Insights
What is a bill of materials and why it matters for costing and planning
IndustryX Suite Team 1 min read
What is a bill of materials?
A bill of materials (BOM) lists every raw material, part and sub-assembly, with quantities, needed to make one unit of a product.
Single-level and multi-level
A single-level BOM lists only direct inputs. A multi-level BOM also breaks each sub-assembly into its own parts. If you make products with sub-assemblies, a multi-level BOM lets you plan down to every component.
Why the BOM matters
- Costing: the cost of a product starts with the cost of its materials.
- Purchasing: the BOM tells you how much of each material a production plan needs, which feeds material requirements planning.
- Production: a production job issues materials against the BOM and shows differences between planned and actual use.
- Quality: it records what went into each product, which helps trace problems.
Keeping your BOMs healthy
- Review them when a design or supplier changes.
- Include scrap and yield allowances where they apply.
- Keep one owner for each BOM.
BOMs in IndustryX Suite
Single-level BOMs start on the Foundation plan and multi-level BOMs on the Standard plan. See the BOM overview.