A bill of materials (BOM) is the complete, costed list of every material that goes into a garment — main fabric, lining, interfacing, thread and every trim, each with a quantity and a cost. It's the section of your tech pack a factory uses to calculate your price, which makes it the difference between a guess and a real quote. In Genpire, the BOM is generated automatically from your design.
If you've seen "BOM" in a tech pack or a quote and weren't sure what it meant, here it is in plain English. The bill of materials is one of the most important parts of any clothing tech pack — it's how a factory knows what your product is made of and what it costs to build.
What a bill of materials includes
A clothing BOM lists every component of the garment: the main fabric, lining, interfacing and thread, plus every trim — buttons, zippers, labels and packaging. Each line carries a quantity and a cost, so nothing is missed and nothing is guessed. It's effectively the recipe and the price list for your product in one place.
Why factories need it
The bill of materials is how a manufacturer calculates your cost per unit. Without it, a factory can't give you an accurate quote — they'd be estimating blind. A complete, costed BOM is what turns "roughly this much" into a real price a factory will stand behind.
BOM vs tech pack
The bill of materials is one section inside the tech pack. The tech pack is the full document — sketches, measurements, construction and the BOM together.
How to create a bill of materials with AI
Building a BOM by hand means listing and pricing every component — slow and easy to get wrong. In Genpire, the AI builds your bill of materials automatically from your design: every fabric, lining and trim, with cost estimates already attached, in the format a factory expects.
From bill of materials to your cost per unit
Because the materials are costed, your BOM rolls straight up into your per-unit price and total. Genpire's Production tab shows that cost at different volumes — so the bill of materials isn't just a list, it's the foundation of your real manufacturing quote.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a BOM and a tech pack?
The BOM is the costed materials list — one section of the tech pack. The tech pack is the complete document that also includes flat sketches, measurements, grading and construction notes.
What should be on a clothing bill of materials?
Every material in the garment with a quantity and cost: main fabric, lining, interfacing, thread, and all trims — buttons, zippers, labels and packaging. The more complete it is, the more accurate your quote.
Do I need a BOM to get a manufacturing quote?
Yes. A factory calculates your cost per unit from the bill of materials, so it's required for an accurate quote. Genpire generates one automatically so you don't have to build it by hand.
See a real bill of materials built automatically from your design — every material costed, quote-ready.