BILL OF MATERIALS BOM

A comprehensive list of raw materials, components and assemblies required to build or manufacture a product. A bill of materials (BOM) is usually in a hierarchical format, with the topmost level showing the end product, and the bottom level displaying individual components and materials.

Bills of materials come in different types specific to engineering (used in the design process), manufacturing (used in the manufacturing process), and so on. A manufacturing BOM is of vital importance in materials requirement planning (MRP) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

A BOM "explosion" displays an assembly or sub-assembly broken down into its individual components and parts, while a BOM "implosion" displays the linkage of individual parts to an assembly.