Bill of Materials: Streamlining Asset Management with SpiraPlan
Implementing Workflow to Track Inventory
In manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain management, the Bill of Materials (BOM) is a critical document that lists all raw materials, components, and subassemblies required to produce a finished product. Effective BOM management enhances asset tracking, optimizes inventory control, and streamlines production workflows. As a result, industries that produce cyber-physical systems (CPS)—including construction, transportation, telecommunications, and healthcare—continue to depend on the BOM to support the creation of software-embedded hardware.
Furthermore, a clear understanding of the BOM is needed for project, product, and operational teams in these industries to facilitate proper project planning, cost estimation, schedule management, risk management, and ongoing operations management. From a benefit realization and value delivery perspective, the BOM becomes an essential element in ensuring the smooth operation of any manufacturing enterprise, enabling organizations to maintain accurate records, enhance productivity, and ultimately deliver high-quality products to the market.
Variations of BOM Across Product Lifecycles
The structure and detail of a BOM vary depending on its type and the product lifecycle stage:
- Engineering Bill of Materials (EBOM): Utilized during the design phase, the EBOM includes detailed information on components and assemblies from an engineering perspective. It encompasses specifications, materials, and configurations necessary for product design.
- Manufacturing Bill of Materials (MBOM): Used during the production phase, the MBOM outlines all parts and materials required for manufacturing, focusing on quantities, procurement sources, and assembly processes. It serves as a guide for production teams to ensure efficient assembly and quality control.
For example, consider modern television. It includes components like a signal processing board, power supply, remote control, display, and HDMI ports. During the design phase, engineers rely on an Engineering Bill of Materials (EBOM) to specify these technical components. As the product moves into mass production, a Manufacturing Bill of Materials (MBOM) becomes essential to standardize parts for efficient assembly.
This image was created using Gemini by asking for “Inner parts of a modern Television”
From a project management standpoint, multiple teams collaborate to design different parts of a product like a television—one team may handle the display components, another the power supply, while others focus on the signal board, speaker, or remote control. Procurement teams source a wide range of parts (e.g., LCD and LED screens, transformers, electronic components) to give engineers flexibility in design.
This diversity and structure are reflected in the Engineering BOM (EBOM) on the left side of the diagram, where components are organized hierarchically based on function and assembly groups.
Once the design is finalized and enters large-scale production, the focus shifts to efficiency. The Manufacturing BOM (MBOM), shown on the right, simplifies the structure into a flat list of exact parts needed—removing groupings to streamline assembly in volume. Understanding whether you're in the design or manufacturing stage is essential to determine the appropriate BOM format and customization level.
Core Elements of a Comprehensive BOM
A well-structured BOM typically includes:
|
Element |
Definition |
Example |
|
Level |
Indicates the component’s position in the assembly hierarchy. |
Level 4 – Electronic Components |
|
Part Number |
Unique ID used to track and source the part. |
Vendor-coded identifier |
|
Part Name |
Clear, descriptive name of the part. |
200 Ohms Resistor |
|
Lifecycle Stage |
Phase of use in the product lifecycle. |
Design / Engineering |
|
Quantity |
Required amount, often in units or packages. |
20 packs (100 units each) |
|
Primary Use |
Main function of the part in the product. |
Regulates power to display |
|
Alternate Use |
Other potential uses within the system. |
Noise filtering in power control |
|
Unit Price |
Cost to purchase the required quantity. |
Price for 20 packages |
Incorporating these elements ensures that the BOM serves as a comprehensive guide, promoting accuracy in procurement, assembly, and quality assurance processes.
Implementing BOM in SpiraPlan
Before implementing a Bill of Materials (BOM) in SpiraPlan, it's essential to define its role within your business workflow. Understanding whether the BOM is intended for asset tracking, inventory management, or monitoring deliverable completion in product development will guide your choice of artifact—Requirements, Tasks, or Incidents. Additionally, workflows for inventory updates, reorder thresholds, and part tracking can be configured using Spira’s custom properties and state transitions.
|
Artifact |
Use Case |
Strengths |
Considerations |
|
Requirements |
Best for structuring BOM hierarchically during product development. |
Supports traceability to features, risks, tests, and compliance. Enables EBOM-style hierarchies. |
Less suited for frequent inventory updates. Limited user-defined statuses. |
|
Tasks |
Ideal for tracking ongoing updates, maintenance, or procurement work. Tasks can be used to manage component updates. |
Assignable to individuals. Effective for operational updates. |
While standalone can be good for frequent updates, it may not work well when connected with requirements marked complete for a release. Lacks hierarchy required for EBOM. Limited for user defined statuses. |
|
Incidents |
Useful for tracking deprecated parts or BOM-related issues. |
Workflow-driven. Supports notifications and custom statuses. Independent from other artifacts. |
Not suitable for representing hierarchical BOM (e.g., EBOM structures). |
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Requirements-Based BOM Workflow in Spira
Using Requirements to represent a structured BOM allows you to build hierarchical assemblies (e.g., parent = assembly, child = component). This approach is particularly suitable for EBOM and early design stages. A sample workflow is outlined below:
|
From State |
To State |
Condition / Action |
|
Requested |
A person responsible for constructing the product or engineering the design adds the BOM under the component or assembly. |
|
|
Requested |
Under Review |
Engineers verify components against process or internal design standards. |
|
Under Review |
Accepted |
Verified components are approved. Custom fields may be updated. Role-based approvals. |
|
Accepted |
Obsolete |
Components marked obsolete if deprecated. Internal discard or sell-off may follow. |
Implementing Task Workflow in Spira
The task-based workflow can be set up to track procurement, assembly, or manufacturing-related processes. A recommended workflow is below. But, if you use the task to track completion of development activities within requirements, then ongoing updates can’t be managed with tasks
Incident-Based BOM Workflow in Spira
Incidents support customizable workflows similar to tasks and are well-suited for tracking BOM-related issues such as part vulnerabilities, defects, or obsolete materials. Since the workflow states in the Incident artifact are fully customizable, the same task-based workflow can be adapted as needed.
Implementing BOM in SpiraPlan starts with understanding its role in your business workflow. Whether the BOM is meant for managing assets, tracking deliverables, or supporting ongoing operations, selecting the right artifact—Requirements, Tasks, or Incidents—is key.
- Use Requirements for structured, traceable BOMs during design and development.
- Use Tasks for operational management and inventory updates.
- Use Incidents for issue tracking, deprecated parts, or flexible workflows.
By aligning BOM implementation with business rules and lifecycle stages, you can configure SpiraPlan to support streamlined, effective, and scalable asset management.
