Staff members work at Zhejiang Yobell Toys in Lishui's Yunhe county, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

At Zhejiang Yobell Toys in Lishui's Yunhe county, Zhejiang province, an employee uploaded a photo of a wooden children's kitchen into a system. Within seconds, AI broke down product components for a bill of materials (BOM) and generated an optimal material layout plan.

Yobell manufactures bamboo and wooden toys and crafts. The large number of small components, wide range of specifications, and high degree of customization involved in wooden toy production have made conventional production management difficult.

Previously, new material filing and BOM entry have to be performed manually. Technicians read drawings, measured parts, and entered the data one piece at a time, which was time-consuming and prone to errors, affecting quotations, procurement, and scheduling.

To address these problems, Yobell integrated AI tools into its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to analyze product photos and drawings and determine how components should be arranged and cut from sheets of material. The system connects these functions in a single digital workflow, from product analysis and automatic BOM generation to material layout and workshop cutting.

The AI-assisted layout process also reduces waste. Compared with manual planning, it makes more efficient use of each sheet of material, reduces wood waste, and allows material losses to be tracked and recorded.

AI and ERP integration cuts costs and raises efficiency, offering a replicable system for wooden toy factories. Moving forward, Yunhe county will promote digital technologies and encourage more traditional manufacturers to adopt smart manufacturing practices.