> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.firstresonance.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Overview > What ION is, how this manual is organized, and where to start by role. ION is the Factory OS for hardware companies: the system of record for your manufacturing process. Parts, the procedures that build them, the runs that execute those procedures, the BOMs they produce, the inventory they consume, the purchase orders that replenish it, and the issues raised along the way all live in one data model, with traceability from design release to the serial number of the unit that shipped. Hardware manufacturing is usually split across disconnected systems: PLM for designs, ERP for inventory and finance, MES for the floor, QMS for quality. The handoffs between them are where cost, delay, and recall risk live. ION consolidates the process into one product, so an operator scanning a serial sees its procedure and open issues, an engineer sees which in-flight runs a procedure change affects, and a quality engineer traces a field failure back to the exact lot and the operator who installed it. ## The product spine These load-bearing concepts appear throughout ION and this manual. | Concept | What it is | | --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Part** | The Parts Library entry: a part number, a revision, and fields. Not a physical unit. | | **Part inventory** | A physical instance of a part: a serial, a lot, or an untracked quantity at a location. | | **BOM (mBOM / aBOM)** | The mBOM is the planned parts list for a build; the aBOM is the serial-and-lot record of what was actually installed. | | **Procedure** | A versioned sequence of steps that builds, tests, or inspects a part. | | **Run** | One execution of a procedure against a specific part inventory, where floor work happens. | | **Purchase order** | A buy of parts from a supplier. Receiving turns them into part inventory. | | **Issue** | A defect, deviation, or quality event tied to a part, inventory, or run. | Design intent flows into a part, parts roll up into a BOM, a procedure says how to build that BOM, a run executes the procedure against real inventory, and the run produces an aBOM: your auditable record of what was built. ```mermaid theme={null} flowchart LR D[Design intent] --> P[Part] --> M[mBOM] --> Proc[Procedure] --> Run --> A[aBOM] PO[Purchase order] --> Rec[Receiving] --> Inv[Inventory] --> Run Run --> Iss[Issues and Further Actions] ``` ## What ION isn't ION connects to CAD, ERP, and CRM systems but doesn't replace them. It ingests design releases without authoring CAD geometry, owns inventory and consumption truth while the ERP keeps the financial ledger, and builds what sales has already ordered. That boundary keeps ION focused on manufacturing. ## How this manual is organized The manual follows what you're doing. | Section | What it covers | | ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | [Build Hardware](/build-hardware) | Parts, BOMs, procedures, runs, locations, tools, and labels. | | [Manage Supply Chain](/manage-supply-chain) | Purchasing, receiving, inventory, and kitting. | | [Track Quality](/track-quality) | Issues, containment, Further Actions, and quality reporting. | | [Automate with ION](/automate-with-ion) | ION Actions, integrations, notifications, and analytics. | | [Administration](/administration) | Users and permissions, authentication, settings, and importers. | | [API Reference](/api-reference) | The GraphQL API, guides, and examples. | ## Start with your role Analytics, the data spine, and the questions ION answers about your operation. Releasing parts and BOMs, authoring procedures, and keeping design intent connected to the build. Process design, scheduling, NPI, resource planning, and acting on floor signal. The daily dashboard, run execution, scanning, capturing data, and raising issues. Purchase orders, receiving, inventory, supplier data, and feeding consumption into MRP. Issues, dispositions, Further Actions, and upstream improvement. ## Practice and get help * [ION sandbox](/getting-started/training/ion-sandbox): practice workflows without affecting production. * [Chat support](/getting-started/training/chat-support-for-ion): reach the ION team from inside the app. * [Submit a support ticket](/getting-started/tickets-portal): file and track a ticket with the ION team. * [Search](/getting-started/search): jump to any page or record in ION. * [Browser and device compatibility](/getting-started/browser-and-device-compatibility): supported browsers and devices.