Bills of materials (BOMs) are typically used to identify the various parts that are included in a particular product. Therefore, a BOM is a useful tool for conveying the information about what parts are needed to manufacture or otherwise create a product. BOMs are created by a BOM originator (such as an original equipment manufacturer) and then communicated in whole or in part to one or more suppliers (for example, as part of a request for quote). The suppliers then determine which parts are included in the product (or a portion of the product for which the supplier is responsible) and quote a price for each part or for a collection of parts to the BOM originator. Each supplier may also provide additional information, such as part availability and lead time, as appropriate. The BOM originator collects the various responses from the suppliers, analyzes the responses, determines which suppliers to use based on the responses, and communicates purchase orders or other transaction documents to the selected suppliers. This process may be referred to as “sourcing” a BOM.
One disadvantage with the process described above is that it inefficient for the BOM originator to have to collect and organize the various responses from the suppliers (which may be in a variety of formats) and to determine which suppliers to use based on a number of decision criteria. For example, in addition to pricing considerations, the BOM originator may have to review various contracts with suppliers to determine if the contracts have an effect on which suppliers are selected (for example, if the BOM originator has agreed to do a certain amount of business with a particular supplier). Furthermore, the process described above may take too long for certain circumstances since the BOM originator has to wait on the suppliers for responses and then has to analyze the responses before orders can be placed.