SAP describe the different Bill of Material types in this article. “The Production Bill of Materials represents a finished product (parent ) made up of different inventory components (children). During the production process, you turn the components into the finished product.”

Download: Bill of Materials Template

Components in the production bill of materials are physical items (for example a screw, a wooden board, a measured quantity of lubricant or paint), or virtual objects (one work hour).

Sales and Assembly

The sales bill of materials and the assembly bill of materials represent a finished product which is assembled at the sales stage.

SAP then show that the difference between the assembly bill of materials and the sales bill of materials:

· Assembly bill of materials; the finished product appears in the sales order document.

· Sales bill of materials; both the finished product and the components appear as separate items in the sales order document.

In other words. “the finished product can be a set of garden furniture. Use the assembly bill of materials to define the composition of the set. The finished product is not stored as an entire set in the warehouse. However, the individual components of the set (for example, garden chairs, tables, and umbrellas) are items in stock. If a customer buys a set of garden furniture, draw the components from stock and deliver them to the customer as a set.

BOM Templates

Use the template bill of materials to allow changes to components when you create a sales document for the finished product. You can update the quantity of a component, swap components, or delete them in the BOM or sales order. In that case, the components appear below the parent as a list of items in a sales document

Link: Bill of Materials Types (SAP Library – SAP Business One)