Manufacturing · Odoo glossary
Bill of Materials (BoM)
Understand a bill of materials, its components and quantities, and how Odoo uses BoMs for manufactured products, operations and kits.
Definition
In general ERP practice
A bill of materials (BoM) is a structured description of the components and quantities needed to make a product. It can include subassemblies, forming a hierarchy from purchased parts to a finished item.
A BoM describes what the product requires. A production order describes a particular run: what quantity is being made, when and with which actual consumption. Keeping these concepts separate helps maintain consistent product definitions.
In Odoo
In Odoo, a BoM defines the component requirements for a manufactured product or kit. It can also contain production operations and instructions. Operations become available when Work Orders are enabled.
A manufacturing BoM supports the creation of manufacturing orders. Product variants can have different component or operation requirements, and multilevel BoMs describe manufactured subassemblies. The BoM type determines whether it represents manufacturing or a kit, so a bundle of items does not automatically require a production workflow.
Reading a simple BoM
Finished product
One assembled table.
Components
One tabletop, four legs and the specified fasteners.
Operations
Assembly and inspection, if the business tracks those operations.
Illustrative product structure, not an ERPixel project example.
The quantity basis matters
State how many finished units the component quantities produce. For batches, units of measure and the finished quantity determine how requirements should scale. A correct component list with an incorrect quantity basis can still produce incorrect material demand.
Official Odoo documentation
The Odoo-specific explanation above is based on the documentation for Odoo 19. Features and workflows can differ in other versions.
Related glossary terms
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