Are your engineering teams drowning in component chaos? For machine builders, maintaining accurate bills of materials is no longer just an operational headache—it’s now a compliance necessity under the Cyber Resilience Act. Without proper software BOM management, you’re not just risking production delays; you’re potentially facing regulatory penalties and security vulnerabilities.
Machine builders across Europe are scrambling to implement systems that bring order to their component tracking while ensuring compliance with new digital regulations. The challenge isn’t just organizing parts—it’s creating a transparent, traceable record of every software component in your machines.
At Noux Node, we’ve developed a streamlined approach that transforms disorganized software component tracking into a clear, compliant system in just two weeks. Our low-code solution helps machine builders avoid the common pitfalls of BOM management while significantly reducing implementation time and resources.
The hidden costs of disorganized bills of materials
When your engineering team can’t quickly identify what software components are in which machines, the ripple effects are both immediate and far-reaching. Production delays become inevitable as teams spend hours searching for component information that should be readily available. According to industry research, engineers waste an average of 4.5 hours per week just searching for component data—that’s nearly 12% of their productive time lost.
Beyond the time waste, disorganized software BOMs create serious compliance vulnerabilities. The Cyber Resilience Act requires machine builders to maintain comprehensive records of all software components, their versions, and known vulnerabilities. Without a structured SBOM system, you’re exposing your company to potential penalties and your customers to security risks.
Supply chain disruptions hit hardest when you lack visibility into your software components. When security patches become available for critical components, how quickly can you identify which machines are affected? For many machine builders, the answer is “weeks”—far too long in today’s threat landscape.
Why traditional BOM management approaches fall short
The spreadsheet-based approach that served machine builders adequately in previous decades has become dangerously inadequate. These manual systems break down when facing modern challenges like frequent software updates, multiple component suppliers, and compliance documentation requirements.
Even machine builders with sophisticated production systems often maintain their software BOMs in disconnected systems that don’t communicate with each other. One division might use PLCs programmed with detailed component listings, while another relies on printed documentation. This fragmentation makes comprehensive tracking nearly impossible.
The global nature of today’s supply chains compounds these challenges. When components come from dozens of suppliers across multiple countries, each with their own documentation formats, consolidating this information manually becomes an exercise in frustration. Without a centralised system designed specifically for software component tracking, compliance with the CRA will remain a persistent challenge.
Ready to assess your current BOM management approach? Download our free CRA Compliance Readiness Checklist to identify your most urgent vulnerabilities. Get your checklist now
CRA machine builder software: The 14-day transformation process
Our approach to implementing software BOM management is methodical and efficient, typically completing in just two weeks from initiation to full operation. The process begins with a comprehensive assessment phase (days 1-3) where we document your current component tracking methods and identify compliance gaps that need immediate attention.
During the setup phase (days 4-7), we configure our low-code solution to match your specific machine types, component categories, and supplier relationships. This is when we establish the hierarchical relationships that make future tracking intuitive. Unlike traditional software implementations that require extensive IT resources, our system can be configured by your engineering team with minimal technical support.
The final implementation phase (days 8-14) focuses on data migration, team training, and process integration. We’ve found that allocating dedicated time for hands-on training dramatically increases adoption rates. By day 14, your engineering and procurement teams will be maintaining accurate software BOMs as part of their natural workflow, not as an additional administrative burden.
Key features that turn BOM chaos into clarity
Hierarchical component structures form the foundation of effective software BOM management. Our system allows machine builders to organize components in multi-level relationships that reflect the actual architecture of your machines. This makes it immediately clear which components depend on others, enabling faster impact assessment when vulnerabilities are discovered.
Automated validation rules eliminate one of the most common sources of BOM errors. Before the system accepts new component entries, it checks for completeness and consistency against predefined rules. This prevents the “garbage in, garbage out” problem that plagues many component databases.
The supplier integration capabilities transform what was previously a manual communication process into an automated information exchange. When suppliers issue security updates or version changes, this information flows directly into your BOM system, triggering appropriate alerts to engineering and security teams.
Real-world success: How machine builders achieved BOM mastery
A Finnish packaging machine manufacturer reduced their security patch deployment time by 78% after implementing our software BOM management system. Previously, identifying affected machines took nearly a week; now they can generate a complete impact report in under a day, dramatically reducing their vulnerability window.
“The visibility we now have into our software components has transformed how we approach security,” notes their Head of Development. “We’ve gone from reactive to proactive, identifying potential issues before they affect customers.”
Similarly, a German industrial robot producer used our system to achieve CRA compliance two months ahead of their target date. The structured approach to component documentation allowed them to rapidly generate the compliance evidence needed, avoiding the last-minute scramble many competitors experienced.
Implementation roadmap: Your first steps toward BOM clarity
Begin by conducting an honest assessment of your current software BOM situation. How many different systems currently hold component information? How quickly can you generate a complete list of machines containing a specific software version? Your answers will reveal the urgency of your need.
Next, identify the stakeholders who need to be involved in the implementation process. Successful deployments typically include representatives from engineering, procurement, IT security, and compliance teams. Their early involvement ensures the system meets the needs of all departments.
Finally, establish clear metrics to measure success. Beyond compliance achievements, track time savings, error reduction, and vulnerability response improvements. These metrics will demonstrate the full business value of your implementation.
Ready to transform your software BOM management in just two weeks? Schedule a personalised demonstration with our machine builder specialists to see exactly how our system would work with your specific components and machines. Request your demo today
With the right approach and purpose-built tools, the journey from chaotic component tracking to clear, compliant software BOMs doesn’t have to be long or painful. Let us show you how our low-code solution can transform your compliance readiness while improving engineering efficiency across your organisation.
