What is a bill of materials?A bill of materials (BOM) is a comprehensive inventory of the raw materials, assemblies, subassemblies, parts and components, as well as the quantities of each needed to manufacture a product. In a nutshell, it is the complete list of all the items that are required to build a product. Show
BOMs also include the instructions for procuring and using the materials. A BOM is sometimes referred to as a product structure, assembly component list or production recipe (in process manufacturing industries). For example, if a bicycle manufacturer wants to build 1,000 bicycles, the bill of materials will consist of all the individual parts needed to build the bicycle. The list would include the seats, frames, brakes, handlebars, wheels, tires, chains, pedals and cranksets, as well as the quantities of each component and their cost. BOMs can be created using physical products or a software-as-a-service bill of materials product. What are the advantages of using a BOM?A BOM makes the manufacturing process accurate and efficient. It lays out a detailed plan that can be easily followed. A well-defined BOM helps companies with the following aspects of the production process:
BOMs help ensure third-party contract manufacturers are using efficient and accurate when production methods. BOMs are also useful for companies that run lean production and continuous improvement-based processes. One goal of lean manufacturing is to minimize waste. The upfront blueprint that a BOM provides helps avoid wasteful production errors. BOM structureA BOM typically has a hierarchical structure with the finished end product at the top. It includes product codes, part descriptions, quantities, costs and additional specifications. Among the most common methods of representing a BOM are single-level BOMs and multilevel ones. Single-level bill of materialsThis is a simple list with each assembly or subassembly needed for a product shown once, with the corresponding quantity required for each product. This is an easy BOM to develop. However, this type of BOM is unsuitable for complex products because it does not specify the relationship between parent and child parts and between assemblies and subassemblies. If a new product fails, a single-level BOM makes it difficult to determine which part needs to be replaced or repaired. A single-level bill of materials (BOM) goes through one level of assemblies to create a finished product.Multilevel bill of materialsThis BOM approach requires more work to create but offers greater details and specificity on the parent and child parts in the product. In a multilevel BOM, the total material required is shown. And the product structure shows the relationship between the parent and child product, as well as assemblies and subassemblies. A BOM is the foundation of production planning systems. The information it provides includes the basic data for business processes, such as manufacturing resource planning, product costing, material provision for production and plant maintenance. The BOM combines all the information that goes into building a final product. As a result, it is used in departments other than manufacturing, such as engineering, design, sales, material management and plant management. Types of bills of materialsThe three main types of BOMs are the following:
Each type of BOM will vary in structure and level of detail. For example, an EBOM may list parts related to a specific function of the product, such as chips for a circuit board. An MBOM lists every material that goes into manufacturing a product. Other types of BOMs include the following:
What's needed to create an effective BOM?An effective BOM includes the following 11 core components:
Creating an effective bill of materials is part of sound supply chain management. Supply chain management is a core component of ERP and MRP. Learn more about enterprise resource planning and key features of ERP systems with this complete guide. This was last updated in June 2022 Continue Reading About bill of materials (BOM)
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