Throughout the digital transformation of manufacturing, the BOM (Bill of Material) has always played a central role. Whether in traditional production management or in a smart manufacturing system, the BOM is an indispensable foundation model, and in MES (Manufacturing Execution System) projects a sound BOM design directly determines whether the system implementation succeeds.

1. BOM: the DNA of manufacturing

The BOM records every raw material, component and their hierarchy in detail. It runs through the whole enterprise process — from design to production, from purchasing to inventory — and is the core hub for data collaboration. It is essentially a structured data model that presents the product composition as a tree: the top level is the finished product (such as a smartphone); the intermediate level is assemblies (screen modules, main boards); the bottom level is raw materials (glass substrates, chips). This hierarchical expression makes the manufacture of complex products clear and controllable.

2. The evolution of the BOM

The concept and application of the BOM have continually evolved with the development of manufacturing, moving through several key stages from the paper-and-pen era onwards.