Master product variants, pack sizes, flavours, materials, and attribute scaling — so production planning, costing, and inventory stay accurate in DotOne.
A Bill of Materials (BOM) is the complete recipe for making a product — every raw material, sub-assembly, quantity, and operation step needed from input to finished goods.
In DotOne, a BOM connects to your routing (production steps), work orders, inventory consumption, and costing. Getting the BOM structure right upfront saves weeks of rework later.
MSME manufacturers often struggle with variants: same liquid in 5L and 1L bottles, tiles in two sizes, or juices in different flavours. The golden rule below tells you when to split or keep one BOM.
Same bulk product, different outcomes — choose the model that matches how your recipe actually changes.
One manufacturing recipe. Variants created at the packing step.
Each variant needs its own BOM because inputs or process differ.
If the raw materials, percentages, routing steps, or manufacturing process changes → create a Separate BOM (or separate parent product).
If only packaging, labels, pack sizes, colours, or physical dimensions change → use One Parent BOM with Multi Variant Packing or Attribute Scaling.
Routing matters too. If blending takes 2 hours but packing takes 20 minutes, keep blending on the parent BOM and add a dedicated packing operation. Packaging materials (bottle, cap, label, carton) attach to the packing step — not duplicated across every SKU's recipe.
Use this every time you add a new product, pack size, or variant.
Same recipe — different packaging or scaling only.
| Scenario | Example | Recommended Setup |
|---|---|---|
| Pack Size | 5L, 2L, 500ml engine oil | Parent BOM + Multi Variant Packing |
| Pack Type | Pouch vs Bottle | Parent BOM + Packaging Materials |
| Size Scaling | 600×600 vs 300×300 tile | Attribute Scaling on area |
| Thickness | 8mm vs 12mm sheet | Attribute Scaling on thickness |
| Colour / Label | Red vs Blue label, white-label brand | Packaging Variants on packing step |
| UOM Conversion | Bulk kg → retail grams | Packing targets + conversion factor |
Different recipe, material, or formula — always split.
| Scenario | Example | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Flavour | Mango vs Lemon juice — different inputs | Separate BOM per flavour |
| Material Grade | SS304 vs MS components | Separate parent product + BOM |
| Model / SKU family | Completely different part lists | Separate BOM |
| Formula change | Reformulation with new additives | New BOM version or product |
| Make-to-order config | Customer-specific recipe each time | Configurable BOM / variant rules |
Follow this sequence for a parent BOM with multi-variant packing.
Define the item you manufacture in bulk — e.g. "Engine Oil Bulk" or "Tile Slurry". Leave product variant empty on the parent BOM.
Add blending/mixing/pressing steps first, then a dedicated Packing operation as the last step before finished goods.
List base materials with quantities per unit of bulk output. Use scrap % and alternate items where needed.
Turn on packing for the parent BOM. Link each sellable SKU (5L, 1L, 500ml) as a packing target.
Bottle, cap, label, shrink wrap — attach to the packing step. Use "Apply on Variants" to assign labels per SKU only.
Raise a trial work order for bulk qty, run packing to each SKU, and verify material issue + unit cost before go-live.
For products where quantity scales with size, area, or thickness — like tiles, sheets, or panels — use Attribute Scaling instead of duplicating BOM lines.
Formula: Scaled Qty = Base Qty × (New Attribute ÷ Base Attribute)
Example: A 600×600 tile uses 4× the raw material of a 300×300 tile (area ratio 4:1). DotOne calculates consumption automatically when you enter dimensions on the work order.
Area ratio: (300×300) ÷ (600×600) = 0.25
Key DotOne fields and when to use each one.
Parent product or bulk item that holds the core manufacturing recipe.
Use only when the recipe itself differs — assign variant on a separate BOM.
One bulk output packed into multiple sellable SKUs from a single work order.
Which finished SKUs can be produced from one bulk batch — with qty per pack.
Auto-scale material qty by length, width, thickness, or custom attributes.
Limit packaging materials to specific SKUs — e.g. premium label on 5L only.
Avoid these — they cause wrong costing, stock issues, and planning errors.
Creates maintenance hell. Use one parent BOM + multi-variant packing instead.
Mango and lemon share a bottle but not a recipe — separate BOMs with shared packing materials if needed.
Packaging materials won't consume correctly. Always add packing as the final operation.
Validate material issue, WIP, and finished goods qty before enabling for production planners.
✓ One Parent BOM + Packing
✓ Separate BOM per Flavour
✓ Attribute Scaling
Reduce BOM maintenance, simplify production planning, and manage product variants correctly with DotOne Manufacturing.