If a product is to be assembled from several parts, a parts list is required beforehand. The individual assemblies and individual parts such as washers, screws, etc. are then summarized in the list. The bill of material is an important basis for the work in different departments e.g.: in the production, in the purchase, in the camp and in the quality assurance. The advantages of BOMs are error-free processes, less resource consumption and increasing quality.
As a rule, a bill of materials consists of the following components:
- Part number
- Required number / quantity
- Hierarchical order of the parts to each other
- Structure among themselves
Among the most commonly used bills of materials are the following lists:
- Quantity bill of material:
Simplest form of a bill of material, product components are listed indefinitely
- Structure BOM:
Quantities and materials are listed by manufacturing stage
- Modular parts list:
The bill of material is reduced to one level and the assemblies are outsourced to their own bills of material
- Variant parts list:
Several parts lists combined in one document
