A candle maker buys wax and fragrance, mixes them into a scented blend, and uses that blend to make candles for sale. Tracking only the finished candle SKU hides which ingredient will stop production first. A multi-level bill of materials (BOM) makes that constraint visible.
Illustrative scenario: The numbers are examples, not a real merchant's stock or sales results.
Follow the materials through production
One kilogram of scented blend requires 0.8 kg of wax and 0.2 kg of fragrance. One candle uses 0.5 kg of blend. The store has 8 kg of available wax and 1 kg of available fragrance.
| Requirement | Available stock | Maximum blend supported |
|---|---|---|
| Wax at 0.8 kg per kg of blend | 8 kg | 10 kg |
| Fragrance at 0.2 kg per kg of blend | 1 kg | 5 kg |
Fragrance is the limiting ingredient, so the materials support 5 kg of blend, or 10 complete candles at 0.5 kg each. Adding wax alone will not increase that result until more fragrance is available.
Model the scenario in Soply
- Create Wax and Fragrance as base raw materials. Enter their units and available stock source.
- Create Scented blend as an app-managed material. In Composition, enable sub-components and add 0.8 kg of wax plus 0.2 kg of fragrance per kilogram of blend.
- In the blend's Product Usage, bind the Shopify candle variant and enter 0.5 kg of blend as Consumption Per Unit.
- Check Tree View for the wax → blend → candle and fragrance → blend → candle paths. Use Flat BOM to check the expanded base-material requirements.
- Compare the calculated candle availability with the 10-candle example, then test a cart quantity within and above the limit.
When the answer can differ
Use the child's base unit when entering each quantity; convert grams and kilograms before saving. Other candle variants may consume the same blend, while other ingredients, orders, or location rules can create a lower limit. A changed recipe can recalculate several downstream variants, so review the impact confirmation and availability after saving. Finished Goods Stock (Pre-produced) affects consumption priority and does not increase the material-based derived availability shown by the app.
See Create a multi-level BOM, Calculate multi-level BOM availability, and Check the impact of a BOM change.
If fragrance is difficult to replenish, the critical-ingredient alert case shows how to set a separate warning threshold.
Real results depend on your products, stock, markets, store settings, and test conditions. Verify the setup in your own store.
Read the guides