Super Bill of Material
Definition
A super bill of material is a planning BOM whose parent is an artificial family item and whose components are the option modules and common-parts groups that make up the family, each carried at its forecast percentage of total demand.
In Practice
The super bill sits at the top of the modular planning structure for assemble-to-order products. For a forklift family it might list: common module at 100%, three mast options at 50/30/20%, two power options at 65/35%. Master scheduling 500 family units per month then drives 500 common modules, 250/150/100 masts, and 325/175 power units — module schedules ready for two-level master scheduling.
As customer orders arrive specifying real configurations, they consume the super bill's forecast at both the family and option level, and available-to-promise is checked against module availability. Combined with option overplanning, the super bill is how configure-to-order businesses master schedule what customers haven't configured yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a super bill differ from a planning bill?
A super bill is a specific kind of planning bill: its parent is the pseudo family item and its children are complete option modules and common-parts groups at percentage quantities. "Planning bill" is the broader category covering any artificial BOM built for forecasting rather than production.
How do customer orders interact with a super bill?
Through forecast consumption in two-level master scheduling: an order for a specific configuration consumes the family-level forecast and the specific option modules it uses. Available-to-promise runs at the module level, so promising a delivery date checks that the ordered mast, power unit, and common module are all available.
Related Terms
A planning bill of material is an artificial BOM that groups items for forecasting rather than building — typically a product family parent whose components are options and common parts weighted by their expected percentage of total demand.
Modular Bill of MaterialA modular bill of material organizes a configurable product into option modules — such as engines, cabs, and transmissions — so any customer configuration can be built by combining modules instead of maintaining a BOM for every possible variant.
Option OverplanningOption overplanning is the practice of deliberately planning option modules to a higher percentage than the expected mix — for example planning 45% for an option forecast at 40% — so mix variability doesn't cause shortages in assemble-to-order production.
Product FamilyA product family is a group of products that share common characteristics — similar materials, processes, or market purpose — and are planned together as one unit in forecasting, S&OP, and capacity planning.