Our previous Manufacturing article featured Assembly Items and introduced the term Bill of Materials. If you are running a business that involves complex product assembly or manufacturing processes, you may be familiar with the challenges of managing various components and subassemblies efficiently. NetSuite Advanced Bill of Materials (BOM) is a powerful tool that can simplify this process and enhance your overall business operations. In this beginner's guide, we'll explore what NetSuite Advanced BOM is and how to utilize the feature.
Understanding Bill of Materials (BOM)
Before diving into NetSuite's Advanced BOM, it's essential to understand the concept of a Bill of Materials. A Bill of Materials is a comprehensive list of all the materials, components, and subassemblies required to manufacture a product. It serves as the foundation for the production process, providing insights into what is needed and how everything comes together.
BOMs are especially crucial for businesses that create complex products with multiple levels of assembly, such as electronics, machinery, or custom-made products. Without an efficient BOM system, managing inventory, tracking costs, and ensuring quality can become a significant challenge.
Get Started with NetSuite Advanced Bill of Materials
The capabilities of NetSuite’s Advanced Bill of Materials is enumerated in SuiteAnswers ID 67052 - Advanced Bill of Materials. Once you have assessed your business requirements and find that this feature can address your needs, you can enable NetSuite’s Advanced Bill of Materials feature by navigating to Setup > Company > Enable Features. Under Inventory & Items subtab > Inventory section, check the Advanced Bill of Materials box.
1. Navigate to Setup > Company > Enable Features.
2. Go to the Inventory & Items subtab > Inventory section.
3. Check the Advanced Bill of Materials box.
4. Click Save.
1. Open Explore (hamburger icon on the bottom left corner beside the Home button).
2. Navigate to Setup > Company > Enable Features.
3. Go to the Inventory & Items subtab > Inventory section.
4. Check the Advanced Bill of Materials box.
5. Click Save.
For more details, you may refer to SuiteAnswers ID 65666 – Enabling Advanced BOM.
Creating Your Bill of Materials
Begin creating your Bill of Materials. Start by defining your top-level assemblies and then drill down to subassemblies and components. Ensure that you include accurate item numbers, descriptions, quantities, and costs.
Creating BOM and BOM Revision records is straightforward. Here are the relevant articles that can guide you:
· SuiteAnswers ID 65667 - Create a BOM
· SuiteAnswers ID 65669 - Creating BOM Revisions
SuiteAnswers article Create a BOM includes a video demonstration on how to create BOM and BOM Revisions. Make sure to check it out!
Linking Assemblies and BOMs
Once you have created BOM and BOM revision records, you can link them to individual or multiple assemblies. You may refer to the following SuiteAnswer articles:
· SuiteAnswers ID 68977 - Linking a BOM to an Assembly
· SuiteAnswers ID 70284 - Linking Assemblies to BOM Records
With NetSuite Advanced BOM at your disposal, it can help you streamline your manufacturing processes and improve efficiency, ultimately helping your business thrive in the competitive world of manufacturing.
Hope this article helps as you begin to explore NetSuite’s Advanced Bill of Materials feature. Make sure to follow the New to NetSuite > Manufacturing category to be updated whenever new articles are released!
