The flow at a glance
1. Engineer releases design in CAD / PDM
2. Trigger fires (release state, button or schedule)
3. Integration extracts items, properties and BOM structure
4. Data is validated and mapped to ERP fields
5. ERP API creates / updates items and BOMs
6. Result (ERP item IDs, errors) is written back to CAD / PDM
7. Log and notifications for engineers and adminsStep 1–2: The trigger
Most integrations run when a document reaches a Released state in PDM or PLM, so only approved data reaches ERP. Alternatives are a manual "Send to ERP" button in CAD or a scheduled job.
Step 3: Extraction
The integration reads the assembly structure and properties through the CAD or PDM API: part numbers, descriptions, materials, quantities, units, weights and make/buy flags. For raw materials it can calculate cut lengths or sheet areas.
Step 4: Validation and mapping
| CAD property | ERP field | Transformation |
|---|---|---|
| PartNumber | Item code | Upper case, prefix by category |
| Description | Item name | Max 40 characters |
| Material | Material group | Lookup table |
| Type = Purchased | Procurement type | "Buy" |
| Mass (kg) | Net weight | Unit conversion if needed |
Validation rejects missing or invalid data before anything reaches ERP.
Step 5: Writing to ERP
The integration calls ERP interfaces: SAP BAPIs, IDocs or OData services, Microsoft Dynamics 365 OData APIs, Oracle REST APIs, Odoo XML-RPC / JSON-RPC, or import files where no API is available. It creates new items, updates existing ones and replaces or versions BOMs according to your rules.
Step 6–7: Write-back and logging
ERP item numbers, costs or status can be written back into CAD properties. Every transaction is logged; failures create notifications with clear messages so engineers can fix data and retry.
Key design decisions
- Who creates part numbers: CAD, PDM or ERP?
- EBOM vs MBOM: transform engineering structure into manufacturing structure (phantoms, raw materials, packaging).
- Revisions: how design revisions map to ERP BOM versions and effectivity dates.
- Direction: one-way (CAD → ERP) or two-way (costs and stock back to CAD).
Decide the system of record for each field before writing any code.
Build your CAD–ERP integration
ENGIMANDI builds CAD to ERP integrations for SOLIDWORKS, Inventor, AutoCAD, Creo and CATIA with SAP, Dynamics, Oracle, Odoo and Tally. Read our CAD to ERP guide or see our integration services.