element14 Community
element14 Community
    Register Log In
  • Site
  • Search
  • Log In Register
  • Community Hub
    Community Hub
    • What's New on element14
    • Feedback and Support
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Personal Blogs
    • Members Area
    • Achievement Levels
  • Learn
    Learn
    • Ask an Expert
    • eBooks
    • element14 presents
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Spotlight
    • STEM Academy
    • Webinars, Training and Events
    • Learning Groups
  • Technologies
    Technologies
    • 3D Printing
    • FPGA
    • Industrial Automation
    • Internet of Things
    • Power & Energy
    • Sensors
    • Technology Groups
  • Challenges & Projects
    Challenges & Projects
    • Design Challenges
    • element14 presents Projects
    • Project14
    • Arduino Projects
    • Raspberry Pi Projects
    • Project Groups
  • Products
    Products
    • Arduino
    • Avnet Boards Community
    • Dev Tools
    • Manufacturers
    • Multicomp Pro
    • Product Groups
    • Raspberry Pi
    • RoadTests & Reviews
  • Store
    Store
    • Visit Your Store
    • Choose another store...
      • Europe
      •  Austria (German)
      •  Belgium (Dutch, French)
      •  Bulgaria (Bulgarian)
      •  Czech Republic (Czech)
      •  Denmark (Danish)
      •  Estonia (Estonian)
      •  Finland (Finnish)
      •  France (French)
      •  Germany (German)
      •  Hungary (Hungarian)
      •  Ireland
      •  Israel
      •  Italy (Italian)
      •  Latvia (Latvian)
      •  
      •  Lithuania (Lithuanian)
      •  Netherlands (Dutch)
      •  Norway (Norwegian)
      •  Poland (Polish)
      •  Portugal (Portuguese)
      •  Romania (Romanian)
      •  Russia (Russian)
      •  Slovakia (Slovak)
      •  Slovenia (Slovenian)
      •  Spain (Spanish)
      •  Sweden (Swedish)
      •  Switzerland(German, French)
      •  Turkey (Turkish)
      •  United Kingdom
      • Asia Pacific
      •  Australia
      •  China
      •  Hong Kong
      •  India
      •  Korea (Korean)
      •  Malaysia
      •  New Zealand
      •  Philippines
      •  Singapore
      •  Taiwan
      •  Thailand (Thai)
      • Americas
      •  Brazil (Portuguese)
      •  Canada
      •  Mexico (Spanish)
      •  United States
      Can't find the country/region you're looking for? Visit our export site or find a local distributor.
  • Translate
  • Profile
  • Settings
Community Hub
Community Hub
Research Opportunities Have You Ever Used a Mobile Device to Access a BOM Tool?
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Documents
  • Quiz
  • Events
  • Leaderboard
  • Polls
  • Files
  • Members
  • Mentions
  • Sub-Groups
  • Tags
  • More
  • Cancel
  • New
Join Community Hub to participate - click to join for free!
  • Share
  • More
  • Cancel
Group Actions
  • Group RSS
  • More
  • Cancel
Engagement
  • Author Author: Alanta Lee
  • Date Created: 9 Jun 2025 1:32 PM Date Created
  • Views 282 views
  • Likes 6 likes
  • Comments 9 comments
Related
Recommended

Have You Ever Used a Mobile Device to Access a BOM Tool?

Alanta Lee
Alanta Lee
9 Jun 2025

How Do You Create Your BOM?

We know engineers have different ways of building their Bill of Materials (BOM), depending on the tools, time, and task at hand.

We’d love to know, what’s your go to method?

Do you usually:

  • Copy and paste part codes from spreadsheets, datasheets, or old BOMs?

  • Start from scratch, entering parts manually as you go?

  • Add items directly from product pages while browsing?

  • Import a list from a CSV or Excel file?

  • Duplicate or reuse a previous BOM from a past project?

  • Use CAD/EDA tool exports (like from KiCAD, Eagle, Altium)?

  • Collaborate with a teammate or supplier to build the BOM?

  • Use parametric search filters to find parts and add as you go?

Bonus questions:

  • What tools or platforms do you use to manage your BOMs?

  • What would make the process smoother or more efficient?

Point down Share your process (and any frustrations!) in the comments below.

  • Sign in to reply

Top Comments

  • dougw
    dougw 9 days ago +1
    My prototype BoMs get built up in stages. As the design transitions from conceptual design to detailed design, I try to identify long lead components and get them on order as soon as they are properly…
  • misaz
    misaz 9 days ago +1
    No. I can't imagine working with dosen of parameters, part numbers, etc on such small screen. Topic always reminds era, when several major MCU vendors promoted their mobile apps to select microcontrollers…
  • dougw
    dougw 8 days ago in reply to dougw +1
    I forgot to answer the question. No - I have never used a mobile device to access a BoM tool. There is too much information involved to try and muddle through with a small screen and some of the software…
  • embeddedguy
    embeddedguy 5 days ago

    I can try to answer this question as I often make BOM file for the PCB design.

    The thing is that every PCB manufacture has their own BOM style and specifications. Most important is that they need atleast designator and MPN number. 

    The software like KiCad do not have fields such as MPN. They have designator and value. So while creating a BOM file, one needs to find MPN, packaging, part values and other specification such as temperature tolerance, voltage tolerance and so on so forth. 

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • More
    • Cancel
  • dougw
    dougw 8 days ago in reply to Alanta Lee

    I sometimes use other search engines and parametric search engines to find better matches.

    Sometimes I drill down from other categories or from specific manufacturers.

    I follow the same parametric search process as finding the original parts when BoM data becomes obsolete.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • More
    • Cancel
  • anniel747
    anniel747 8 days ago in reply to Alanta Lee

     Alanta Lee 

    • Use of categories before a parametric search.
    • Revision of the BoM after identification of replacements. 
    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • More
    • Cancel
  • Alanta Lee
    Alanta Lee 8 days ago in reply to anniel747

    Thanks for sharing this! Really interesting to hear how you build up your BoMs in stages and the way you use parametric search to narrow things down!

    A couple of follow-up questions if you don’t mind:

    • Have you found any workarounds or tools that help with the terminology mismatch across manufacturers?

    • And how do you typically manage updates to your BoM once parts go out of stock or get replaced, do you have a process for that?

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • More
    • Cancel
  • dougw
    dougw 8 days ago in reply to dougw

    I forgot to answer the question. No - I have never used a mobile device to access a BoM tool. There is too much information involved to try and muddle through with a small screen and some of the software such as CAD doesn't even run on a mobile device.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +1 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • More
    • Cancel
>
element14 Community

element14 is the first online community specifically for engineers. Connect with your peers and get expert answers to your questions.

  • Members
  • Learn
  • Technologies
  • Challenges & Projects
  • Products
  • Store
  • About Us
  • Feedback & Support
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal and Copyright Notices
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies

An Avnet Company © 2025 Premier Farnell Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Premier Farnell Ltd, registered in England and Wales (no 00876412), registered office: Farnell House, Forge Lane, Leeds LS12 2NE.

ICP 备案号 10220084.

Follow element14

  • X
  • Facebook
  • linkedin
  • YouTube