Create models in seconds
Upload a bill of materials and watch as Affinda instantly predicts the data fields you want to extract, helping you automate BOM processing in just a few clicks.
How to automate bill of materials processing with Affinda's AI
- 1
Upload your bills of materials, your way
Email, drag and drop or connect via API.
- 2
Watch as it extracts your bill of materials data
Affinda's AI reads your bills of materials with impressive contextual understanding. It splits and classifies documents, extracts and validates data, then transforms the output to match your business needs.
- 3
Automatically route the data to your systems
No manual data entry required. Affinda integrates seamlessly into your existing tech stack.
Extract any information from any document, fast
Affinda's AI reads, understands and extracts data from any bill of materials 
Cleanse and transform data
Affinda automatically converts extracted BOM data into the format your ERP, inventory or manufacturing system recognizes, ensuring it's ready for immediate use. Need something custom? Use natural language to describe how you want the data to appear.
Apply business logic
Write validation rules in plain language and apply your business logic to extracted BOM data. This ensures accuracy across part numbers and quantities, enabling reliable straight-through processing into your manufacturing systems.
Combine the best of artificial and human intelligence
1B+ documents processed
10+ years of IP combined with the latest AI innovations
800+ customers
95% reduction in manual processing achieved
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Drag and drop, email or upload via API. Affinda can handle any document, any file type and any layout with ease.See the magic
Watch as the platform predicts the information you want to extract, letting you build models in minutes, not months.Automating their document processes with AI
Frequently asked questions
What is bill of materials processing?
Bill of materials processing is the workflow manufacturers use to capture, validate and manage component data from BOMs – including part numbers, descriptions, quantities, suppliers and reference numbers. Our AI bill of materials processing software automates this entire process to reduce manual data entry, minimize errors and support production planning. It ensures that component information is accurate, complete and flows seamlessly into your ERP, inventory and manufacturing systems.
What is bill of materials data extraction?
Bill of materials data extraction is the process of reading a BOM and capturing key data points such as part numbers, product descriptions, quantities, suppliers and reference numbers. Our platform uses AI to automate bill of materials data extraction, transforming unstructured documents into structured data ready for your ERP, inventory and manufacturing systems.
What is bill of materials extraction?
Bill of materials extraction is the automatic capture of component and assembly data from BOMs using AI. Our bill of materials extraction software combines reading order models, OCR, LLMs, RAG and more to convert complex BOM structures into structured data with high accuracy and faster processing times.
What is a bill of materials parser?
A bill of materials parser is a software tool that automatically reads BOMs and extracts component data. It converts bills of materials into structured, machine-readable formats ready for your systems. Our AI bill of materials parser handles multi-page BOMs, complex tables and grouped components with ease – learning from every interaction to adapt to your specific part numbering, supplier formats and assembly structures.
What is bill of materials line extraction?
Bill of materials line extraction captures individual component rows from your BOM tables, converting each line into structured data while preserving the relationships between part numbers, descriptions, quantities and suppliers. Our platform handles everything from simple component lists to complex nested tables with grouped assemblies – maintaining accuracy and context across every line of your bill of materials.
What data fields can Affinda's AI bill of materials processing software extract?
Affinda's AI bill of materials processing platform can capture data from any field on a BOM. Standard data fields include:
Product & Component Details
- Part Number / SKU: Unique identifier for each component or assembly.
- Product Name / Description: Full text description of the part or material.
- Manufacturer Part Number: Original equipment manufacturer's part identifier.
- Component Type / Category: Classification such as raw material, subassembly or finished good.
- Material Specification: Technical specs, material grade or composition details.
- Revision / Version: Design revision number or version identifier for the component.
Quantity & Specification Data
- Quantity Required: Number of units needed per assembly or production run.
- Unit of Measure: Units such as pieces, kilograms, meters or liters.
- Lead Time: Time required to source or manufacture the component.
- Minimum Order Quantity: Smallest purchasable or manufacturable batch size.
- Scrap / Waste Allowance: Expected loss percentage or additional quantity buffer.
Supplier & Sourcing Information
- Supplier Name / Vendor Code: Primary or alternate supplier identifier.
- Unit Cost / Price: Per-unit cost or quoted price for the component.
- Total Line Cost: Extended cost calculated from quantity and unit price.
- Currency: Currency denomination for pricing.
- Sourcing Status: Availability indicator such as in stock, on order or discontinued.
Reference & Metadata
- Line Number / Position: Sequential position within the BOM structure.
- Reference Designator: Location or assembly reference code.
- Notes / Comments: Additional instructions, specifications or assembly notes.
- Drawing Number / CAD Reference: Associated engineering drawing or design file identifier.
Need custom fields or a specific BOM template? Simply define them in the UI or describe them in natural language and Affinda will extract and convert them automatically.
What file types does Affinda's AI bill of materials processing solution support?
Our AI agents can process any file type. Supported file types include PDF, JPG/JPEG, PNG, TIFF, DOC/DOCX (Word), XLSX (Excel), HTML and TXT/CSV.
How does Affinda process bills of materials and extract bill of materials data?
Affinda's AI agents read, extract and validate bill of materials data. Our platform is intuitive to set up and easily integrates into your systems. Simply:
- Upload your bills of materials via drag-and-drop, email or API.
- Configure business logic to match your organization's rules and workflows.
- Let Affinda check and validate extracted data against your business logic and ERP, inventory or manufacturing systems to ensure accuracy.
- Access structured BOM data directly within your systems.
The result? Faster, more accurate bill of materials processing with minimal manual input.
Can Affinda extract data from scanned or image-based bills of materials?
Yes. Our AI bill of materials processing platform combines OCR with retrieval augmented generation (RAG), LLMs, agentic workflows, proprietary reading order algorithms and more, to automatically detect and process data from scanned or photographed invoices (PDF, JPG, PNG). Even low-quality images are automatically enhanced for reliable data capture and processing.
What language does Affinda's AI bill of materials automation platform support?
Our AI bill of materials processing platform can automatically detect and process bills of materials in 50+ languages, including multilingual bills of materials containing more than one language. Supported languages include: Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic (Standard, Egyptian, Sudanese, Algerian, Moroccan, Levantine), Bahasa Indonesian, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chinese (Mandarin [PRC/Taiwan], Cantonese, Wu, Min Nan, Jinyu, Xiang, Hakka), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Kannada, Korean, Latvian, Lingala, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Norwegian, Odia, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi (Western and Eastern), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Yoruba.
Does Affinda integrate with ERP, inventory and manufacturing systems?
Absolutely. Our platform integrates with 400+ downstream systems, including major ERP, inventory and manufacturing platforms. You can create no-code integrations using our AI integrations agent, or build and host your own using our APIs – whatever works best for your bill of materials processing workflow.
What are some examples of AI bill of materials workflow automations?
AI bill of materials processing helps automate and optimize manufacturing workflows across teams such as:
- Production Planning: Automate BOM entry and validation, ensuring accurate component quantities and specifications flow directly into your production schedules – reducing delays caused by manual errors or missing parts.
- Procurement and Supply Chain: Extract supplier details, lead times and costs from any BOM format to streamline purchasing decisions and improve inventory forecasting across multiple suppliers and component sources.
- Engineering Teams: Capture revision numbers, drawing references and material specifications automatically, making it easier to track design changes and maintain accurate documentation across product lifecycles.
- Inventory Management: Feed structured BOM data into your inventory systems to enhance stock visibility, prevent shortages and support just-in-time manufacturing strategies.
What is a bill of materials OCR data extractor?
A bill of materials optical character recognition (OCR) data extractor scans and accurately captures component information from BOMs, regardless of format or language. Upload bill of materials documents in PDF, JPG or PNG formats. The OCR technology first converts the documents into a text layer, ensuring all text (even from scans, photos or handwritten notes) is captured. Affinda's AI models then identify and extract key fields such as part numbers, product descriptions, quantities, suppliers and reference numbers, transforming them into structured, usable data.
This automation eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors and saves time. Once the BOM data is captured and structured, our AI bill of materials processing pipeline can apply machine validation and post-processing to enable seamless integration with ERP, inventory and manufacturing systems.
Manufacturing, engineering and supply chain teams rely on Affinda's AI for their production planning, procurement and inventory management processes, streamlining workflows and improving overall efficiency.