Bill Of Materials - What Is It And How It Is Used In The QR Inventory Software
Bill of materials is a list of inventory, parts and components that are needed to create a finished product. Bill of materials includes inventory SKU / part number, required quantity of each part and unit of measure. Bill of materials helps you with:- Automation of the raw inventory and parts tracking. A QR Inventory system uses bill of materials to automatically adjust inventory stock when new assemblies are built on the shop floor.
- Inventory demand forecasting. Bill of materials allows you to calculate what inventory you need to purchase for the upcoming orders. A QR Inventory software compares BOM, required quantity of the finished product and inventory stock on hand to produce a list of the missing parts and components.
- Better purchase planning. Use inventory demand forecasting for better purchase planning. Ensure that you always have required inventory on hand and there are no project delays.
Bill of Materials (BOM) For Generic And Serialized Assemblies
For generic assemblies BOM list includes SKU numbers of the parts and components needed to build a finished product, along with the required quantity. But for serialized assemblies and traceability parts SKU is not enough. You need to know lot number or serial number of the parts used in each assembly to achieve traceability.A QR Inventory software helps you automate building of the serialized assemblies and achieve traceability using a generic BOM inventory list. A generic list contains part name and SKU, so company employees know what to add. When building a serialized assembly on the shop floor, an employee loads the BOM list in the mobile app, then scans a lot number or serial number of each part against the BOM list. As a result, you know lot numbers and serial numbers of components in each serialized assembly, and can easily locate all products where specific lot number was used.
Mastering BOM In The QR Inventory Software: Generic vs. Serialized
A QR inventory software leverages Bill of Materials (BOM) to streamline building of assemblies and achieve traceabiity. The following section explores how BOM is used for both generic and serialized assemblies in the QR Inventory system.Questions related to BOM in generic and serialized assemblies
What are inventory type and asset type assemblies? Can we use bill of materials for all assembly types?
The difference between inventory and asset type assembly is very similar to the difference between assets and inventory.Inventory type assemblies is something that you build from the generic (non-serialized) inventory according to the bill of materials. Bill of materials for the inventory type assemblies includes inventory SKUs or part numbers, and required quantity. You can create a multi-level bill of materials. A multi-level BOM may include sub-assemblies, as well as individual parts and components. Inventory type assembly can be your finished product, as well as a part of a complex serialized assembly.
Asset type assemblies are serialized assemblies that you need to track individually. Each asset type assembly has a unique serial number which is used to track its building and history. Bill of materials for the serialized assemblies consists of the generic components names. The same list can be applied to multiple serialized assemblies with the same composition. When building a serialized assembly on the shop floor, and employee scans lot number or serial number of the used part against the generic name in the BOM list.
When should we use serialized assemblies and bill of materials with generic components names?
You should use serialized assemblies and bill of materials with the generic components names in the following situations:- You manufacture unique on demand products for the clients.
- You need traceability for the raw inventory and finished products. You need to know serial numbers and lot number of the components in each assembly.
- You need to track serialized assembly components for the warranty, service and repair purposes.
- You are a food manufacturer and require a complete product traceability, including ingredients, final products and products distribution.
- You build an assembly in steps and need to track work in progress inventory and work order status.
When should we use generic assemblies and the bill of materials with parts SKUs?
Generic (inventory type) assemblies are used in the following situations:- For the generic sub-assemblies that you need to include into a larger serialized assembly.
- You produce generic products that do not require individual tracking or traceability.
Bill Of Materials Management In The QR Inventory Software
This section will guide you through creating and managing bill of materials (BOM) and linking it to assemblies in the QR inventory software.Questions on BOM creation and management in the QR Inventory
How do I create and manage bill of materials for the generic assemblies?
In order to create a bill of materials for the generic, inventory type assemblies you will need to select parts from your inventory list and enter required quantity. After bill of materials is created, you can add, update or remove components as needed via a QR Inventory software web dashboard.Each generic assembly is linked to its bill of materials. Bill of materials is used for automated inventory stock adjustment when you record building of assembly on the shop floor. You also use BOM to forecast inventory demand for the upcoming orders.
How do I create and manage bill of materials for serialized assemblies?
For serialized (asset type) assemblies you may know the generic composition, but you do not know the lot numbers and serial numbers of the components until you start building it. Sometimes you may know exactly which parts and in what quantities should be used. In other cases components quantity may vary depending on the desired output quantity. The latter is often true for the food batches. For example 100 lbs of dough will require different quantity of ingredients than 10 lbs of the same dough. To accommodate different requirements, a QR Inventory software has two options for managing bill of materials for the serialized assemblies:- Bill of materials consisting of the generic inventory and components names - no SKUs.
If you are dealing with the serialized assemblies with the pre-determined composition and components quantity you can create a
bill of materials as a generic composition list.
The bill of materials for the serialized assemblies includes a description and quantity of the inventory that need to be included in the assembly.
When physically building an assembly on the shop floor, an employee
pulls bill of materials on a smartphone screen and scans in lot numbers or serial numbers of the used parts.
You can apply this generic bill of materials list to the multiple serialized assemblies with the same composition. - Ad Hoc assemblies building. If you do not know beforehand the exact inventory and / or quantity of materials that will be used, or may use different lot numbers of the same ingredient, use ad hoc assembly building. Ad hoc serialized assemblies are not linked to the bill of materials. When physically building an assembly shop floor employees use a smartphone to scan lot numbers of materials, specify quantity and them it to the assembly on the fly.
BOM Based Assemblies Building With Barcode Scanning
This section describes how to record building of assemblies on the shop floor using a mobile app and barcode scanning.Questions related to managing assemblies and tracking assemblies building using a mobile app.
I created an assembly, but I don't see it in my inventory. Why?
When you create a new assembly, you create a listing that describes an assembly and associated bill of materials (BOM). At this point you do not have this assembly in your inventory. When you physically build an assembly and record it as an inventory transaction in the mobile app, then assembly (ies) are added to your inventory, and used components are subtracted from the inventory stock.Do I have to scan each inventory line item that I add to an assembly?
For serialized assemblies you do need to scan in lot number or serial number of each component that you add. For generic assemblies SKUs of used parts are pre-determined by the bill of materials, so you do not have to scan each part. You can scan a completed assembly and specify how many you built. A QR Inventory software will determine what you used based on the bill of materials.How do I track assemblies distribution to the clients for traceability?
You can track finished assemblies in the same way you are tracking inventory and assets. In order to record a delivery of the finished product to the client you process a Delivered To Client transaction. Add any required parameters, take photos and collect signature n the mobile app for a complete documentation.How can I split a batch into parts to ship to different clients?
When you are dealing with the food inventory, medical inventory or lab samples you may need to create batches of the different size and weight. After you created a batch, you may need to split it into parts, so that you could use it for different finished products, or ship to the different clients.You can easily split a batch into as many units as you need in the QR Inventory software. After the batch is created, go to the Update assembly, click "Split Assembly Into Units" button and enter a desired qty of units. This will convert a single batch into units, and will divide ingredients weight proportionally.