BOM Planner

Last updated: June 20, 2026

The BOM planner explodes a bill of materials to tell you what to buy or make. Given the finished goods you want and how many, it breaks them down through every level into the raw components and quantities required, so you can plan procurement before committing to a build.

What you will learn
  • What the planner calculates
  • How it applies quantity modes and optional flags
  • Why it is a planning tool, not a production document

How it behaves

Exploding requirements

You enter one or more finished goods with quantities, and the planner walks each bill of materials, level by level, applying every component's quantity mode and required-or-optional flag, to produce a consolidated list of the parts and quantities you need. The result can be exported to a spreadsheet for purchasing.

Scope note. The planner calculates requirements; it does not itself post an assembly or consume stock. Turning a plan into an actual build, drawing down components and creating finished goods, is the job of the Production module. Think of the planner as the shopping list, not the factory.

Worked example

You plan to build 50 gift sets. The planner explodes the bill, multiplies through every level, and tells you that you need 100 of Component A, 50 sub-assemblies (or their 150 sub-components if made in-house) and 200 of Component C, which you then turn into purchase orders.

Edge cases and good practice

  • Plan, then produce. Use the planner to size procurement; use Production to actually build.
  • Mind optional components, which the explosion treats according to each line's flag.

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