PartsBox Erfahrungen

Finally, a solution to managing my parts inventory

Kommentare: I now know what parts I have, where they are and what I need to order to complete the next build. Avoiding buying unneeded parts and reducing the chance I will need to pay expedited shipping for that "ONE PART!" I need to complete the build will make my investment in time and treasure well worth it. I recommend Parts Box to anyone who is serious about electronics.

Vorteile:

It taps into a huge catalog of parts so that you simply enter the manufacturer's part number and the system provides all the linked information you need. It took some time to enter my parts into this system but, it has been well worth it. Now, I can avoid buying parts I already have, can check for parts even when I am not at home, and can create detailed build lists and price estimates.

Nachteile:

It is a slog to get your existing parts inventory into the tool, particularly if you are starting at the free their as I did. I also wish the footprints field were populated in the linked information as this information is typically already in the part description.

Best in class software

Kommentare: Truly great experience. I found what I needed.

Vorteile:

Customer friendliness, advanced functionalities and intuitive navigation. Meets all my needs and expectations. Found it after mamy trial and errors with other software providers.

Nachteile:

Hard to say but if needed - the interface could be more modern.

Good solution for BOM and parts management without the bulk

Kommentare: A good experience that is just getting better. I feel like it started as "good enough", and just continues to grow and improve rapidly, and with amazingly responses support form the developer.

Vorteile:

Simple but capable. ParstBox focuses on a specific aspect of managing components and BOMs and does it really well. It does not need to be tied it a bigger or more complex system to be functional and provide value. It was easy to setup and was helpful within hours.

Nachteile:

There are some features for management of components that would be helpful. Leveraging Octoparts usually very helpful, but there is just so many parts out there having consistency with naming, ratings and other values sometimes makes feel more complex. The developer is always improving and extremely responses though.

Manage your parts inventory without a software learning curve

Kommentare: Shortly after getting involved doing volunteer STEM work in the local schools about 4 years ago, I found that our electronics activities and projects required maintaining and tracking thousands of parts. We were having problems ensuring we had adequate quantities of parts for projects -- and often wasting money buying parts that we already had stored in a box somewhere.
Research into inventory management options led to solutions that were too complex, too costly, or just difficult to learn and manage. PartsBox provided the right answer. Simple to learn, free -- with paid alternatives, and no database management skills needed. The internet-based inventory data is readily accessible from the classroom, the workshop, or anywhere else with only a browser.
PartsBox met all of our needs from the start and has continued to expand its feature set. The occasional bug or question is quickly addressed by the developer. Performance has been great. I can't recall any problems with availability or responsiveness of the application. Though I've used only the free version, I've seen many additional features added to the paid versions over the last few years. If I were to commercialize any of our designs, I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade to one of the commercial versions.
PartsBox is one of those rare applications that quickly becomes an indispensable tool. You'll find that it greatly eases your inventory management and allows you to focus on your business or hobby instead.

Vorteile:

I most like the intuitive nature of the PartsBox software. The user interface is well designed. You won't be searching for functions or trying to remember where to find a feature. If you are trying to keep track of a parts inventory, nearly all the things you need are there when you need them. Simple and intuitive! I also like the fact that I don't have to concern myself with defining, building, and managing a database. There's no server to manage. No tables to build. No networking. This is not ERP software. It's focused on inventory management. Just an efficient user interface with the right stuff behind the scenes For example, if you search for a part, you get a list of the parts in the database. But, what if you got your search wrong or your data was inconsistently labelled? Not a problem. Toward the bottom of your search results, partial matches are also listed with a slightly different color so you can easily find those lost or mislabeled parts. The user interface is well designed to anticipate what the user needs. Functions and results always seem to be there when and where you need them.

Nachteile:

The most disconcerting feature is that the user has no direct access to the database. No way to mass load the data yourself. (In paid versions, you can get a mass load service.) No way to run scripts against the database. No user written reporting capabilities. Only one way to download the data -- in a JSON format. But, once you recognize that you really want the ability to manage your inventory rather than managing a database system, you'll appreciate that the software gives you the functionality you need without the burden of database management.

Restored my faith in web based software

Kommentare: This has allowed us to get a handle on and fully document our existing inventory on hand. We're no longer ordering all new parts for each board build because now we can see what components we already have in stock and order just what is needed to round out the Bill of Materials. It's also been very flexible in allowing us to create records for and digitally track our inventory of in house and outsourced custom made parts, which are unique to our business. It functions as a sort of extended memory or digital brain that makes it easy to record and look up product details for just about anything we need to order in the course of our business.

Vorteile:

Everything about the underlying design, layout and operation of the software is logical and well thought out with sensible defaults. The fuzzy searching, tagability of parts, ability to export YOUR data in JSON format, project building which can automatically match builds against existing local inventory and then generate purchase lists for any outstanding parts, the ability to track inventory with "ID Anything" 2D bar codes autogenerated for each part, connecting new inventory additions to vendor orders, and many more than I can pack into this text box. PartsBox is incredibly powerful software for mere _pennies on the dollar_ of what you would have to shell out for WAY less intuitive and user friendly Enterprise Resource Planning software. It fills the hole in the inventory software market that Parts&Vendors left when they exited.

Nachteile:

Does not support scanning of 2D bar codes out of the box. IIRC this is due to limitation regarding the way that web browsers process data streams, it's not a PartsBox issue.

Partsbox for building race cars

Kommentare: At FST Lisboa we rely on Partsbox for part storage and catalogue. FST Lisboa is a formula student team with an electronics department consisting of over 10 people. Partsbox is the only way we can keep components organized. With Partsbox part insertion into the catalogue is seamless. The catalogue not only helps us find the parts we need quickly, it also allows us to streamline the process of checking the properties of the components. Every year we develop more than 20 different PCBs for our car. The acquisition of the components for so many PCBs would be much more difficult without the help of the import BOM from EDA software feature of Partsbox. Compilation of purchase lists is automatically done by Partsbox and this is just great. Overall Partsbox is a very positive addition to our design and manufacturing workflow. It allows us to be quicker, more efficient, more organized and save money while building a race car.

Vorteile:

Octopart part matching. Import BOM from EDA software. Automatically priced purchase list. Ultra fast part search. Barcode scanning. Meta parts. Storage locations with grid layout.

Nachteile:

No support for scanning from smartphone.

A Perfect Tool for the Hobbyist Maker

Kommentare: I am a hobbyist maker and had never felt the need for a stock management tool for my components until a few months ago, but as the number of different parts reached the hundreds, I started to keep forgetting to order what I had run out of or could just not remember where I had put that particular component. Of course this led to delays in assembly and shipping of the boards I sell, so I started to think I needed some help in managing my stock. So I looked at what I could find on the web. Being a Linux user, desktop applications were basically ruled out, as most are Windows-only. There were a few web-based solutions and PartsBox looked the most interesting: it had a free plan and most of its features seemed to match what I was expecting out of this kind of tool, so I registered and started populating my virtual warehouse. This took literally days (and is not 100% done yet, after three months!), but it was definitely worth it, as now I know exactly what I have in stock at any moment, I know how many of my boards I can build and I can check what I am running out of in a pinch. What I liked most about PartsBox is that it seems to have all the features I need, and they are all easy to get used to. As I said before, I had never used a stock management tool, but I did not need to study and invest a lot of time in learning to use PartsBox, as everything I feel a need for is there, only a few mouse clicks away. This means that the interface was carefully designed to match the needs

Vorteile:

+ Ease of use + Quick and immediate interface + Number and placement of features + Kicad import + Data export + Author responsiveness

Nachteile:

- Lack of a low-cost paid plan - Cannot easily move parts from the Storage View

Best option for independent makers

Kommentare: I am a hobbyist synth maker and after trying several BOM tools I decided to classify all the components I buy and store with PartsBox. I'm using the free plan which is limited to 3000 different components and 1000 "locations". If I had this volume I think that the tool would be even more useful, but I would not be a hobbyist. At the moment I have 162 parts and 82 storage locations. You can name the locations with freedom (even create patterns to batch creation). So I have several columns of drawers (some with separators, some without) and my chose was to name it as follows: [Column number][Drawer from top]-[Compartment from left to right and bottom to top]. Example: if the location is "23-05" means that the component is in the second drawer column, the third drawer from the top and the fifth compartment. When I added drawers if I put them in any position I can rename the existing locations affected without affecting their content. So total flexibility with almost zero learning curve.
There are features that I've not tried in a real situation yet (BOMs, Projects, meta-components, all available in the free version) but all seems valuable too.
Totally recommended.

Vorteile:

- Instantly usable - Intuitive - Flexible workflow - Free plan - Periodic useful updates

Nachteile:

- Only integration with Kicad but you can export in "CSV" standard format.

PartsBox changed our life

Kommentare: We're finally on top of our inventory, for the first time since many years!

Vorteile:

It's perfectly suited to medium and small size companies involved in electronics. It's super easy to use and help you keeping organized. We also often use it to pinpoint the location of a component in the inventory. It's a very serious software, hidden behind a user friendly interface.

Nachteile:

It's a little slow, but we can live with that

Best way to maintain electronics inventory online

Kommentare: See above answer to "Pros"

Vorteile:

PartsBox does exactly what it aims to do - it makes you WANT to use it, rather than feeling obliged to because of managerial/oversight reasons. I swear by it now, and it's saved me tonnes of time ordering parts, and also money as I never over-order parts anymore. Reasons: - Very simple UI - Intuitive UX, no onboarding needed - It's fast - Awesome use of visuals -> part images, icons, colours. Infinitely more engaging than a spreadsheet - Real-time reports of everything important; especially low stock - Makes it easy to translate costs of project to business teams

Nachteile:

Setting the 'low stock' rate. I needed to go into every part to set it individually which takes a while. It would be better to have a feature where you can set low stock values based on desired capacity for an existing project. ie., I want to have enough stock to build 100 units of X project at all times. So instead of going to each component in the BOM and setting low stock rate to "amount*100", it would be great to have an option to automate this on a per-project basis.

Great System

Kommentare: Originally when we were looking into setting up an inventory for our engineering team, we were looking at using a spreadsheet, or maybe a database like Access. Quickly realized this would be a cumbersome system. A short investigation of available systems led us to PartsBox. After a few questions, we decided to try the 7 day trial period. We quickly realized PartsBox not only efficiently handled our current need, but easily allows for expansion when we need it.

Vorteile:

Well written, easy to use system. Everything is pretty self-explanatory and the owner is quite quick to respond to questions. Very flexible system. While designed predominantly for electronic components, could be used as an inventory system for other products with very little difficulty. The option to find data on parts using OctoPart is very useful.

Nachteile:

At the moment, if you get part data using OctoPart, it is 'linked' to that database (cannot be seen by others that you have the part, but is still linked). It would be nice to be able to obtain the initial information from OctoPart and then 'unlink' the part as some things are difficult to change/update on a linked part.

Very Pleased With PartsBox

Kommentare: Our products are set up as Projects in PartsBox. It is easy to track inventory. When we ship a product, stock counts for all parts used in that product are automatically deducted. The inventory storage locations are very flexible. We have one supplier who stores large items for us in his warehouse. We have one storage location defined for that warehouse. We have another location defined for our factory. It is easy to transfer (move) stock from one location to another.

Vorteile:

Very easy to use. Web-based so I can access from 2 locations. Support is excellent. Frequently being updated to add new (and useful) features. We are a small electronics manufacturing company--PartsBox is perfect for us.

Nachteile:

All of the data is in the cloud. But there is a feature that allows the database to be downloaded from the cloud to your local PC. I do this regularly. However the download format is JSON which is not as easy to work with as say a spreadsheet file.

Great stock management software for electronics

Kommentare: Until I found PartsBox, we used Excel spreadsheets. These spreadsheets were compiled for each build, but it was extremely difficult to get an overall idea of stock counts. Many parts are identical across different products and as a result some of our components are "over-stocked". With PartsBox we get a much better idea of stock and stock value. Also costing of products are much easier. We are also contract manufacturers/designers. Sometimes clients buy the components and we handle the logistics. With PartsBox clients are now "forced" to give costing of all components they buy and this gives us also a better understanding of the overall product costs. This, in turn, helps us to make better design changes to reduce costs.

Vorteile:

The software is very easy and intuitive to use. I like the meta part concept. We often buy different parts (depending on price) for the same conceptual part. The database was nicely designed. I also like the fact that projects can be used sub-assemblies. Clearly, a lot of thought went into this software. Well done!

Nachteile:

Not really found any specific issues up to now.

Does exactly what it says!

Kommentare: Organisation and overview of electronics purchasing and assembly is much improved. Reliable and fast system.

Vorteile:

Interface is simple and very effective. Search is fast. Integration with external systems is excellent.

Nachteile:

Absence of consumable stock items - i.e. parts that are assumed always available but still have an assigned location.

Parts box : Ideal Inventory Management for Electronic Assembly

Kommentare: We have reduced unplanned component orders. We understand the overall ratio of component usage, order components based on planned consumption. Every component is linked to manufactures datasheets and footprints. We have synchronized our flow, from ordering to production with partsbox. It has a web interface. Accessible anywhere, any device. We check and update stocks with the use of a tablet.

Vorteile:

Tracking stock movement history of any components, lets us track any wastage or consumption. Links with actual products datasheets, packages, from manufacturers data.

Nachteile:

Price for monthly package with more features is high for a small business.

Great tool

Kommentare: We have been using PartsBox for 5 months to keep track of inventory and to plan production runs. It has made a huge difference and gone are the days of trying to do production planning in Excel.
PartsBox has quickly become a central part of running our business.

Vorteile:

It was easy to get up and running. It is really great for electronic parts bought from distributors. It reads the bag labels from DIgi-key and others which makes it quick to enter parts into inventory. When we do a production run we can quickly see what we need to order and generate purchasing orders. There is decent support for production (called builds). The tech support is fantastic.

Nachteile:

We use quite a bit of fabricated parts, i.e. parts like molded plastic enclosures, stamped or extruded metal parts etc. that we order from subcontractors or factories. The support for these kind of parts is much less complete.

Part management for distributed teams!

Kommentare: We use partsbox to track all the parts we have in stock and make it available to distributed team members.
This allows for them to see what we have which ones we need to order without being physically there.

Vorteile:

Modern UI really like not having to refresh the whole website every time we change a part.

Nachteile:

Lack of integration with eda tools. I know is hard but I wish to be able to either export directly from my eda tool to partsbox or check the inventory/parts database from the design tool. Would make the engineers know exactly what parts we have in stock.

So glad I found PartsBox

Kommentare: I love it.

Vorteile:

Easy of use, features, and free for makers.

Nachteile:

I wish there was a paid option for makers with a few more features

Best inventory management software I could find

Vorteile:

The software is very simple to use - there's no learning curve. The application is very fast and responsive. It has one of the best search implementation I've used to date. Also features direct integration with Octopart, which makes adding components much easier task.

Nachteile:

I'm using free plan which is perfect for me as a hobbyist/maker. It is missing all of the productivity improvements (like barcode scanner, ability to attach custom files to parts, etc.). It would be great if there were a cheaper plan which allowed casual/hobbyist users to have access to those plans.

PartsBox took us to the next level

Kommentare: Using PartBox give us control over our inventory, our work flow of creating kits and ordering parts is much more efficient now

Vorteile:

For years I had a vision about how I would like to control our inventory, kept checking different solutions and did not find anything that would work for us until PartsBox. every feature we could think about, it is already there.

Nachteile:

So far did not find anything we do not like

Perfect for small startups maintaining inventory of parts.

Vorteile:

Really easy to use. Lots of functionality in regards to part number data available, bom management and builds.

Nachteile:

Scanning has been a hard part but they worked really hard their latest version implemented webcam based scanning and it seems promising definetly better than the traditional scanners which gave lots of issues for us. Can't wait to try it out.

Fully featured service, great for hobbyists

Vorteile:

- Free version is feature rich, good enough for a beginner hobbyist - Integration with parts search and tagging system - Team oriented, I can see this being useful for teams in makerspaces and similar

Nachteile:

- No option to pay for a reasonable monthly hobbyist tier - Interface can improve more, eg. non grid configuration for storage or storage grouping

Best part management system

Kommentare: Started testing last year and now can't live without it.
Saves me a lots of money.
Use it at home and the office.

Vorteile:

Online: access wherever you are. Fastest part search I've ever seen. Linked parts makes the component creation very ease. BOM import allows efficient board assembly planning.

Nachteile:

No mobile app. No API for Altium Designer / Nexus Client and Server.

An electronics oriented stock management software

Kommentare: Partsbox allow us to reduce dramatically the time needed to build electronics PCB prototypes. It is very usefull for parts management.

Vorteile:

Partsbox is specifically designed for electronics parts stock management, and does this job very well. It allows us to directly find the best prices automatically for our BOM. Plus the metapart feature allows you to use equivalent parts automatically.

Nachteile:

I would like to have the possibility of running scripts through the database

Great product

Vorteile:

Easy interface with lots of useful features

Nachteile:

Requires a bit of work to set up and integration to EDA packages could be better