Notes for owners · Industry playbooks
How electronic components distributors answer a BOM enquiry
Answer a BOM in the buyer's own line order, saying for each part whether you hold it, how many, from which source and by what date, and send the firm lines before the open ones.
The GullySales team · Updated 6 Oct 2026 · 5 min read
On this page
- What is actually in a BOM enquiry?
- What should each line of your reply say?
- Should you hold the quote until every line is filled?
- How do you deal with the gap against a global listing?
- What about parts you do not stock?
- For example: a Bengaluru counter and a contract manufacturer in Peenya
- What to do next
Answer a BOM in the order the buyer sent it, one line per part, and say for each line whether you hold it, how many, from which source, and by what date it reaches them. Add the rate and what it includes. Send the firm lines first and mark the open ones as open. The purchaser is not hunting for the lowest number on a sheet; they are looking for the distributor who has made the build date easier.
What is actually in a BOM enquiry?
A bill of materials arrives as a spreadsheet, often long, sent to several counters at once. It lists part numbers, descriptions, quantities per board and a build quantity. Somewhere in the email is a date.
Read the date first. A purchaser with a build next month needs different answers from a hardware startup that is still prototyping. The same sheet from an EMS unit and from an R&D lab asks for different things, even if the part numbers are identical. The EMS buyer wants brand, date codes and a GST invoice that matches the order. The lab wants ten pieces and a datasheet.
What should each line of your reply say?
The buyer will read your reply across the line, so give them the same columns every time.
| Column | What to put there | Why the buyer looks at it |
|---|---|---|
| Part number as sent | Exactly as in their sheet | They tick it off against their own list |
| Quantity you can supply | A figure, not "available" | "Available" is the word nobody believes |
| Source | Authorised line, or independent stock | Fake and relabelled parts are the real fear |
| Date | In hand today, or the date it reaches you | The build date decides the order |
| Rate and what it includes | GST shown, packing, courier | They compare against a global listing |
| Note | Alternate part, MOQ, tape or loose | Saves a second email |
If a line is short, say how short. "Stock 400 of 1,000, balance by a named date" is something a purchaser can plan around.
Should you hold the quote until every line is filled?
No. This is the habit that costs most distributors the order. One line that needs a phone call to another counter holds up the entire sheet, and the buyer, who has been waiting, quotes the lot elsewhere.
Send in two goes if you must. The first reply carries every line you can answer firmly, with the open lines marked and a date by which you will answer them. The second fills those in. The buyer sees someone who is working the list, and the early lines can already be ordered.
How do you deal with the gap against a global listing?
Buyers will compare you with Mouser or Digi-Key whether you like it or not. Their price looks lower. It leaves out freight, customs and the wait, and the buyer rarely counts those.
Do not argue. Put the three answers into the reply: it is in stock with you today, the invoice is a GST invoice, and there is no customs clearance to chase. Then let the buyer do the sum. A distributor who explains this once, plainly, in the covering note, saves the phone call where the buyer asks why you are dearer.
What about parts you do not stock?
Some lines you cannot fill from the shelf. You can source them against the RFQ, but say so, give the source type, and say that the rate is held only for a stated period. Independent and excess-stock parts need a clear label. A careful quality team would rather see "independent stock, to be tested on receipt" than a confident line that turns out to be wrong.
Never write "all components available" on the quote or the website. Buyers who search an exact part number want a page that confirms you hold it. The electronic components distributors page covers why part and brand pages matter for that search.
For example: a Bengaluru counter and a contract manufacturer in Peenya
A counter near SP Road receives a BOM from a contract manufacturer in Peenya. Most of the passives are on the shelf, the connectors are a day away, and two ICs are not stocked. The old habit was to hold the reply until the ICs were checked.
The better reply goes out the same afternoon. Passives and connectors are priced and dated, the ICs are marked open with the source type, and the covering note says what the rate includes and asks for the build date. Someone owns the call about the ICs, and the date is written in the shared sheet. The purchaser orders the firm lines and waits for the rest.
What to do next
Take your last five BOM replies and mark each: did every line carry a quantity, a source and a date; was anything held back for one open line; did anyone ring after sending? The CRM page and the sales process page for your trade show how to keep that register in one place. If you would like it reviewed with you, the free audit is a 90-minute call followed by a written report that ranks what to fix first.