API Spotlight: Parts-in-Place is MRP for Small Businesses
Pulse
Octopart Staff
Oct 10, 2017

This is a spotlight on Parts-in-Place, a BOM management tool with access to part data powered by Octopart. Nick Ivanter is the founder and CEO.

Nick Ivanter’s background isn’t hardware design.

nick

Nick...

As a software engineer, Nick started out in embedded systems working at Auriga in Moscow, developing device drivers for embedded Linux. In 2004, he co-founded Emcraft Systems, a provider of hardware / electronics design services. In 2008, Nick’s team conceived, designed and brought to market a first hardware product of their own. It was a GPS tracker device for vehicle fleet management.

“It was then that I got first exposed to BOM- and electronic parts inventory management. It was painful. I dreaded the chore but someone had to do it and I started doing it myself.” says Nick.

Over the years, they tried several automation tools for inventory tracking and build management, with varying degrees of success. None of the tools hit the mark and the majority of work was still done semi-manually using MS Excel spreadsheets.

yury

...and Yury

This eventually led to the Parts-in-Place idea in 2012. Nick got interested in web applications as a technology. His involvement in Emcraft’s day-to-day operations was no longer critical, but parts management remained a challenge for the Emcraft team. He spoke with some friends in other small hardware companies and they confirmed that the issues of parts inventory management were very familiar to them too. Everything clicked.

Nick reconnected with Yury Mishin, an old friend and colleague from Auriga, and started working on the new project. They hired two contractors— one in India and the other in Poland — and together developed the core of the application. The Parts-in-Place website and on-demand inventory system launched in February 2013.

The convenience of Parts-in-Place for small businesses can be seen from the simple workflows, from planning new builds to managing BOMs. As a web-based tool, Parts-in-Place allows for easy collaboration and sharing among team-members. The tool also includes a Parts Library, powered by Octopart, which enables users to search and find components, verify their market status and save links to datasheets.

Nick says: “Our focus with the Parts-in-Place tool is the MRP needs of small hardware companies and individuals. We feel that this tight focus enables us to provide the right combination of features and ease of use for our target customer.”

Read more about Parts-in-Place and learn about the product here.

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