Merchandisers are supposed to be managing the entire operations behind manufacturing. One of the responsibilities is preparing the Bill of materials. In this article, we are going to understand what a bill of material is and what constitutes it.

What is Bill of Material (BOM)?

Several raw materials are sourced from various destinations in order to produce a garment. As per the client requirement, the Bill of Material or BOM, is a list of such raw materials. This is a piece of document, necessary for doing business and keeping records, is prepared by the production merchants. Once the BOM is prepared, it is sent to responsible point of contact, to start sourcing the required materials. This is done by the purchasing department.

What does the Bill Of Material include?

A BOM will have the following details:

• Item description
• Consumption per piece
• Projected cost per unit
• Total cost of each item

The fabric consumption and material consumption are calculated separately and added to the BOM sheet.

Bill of Material Format:

Following one is an example of the BOM format. BOM are prepared on a spreadsheet or by ERP.

How to calculate fabric consumption?

In order to maximize profits, it is necessary for businesses to cut costs and save money wherever possible. The fabric used for making a garment constitutes for 60% – 70% of the cost. So it is important to try and save cost of fabrics.

In order to do so, the fabric consumption rate should be calculated accurately. In Indian factories, the fabric consumption rate is calculated by the pattern master. But this skill can be learned by anyone. Before we get into the formula to calculate the fabric consumption rate, it is crucial to understand that the fabric consumption rate depends on the nature of the fabric. Also, solid colors and checks also have varying consumption rate. This is the reason why we need a product technical sheet to calculate the exact fabric consumption of a garment.

Basic formula to calculate the fabric consumption:

Consumption in grams: {(L*C) + (B*SL)}*2*GSM / 10000 grams

(where length units are in cm)

C= Chest +allowance

L= Length of the body measure +allowance

SL= Sleeve length +allowance

B= Biceps +allowance

GSM= Fabric weight in grams per square meter

If you are looking to source high-quality woven fabrics, please reach out to us.