A bill of materials (BOM) in Controlata is a detailed specification of a finished product's composition, including all required materials and resources for its production. It enables precise production planning and cost control.
The bill of materials consists of two main sections:
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Components — materials and subassemblies that physically become part of the finished product
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Resources — equipment time, electricity, and other costs that don't become part of the product
Why Product Components Are Essential
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Automatic material consumption — during production, the system automatically deducts all required materials from inventory
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Cost calculation — automatic calculation of finished product costs based on all materials and resources
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Purchase planning — the system calculates material requirements and alerts you to potential raw material shortages
Components
Materials
These are raw materials and parts that become part of the finished product: flour for bread, fabric for clothing, components for assembly.
Products
Product components can also include other products. These products are called subassemblies. For example:
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Dough (subassembly) → Bread (finished product)
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Frame (subassembly) → Sofa (finished product)
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Base (subassembly) → Candle (finished product)
Subassemblies enable multi-level production processes and precise cost tracking at each stage.
Learn more about subassemblies in our dedicated article.
Resources
Resources are costs that don't become part of the finished product, but are necessary for its production:
Resource Examples
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Electricity, gas for production processes
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Labor time of specialists
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Equipment depreciation
Cost Inclusion
Resource costs are automatically included in the finished product's cost, ensuring complete accounting of all production expenses.
Batch Size
Batch size is a key parameter of the bill of materials that indicates the quantity of finished product for which the specified material composition is calculated.
By default, batch size equals 1. To specify different batch sizes, this option must be enabled in system settings.
Usage Example
If a bill of materials is calculated for a batch of 10 candles requiring 150g of wax, the system will automatically calculate the need for 375g of wax to produce 25 candles.
Units of Measure
Measurement Flexibility
Any units of measure can be used in product components:
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Grams, kilograms for bulk materials
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Liters, milliliters for liquids
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Pieces for countable materials
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Meters for fabrics and wires
Learn more about choosing the right unit of measure in our other article.
Automatic Conversion
The system automatically converts units of measure when consuming materials. If components specify grams, but the material is tracked in kilograms in inventory, the system performs the correct conversion automatically.