BOM to PO Automation: How Controls Contractors Are Cutting Hours Off Every Project

The Manual BOM Problem

Every HVAC controls project starts the same way. Engineering hands off a bill of materials. Then someone on the purchasing team starts the tedious process of turning that BOM into purchase orders.

They open the spreadsheet. They look up the first part number in one supplier portal. Then another. They check pricing. They check availability. They type the part number into a PO form. They move to the next line item. Repeat for 50, 100, maybe 200 lines.

For a typical controls project, this process takes 2-4 hours. For complex jobs with hundreds of parts across multiple suppliers, it can take a full day or more.

And that’s assuming nothing goes wrong. One wrong part number, one transposed digit, one missed line item — and you’re dealing with returns, restocking fees, and project delays.

What Automation Looks Like

BOM-to-PO automation eliminates the manual translation step entirely. You upload your bill of materials — the same spreadsheet or export you already have — and the platform does the rest:

1. Product matching: Every line item is matched against your supplier catalogs automatically. In real-world testing, modern platforms match 90-95% of products instantly.

2. Supplier assignment: Each matched product is assigned to the right supplier based on your preferences, pricing agreements, and availability.

3. PO generation: Purchase orders are generated automatically, split by supplier, with correct quantities and your negotiated pricing.

4. Validation: Built-in checks catch common errors — missing items, duplicate orders, quantity mismatches — before the PO goes out.

What used to take hours now takes minutes. And it’s more accurate because the system doesn’t make the typos and transposition errors that humans inevitably do.

The Math

Let’s say your team processes 10 projects per week, averaging 2 hours of BOM-to-PO work per project. That’s 20 hours per week — half a full-time employee’s capacity — spent on data entry.

At a fully-loaded cost of $40/hour, that’s $800/week or $41,600/year in labor just for BOM processing. And that doesn’t include the cost of errors: the returns, the rush re-orders, the project delays.

With automation, that 2-hour process drops to 15 minutes of review and approval. The same 10 projects take 2.5 hours instead of 20. You’ve just freed up 17.5 hours per week for work that actually moves projects forward.

What You Need for It to Work

Not all BOM automation is created equal. For HVAC controls contractors specifically, the platform needs to:

• Understand your part numbering: Controls parts have complex numbering schemes that vary by manufacturer. The matching engine needs to handle Siemens, Honeywell, JCI, Distech, and other controls-specific catalogs.

• Support your suppliers: Generic procurement tools may not have your HVAC controls distributors in their network. The platform needs to work with the suppliers you actually buy from.

• Handle multi-supplier projects: A typical controls BOM pulls from 3-5 different suppliers. The automation needs to split POs across suppliers seamlessly.

• Maintain your pricing: Your negotiated rates should flow through automatically. Seeing list prices defeats the purpose.

Getting Started

If you’re still processing BOMs manually, you’re leaving significant time and money on the table. The technology exists to automate this workflow today — the question is whether you’re using a platform built for your industry.

Peregrin handles BOM-to-PO automation specifically for HVAC controls contractors, with pre-loaded catalogs from major controls suppliers and instant product matching. Book a demo to see it in action, or sign up for early access to try it on your next project.