What is Bill of Materials (BOM)?

A Bill of Materials is a detailed hierarchical list of raw materials, components, and assemblies required to manufacture a product. While typically maintained in ERP systems, PIM often references BOM data to ensure product specifications, technical attributes, and compatibility details are accurate. It helps improve consistency between manufacturing, product content, and downstream digital channels.

A BOM describes components and quantities, rather than only the finished product's attributes. For example, an autonomous product data operation could take a fixture assembly with a driver and mounting kit, check component identifiers and quantities against the approved BOM, and flag missing component relationships before publication.