A Bill of Materials is a detailed list that tells the manufacturer exactly what items are required to construct or repair a product. 

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If a BOM turns out to be inaccurate it can cause a considerable detriment to the production of a part and to the manufacturer. Operating costs are driven up as more time is required to locate missing parts. 

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BOMs are used in a variety of applications with the most common being in engineering, operations and manufacturing. 

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Items included in the BOM are part number, part name, quantity and the unit of measurement.