What Is Where-Used Analysis?
Also known as: where used report, BOM implosion, where-used inquiry
Definition
Where-used analysis starts from a component or raw material and lists every parent assembly and finished product whose BOM includes it, at any level, so you can see what a change or shortage will affect.
Where-Used Analysis Explained
Where-used is the reverse view of the BOM. Instead of asking what goes into this product, it asks which products use this part. It can be single level (direct parents only) or fully indented up to the end items and, in better systems, to open customer orders.
Its main job is impact analysis. Before approving an ECO, discontinuing a part, or switching a supplier, you need to know every assembly affected and whether open work orders or sales orders contain it. During a shortage or a quality escape, it identifies which products to hold, and with lot tracing, which shipped serials to recall.
ERPs expose it as an inquiry or report. Infor LN and SyteLine have where-used screens at the item level, NetSuite provides a where-used report on item records. Performance on large BOMs can be slow, which is why teams export BOM tables for analysis or put an AI layer over a read-only copy.
Accuracy depends on effectivity. A where-used that ignores date ranges overstates impact by including obsolete structures.
Why It Matters
- It prevents changes that fix one product and break three others that share the part.
- Supplier quality alerts and recalls need fast identification of every affected product.
- Obsolescence decisions need to know whether a part is still consumed anywhere.
- It supports cost impact estimates for a price increase on a commonly used part.
In Practice
A capacitor goes end-of-life. Where-used shows it in 14 assemblies across 6 end items, 3 of which have open orders. The team prioritizes a last-time buy sized to the demand of those 3, and schedules redesign for the rest, rather than discovering the problem one shortage at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between where-used and BOM explosion?
Explosion goes down from a parent to its components. Where-used goes up from a component to its parents.
Should where-used include open orders?
For impact analysis, yes. Knowing which open work and sales orders carry the part decides how urgent a change is.
Why is my where-used report slow?
Fully indented queries on large multi-level BOMs are recursive. Indexing the BOM component table or querying a reporting copy usually helps.
Related Terms
BOM (Bill of Materials)
A BOM (bill of materials) is the structured, hierarchical list of components, sub-assemblies, and quantities required to produce one unit of a parent item, and it is the primary input MRP explodes to calculate material requirements.
BOM Explosion
BOM explosion is the step in which MRP expands each parent item's planned quantity into dependent component requirements using the bill of materials, quantity-per factors, scrap and yield allowances, and effectivity dates, level by level.
Engineering Change Order (ECO)
An engineering change order (ECO) is the formal, approved document that authorizes a change to a part, bill of materials, drawing or routing, defines when it takes effect, and says what happens to existing stock and open orders.
Traceability
Traceability is the ability to follow the history, location, and application of a part or material through the supply chain and production process, both backward to its sources and forward to every product and customer it reached.
Go Deeper
AI Change Impact Analysis for ERP Systems
Use AI agents for ERP change impact analysis predicting downstream effects of configuration changes, patches, and customizations before deployment.
Infor LN Engineering Change Management Guide
Manage engineering changes in Infor LN with ECO/ECN workflows, BOM effectivity, revision control, and impact analysis for controlled product change processes.
Working with Where-Used Analysis in a live environment? Our engineers do this every day - and our AI agents automate most of it.
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SAP BOM Where-Used SQL Generator
Fill in a component, plant and BOM usage to get SQL that lists every parent BOM using it, plus a query for BOM items with dependencies.
Keep exploring
Free tools
- SAP BOM Where-Used SQL GeneratorFill in a component, plant and BOM usage to get SQL that lists every parent BOM using it, plus a query for BOM items with dependencies.
- Component Price Escalation BOM Impact CalculatorEstimate how a supplier price increase on part of your BOM changes unit margin and yearly profit, with and without pass-through.
- SAP PP BOM Component Scrap and Requirements WorksheetList components with quantity per, base quantity, assembly and component scrap, and see required quantity and cost for the order.
ERP fixes and how-tos
- Engineering Change Impact on Open OrdersHow to find every work order, purchase order, stock position and customer order touched by an engineering change before you release it, and decide dispositions.
- Batch Report in SAP PP: Where-Used and Traceability TcodesWhich SAP batch reports show where a batch came from and went to? MB56, MSC3N, BMBC, MB51 and tables MCH1, MCHA, MCHB for production traceability.
- How to Maintain the BOM and Routing in SyteLineHow to add components, operations and effectivity dates to a SyteLine bill of material and routing, and why edits do not reach jobs that already exist.
Guides
- AI for Component Shortages and Obsolescence in EMSUse AI to handle component shortages, PCNs, EOL notices and last time buys in EMS: match alerts to open jobs and BOMs, with engineers approving every change.
- AI-Powered Change Impact Analysis for ERP SystemsUse AI agents for ERP change impact analysis predicting downstream effects of configuration changes, patches, and customizations before deployment.
- SyteLine Impact Analysis: Answering "What Breaks If I Change This?"How to answer the scariest SyteLine question, what breaks if I change this, with resolved procedure call graphs, transitive effect analysis, and a live schema index.
AI on your ERP
- AI for Engineering Change Impact on BOMs, Routings, and Open OrdersAI reads a proposed ECO against live BOM, routing, and open order data to show engineering exactly what a change touches before it gets released.
- AI Across PLM and ERP: Teamcenter, Windchill, and Your ERPAI that reads Teamcenter or Windchill alongside your ERP to trace engineering change impact, BOM sync gaps, and where-used questions, on-prem.