What is Bill of Materials (BOM)?
Technical definition, shop floor implications, and pricing strategies for commercial apparel decorators.
A comprehensive itemized inventory list of all blank goods, consumables, threads, inks, transfers, and packaging supplies required to complete a specific job.
Deep Dive & Practical Application
For a 500-piece custom hoodie order, the BOM specifies the exact breakdown of blank SKUs (e.g. 50 Small, 150 Medium, 200 Large, 100 XL Independent Trading Co. SS4500 Black), ink volume estimates, screen setups, polybags, hangtags, and master shipping cartons.
Modern shop software generates automated Purchase Orders directly from the BOM to integrated apparel suppliers (SanMar, S&S, AlphaBroder) via PSST/EDI feeds with a single click.
Shop Floor & Profitability Impact
Automated BOM generation prevents stockout delays and ensures every piece of inventory is tracked directly to its invoice line item.
The Print Life Shop Operations & Pricing Operating System
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