System Integration

Linking BOM to Inventory: From Recipe to Real-Time Stock Tracking

Your BOM says each bracelet uses 45 beads. Your inventory shows 1,000 beads on hand. If these systems aren't linked, you make bracelets, forget to update inventory, and suddenly think you're out of beads when you're not. This guide teaches you to link BOM to inventory so stock depletes automatically based on production, and reorder alerts trigger before you run out.

The Inventory Problem

You make 20 bracelets (900 beads used). You manually update the inventory sheet: 1,000 - 900 = 100 left. But tomorrow you forget to log 15 more bracelets you made. Now your sheet says 100, but reality is 25. Misalignment grows. Decisions are wrong.

Solution: Link BOM to inventory so it updates automatically.

Deep Dive: How BOM-to-Inventory Linking Works

BOM linking is the bridge between product recipes and raw material stock. When customer buys ceramic mug, system decreases 0.5 lbs clay, 2 oz glaze, 1 handle from inventory. Cascading depletion prevents "I accepted 10 orders but only have clay for 6."

Technical architecture: Each product has BOM (materials + quantities). Sale triggers transaction: Read BOM, identify components, decrement each material atomically. If leather wallet uses 1 sq ft leather, 2 rivets, 1 zipper → selling 3 wallets depletes 3 sq ft leather, 6 rivets, 3 zippers immediately.

Magic at scale: Multi-channel sales (Etsy, Shopify, local) → same system processes all → raw materials become single source of truth. "I have 47 sq ft leather left = 47 more wallets possible" without guessing or spreadsheet juggling.

Step-by-step: (1) Define BOM for each product. (2) Track raw material inventory. (3) When sale occurs, system reads BOM. (4) Decrements each material. (5) Low-stock alerts trigger.

Real Case Study: Rachel Eliminated Stockouts

The Problem

Rachel: Soap maker. Tracked finished soap inventory but didn't link to raw materials. Holiday season: accepted 150 soap orders. Discovered only had lavender oil for 90 bars. Had to delay 60 orders 2 weeks, 12 cancelled, 8 negative reviews. Rating: 4.9 → 4.6.

The Solution

Implemented BOM-linked inventory. Each soap defined exact quantities: 1.2 oz lavender oil, 8 oz coconut, 4 oz shea butter per bar. System calculated: "You can make 53 lavender bars with current inventory." Set Etsy listing to max 53. Sales auto-depleted materials.

The Results

220 orders accepted, 220 fulfilled on time, zero cancellations. Rating: 4.95. Revenue +30% (could confidently accept more orders). Material waste: $800/month → $120/month. Time saved: 8 hrs/week managing inventory.

Comparison: Three BOM-Linking Approaches

A: Spreadsheet + Manual - Cost $0. Accuracy 85%. Time 5-10 min/sale. For <10 sales/week.

B: Airtable/Notion Automation - Cost $10-20/month. Accuracy 90%. Time semi-manual. Best for 20-50 sales/week.

C: Dedicated Platform ✓ RECOMMENDED - Cost $100-200/month. Accuracy 99%+. Time zero manual work. Real-time multi-channel. Scales to 1000+ sales/month.

Edge Cases

Variable materials (custom jewelry)? Create separate SKUs per variant with separate BOMs.

Bulk buy but use fractional amounts? Track in smallest unit used. Leather ordered 16 oz, use per 1 oz. Auto-conversion.

Production waste (15%)? BOM should include waste factor. Leather: 1 sq ft needed becomes 1.15 sq ft in BOM.

Kits/bundles? Nested BOMs. "Soap Sampler" = 1 Lavender BOM + 1 Rose BOM + 1 gift box. All deplete together.

TrueCraft: Automated BOM-Inventory Linking

Visual BOM Builder: Drag-drop materials, specify quantities. See real-time cost calculations.
Automatic Cascading Depletion: Sale hits system → reads BOM → instantly decrements all materials. Real-time accuracy.
Production Capacity Dashboard: "With current materials you can make: 53 Lavender, 87 Rose, 34 Eucalyptus."
Multi-Level BOMs: Kits/bundles with nested components.
Reorder Alerts: Material hits reorder point automatically.

Example: Pottery studio, 8 forms, 15 glazes = 120 possible combinations. Before: tracking in spreadsheets, errors. After: 8 base BOMs + 15 glaze modules. System auto-combines. Zero errors. Time saved: 15 hrs/month.

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