—often via paper logs—and analyzed retrospectively. By the time root-cause issues were identified, production backlog had already built up, leading to fulfillment delays.
2.3 Disparate Quality and Compliance Records
RoHS, CE, UL, and calibration certificates were stored in disparate file shares and physical binders. Auditors frequently requested documentation from the past two to five years, triggering frantic searches that undermined the production team’s focus
2.4 Costing Uncertainty and Inventory Risks
Material, labor, overhead, and rework costs were tracked in separate spreadsheets. Month-end reconciliation was labor-intensive, and unplanned engineering changes often caused significant swings in actual versus forecasted margins. Additionally, long-lead capacitors or specialty laminates sometimes caused production holds when vendor lead times weren’t modeled accurately.
3. Our Solution: SAP Business One for PCB Manufacturing
Clockwork Business Solutions designed and deployed a comprehensive SAP Business One implementation that addressed each challenge holistically. Key modules and enhancements included:
3.1 Smart BoM and Version Control
- Multi-Layer BoM Management: Each BoM revision is locked once released to production, preventing mid-cycle alterations that could compromise material picks.
- Automated Costing Updates: As BoM versions change, unit costs update dynamically across material, labor, and overhead components, ensuring procurement and finance always work from current data.
- Engineering Change Integration: ECRs and ECNs created in SAP Business One trigger alerts to procurement and production planners, guaranteeing that all stakeholders work from the approved BoM.
3.2 Real-Time Production Oversight
- Shop-Floor Data Capture: Operators and machines feed yield, scrap, downtime, and throughput metrics into SAP Business One in real time via barcoded work orders and MES interfaces.
- Root-Cause Analytics: Preconfigured dashboards highlight abnormal variances and trend patterns at shift level, enabling supervisors to intervene immediately.
- Throughput Optimization: Visual work-center status boards show live capacity utilization, helping production planners balance loads across assembly, testing, conformal coating, and final packaging
3.3 Digital Quality & Compliance Management
- Centralized Certificate Repository: RoHS/CE/UL declarations, calibration certificates, and in-line quality-control logs reside in a single SAP Business One document management system.
- Audit-Ready Reporting: Automated compliance checklists and built-in retention rules ensure that auditors can retrieve historical data with a click—eliminating manual file hunts.
- Quality Gate Enforcement: The system requires sign-off for key quality checks (e.g., post-reflow inspection, ICT test, coating thickness) before orders progress to the next operation.
3.4 Cost & Inventory Precision
- Real-Time Unit Costing: Every transaction—issue, receipt, scrap, rework—is posted immediately, giving finance teams live visibility into material and labor spend.
- Predictive Planning: The MRP engine forecasts requirements for long-lead parts and suggests vendor alternatives based on price, lead time, and past performance.
- Stock Buffer Alerts: Configurable safety stock levels generate alerts when inventory dips below critical thresholds, preventing production stoppages.
4. Implementation Approach
Clockwork adopted an agile, phased rollout strategy to minimize business disruption:
4.1 Discovery & Blueprinting (4 weeks)
- Conducted workshops with engineering, production, quality, procurement, and finance teams to map existing processes and pain points.
- Defined target processes, system roles, and data-governance rules.
4.2 System Configuration (6 weeks)
- Deployed SAP Business One’s core modules—Inventory, Production, Quality Management, and Financials—to streamline operations end to end.
- Developed custom enhancements: BoM version locking, real-time dashboards, and compliance templates.
4.3 Integration & Testing (5 weeks)
- Connected directly to shop-floor PLCs, MES, barcode systems, and QA inspection tools.
- Migrated historical BoM and inventory data from legacy spreadsheets.
- Conducted unit, integration, and user acceptance testing.
4.4 User Training & Change Management (3 weeks)
- Delivered role-based training for 120 users across engineering, production, quality, and finance.
- Established a super-user network and helpdesk for go-live support.
4.5 Go-Live & Hypercare (4 weeks)
- Rolled out in pilot production lines, then expanded to full facility coverage.
- Provided on-site support, daily Kaizen reviews, and system tweaks based on user feedback.
5. Results and Business Impact
Within three months of go-live, the PCB manufacturer realized measurable gains:
5.1 41 Percent Reduction in Rework
- Real-time analytics on yield and scrap enabled immediate corrective actions on process deviations, slashing rework rates by 41 percent.
5.2 100 Percent Audit Readiness
- Centralized document management eliminated compliance gaps; audits that previously took days now conclude in hours.
5.3 Accurate Real-Time Costing
- Live unit-cost rolls up material, labor, rework, and overhead variances—replacing manual reconciliation spreadsheets and eradicating last-minute margin surprises.
5.4 Accelerated Time-to-Market
- Automated BoM propagation and synchronized procurement slashed engineering-to-production cycle time by 25 percent, ensuring new product introductions hit launch dates reliably.
Operational Metrics Snapshot (First 90 Days Post-Go-Live)
| Metric | Improvement | Baseline | Post-Implementation |
| Rework Rate | 41 percent | 8 percent | 4.7 percent |
| Average Audit Preparation Time | 85 percent | 40 hours | 6 hours |
| Month-End Cost Variance | 100 percent | ₹2.5 million | ₹0 |
| Engineering-to-Production Lead Time | 25 percent | 20 days | 15 days |
6. Why Clockwork Business Solutions?
Clockwork’s deep expertise in SAP Business One and extensive background in PCB manufacturing environments make it the ideal partner for this transformation:
6.1 Domain-Specific Customizations
- Proven extensions for BoM version control, multilayer PCB costing, and ECR/ECN workflows.
6.2 Seamless SMT & MES Integration
- Live shop-floor visibility from pick-and-place machines through conformal coating and final assembly.
6.3 End-to-End Traceability
- Serial number tracking, lot control, and automated quality-gate enforcement.
6.4 Scalable Architecture
- Supports rapid prototyping runs with as few as 10 boards up to high-volume production of tens of thousands of PCBs per month.
7. Conclusion
By deploying a specialized SAP Business One solution, the PCB manufacturer achieved significant efficiency gains, quality improvements, and risk mitigation. The transformation journey underscored the importance of integrating engineering, production, quality, and finance in a single digital platform.
8. Next Steps
- Expand the solution to the company’s global facilities for standardized processes and consolidated reporting.
- Explore IoT-based predictive maintenance for SMT lines and enhanced SPC (statistical process control) integration.
- Leverage SAP Analytics Cloud for strategic dashboards and advanced forecasting.
This case study demonstrates how a targeted ERP implementation can revolutionize PCB manufacturing, delivering tangible ROI and positioning the organization for sustained growth in a competitive electronics market.