Put cost into every workflow — ERP, PLM, CAD and AI agents included.
Built to be called, not clicked. One REST call prices a part. A signed webhook reports it done. The MCP server lets an AI agent read, explain and compare every result. OAuth lets a product or automation platform act for its users. The cost step lands where your team already works — the ERP quote, the PLM change review, the CAD session, the procurement agent — with documented recipes, not a connector project.
What can I automate with ARCNM?
- Price every incoming RFQ package on arrival: the batch endpoint prices N part revisions across up to 16 costing environments in one request, and the comparison endpoint returns the best environment per part with the deltas, so triage happens before anyone opens a drawing.
- Design-to-cost in the change review: re-price each CAD revision from the PLM or CAD system and post the cost delta back to the ticket, so a tolerance or material change is priced while it is still open.
- ERP and PLM master-data backfill: every calculation returns the extracted features, dimensions, tolerances, treatments and materials as typed data — write them to the item master instead of keying them.
- Calibration from your ERP actuals: post known real costs from an ERP export to a costing environment and your actuals calibrate it to your plant, supplier or region; a preflight shows what the export covers before anything is billed.
- Make-or-buy and multi-plant sourcing: run the same part across your plants' and suppliers' environments and let the comparison endpoint return the winner per part, the deltas and the per-environment totals.
- Agent workflows: an AI agent in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own stack explains the cost, ranks the drivers, optimises the lot size and compares options through the MCP tools, and starts each calculation with one REST call — while billing, credentials and tenant administration stay with a person.
The callable surface by the numbers
- 1 REST call to price a part — POST upload-and-quote, OpenAPI 3.1, one spec for any client generator
- 10 MCP tools for AI agents — explanation, drivers, breakdown, process plan, lot size, levers, compare, rank, environments, quota
- 9 webhook events, signed — calculation, extraction-budget, wallet and billing signals
- 536 material grades, addressable by any reference — URN, EN, DIN, AISI, ASTM or JIS code, or your own house designation
- 100 material references resolved per call — any EN, DIN, AISI or house spelling to one canonical grade — 1.0038, S235JR, St 37-2 and Fe 360 B are one
- 500 calculations per batch request — part × environment cells, up to 16 environments per part, compared server-side
- 512 MB per upload — STEP incl. AP242 PMI, STL, PDF and raster drawings
- €0 for a failed run — pay on success; spend caps per organisation and per API key
How does ARCNM connect to ERP, PLM and CAD systems?
Through standard interfaces your team already knows. A REST API with an OpenAPI 3.1 specification you generate a typed client from in any language; signed webhooks for calculation.succeeded and calculation.failed so an integration is event-driven, not polling; OAuth 2.1 with PKCE for a product or automation platform that acts for many users ("Connect to ARCNM"); and the MCP server for AI agents and IDEs. The developer docs carry a field-mapping recipe for SAP S/4HANA, Autodesk Vault, Oracle Fusion and Odoo with idempotent upserts, and the same pattern fits any PLM or quoting system that speaks HTTP. We do not sell connectors: the recipes are a few dozen lines, and they are yours.
Which integration path should I use?
| Path | Best for | Authentication | How the result arrives |
|---|---|---|---|
| REST API + OpenAPI | Scripts, ERP / PLM middleware, CI jobs, quoting tools | API key with scopes | Poll the calculation, or subscribe to the webhook |
| Webhooks | Event-driven sync into ERP, PLM or a data warehouse | Signed payloads, verifiable per delivery | Pushed on calculation.succeeded / calculation.failed |
| MCP server | AI agents, copilots, IDEs, custom agent stacks | OAuth 2.1 or bearer token | Typed tool results inside the agent's conversation |
| OAuth "Connect to ARCNM" | Products and automation platforms acting for many users | OAuth 2.1 + PKCE, tenant-scoped tokens | Same REST API, on the user's behalf |
What does automation cost, and can it run away?
You pay only for a calculation that returns a valid result; failed runs are free, and the identical part re-run in the same environment with the same configuration within a billing month is served from the first result, unbilled. Monthly spend caps per organisation and per API key pause further runs when reached, rate limits are documented per plan, and every paid plan includes unlimited API keys and seats — so a batch job, a webhook loop or an agent can never bill more than you allowed.
Frequently asked questions
Can ARCNM integrate with SAP, Oracle, Odoo, Autodesk Vault or my PLM?
Yes, through the REST API and webhooks — any system that speaks HTTP. The developer docs include a field-mapping recipe for SAP S/4HANA, Autodesk Vault, Oracle Fusion and Odoo with idempotent upserts; a PLM or quoting tool follows the same pattern. There is no vendor connector to buy and none is needed.
Do you have apps for Make, Zapier or n8n?
Not as listed marketplace apps. Those platforms connect today through the OAuth 2.1 "Connect to ARCNM" flow and their generic HTTP modules against the REST API; the quickstart request is a single multipart call.
How does an AI agent run a quoting or sourcing workflow with ARCNM?
Add the MCP server (https://api.arcnm.io/mcp-server/mcp) to the agent. It can read the itemised result, explain the cost, rank the cost drivers, optimise the lot size and compare calculations or environments through typed tools; the upload and the calculation itself are one REST call, which the same agent can make. Billing, credentials and tenant administration are deliberately not exposed to agents.
How do I get my ERP cost history into the calibration?
Export part numbers with their real costs, run the calibration preflight to see coverage, then post the set to the auto-calibrate endpoint of the costing environment. From then on every calculation in that environment carries your price level, with a confidence band.
Is the extracted part data mine to reuse?
Yes. Features, dimensions, tolerances, GD&T, treatments and materials come back as structured, versioned data on every calculation — reuse it for master-data management, similarity search or a PLM backfill. We never train on it.