Manufacturing & Production Workflow

Complete guide to manufacturing: creating BOMs and routings, executing work orders, tracking operations, and analyzing production costs.

Workflow Overview

Step 1: Create Bill of Materials (BOM)

Navigate to: Manufacturing → BOMs

Creating a BOM

1. Click "Create BOM"
2. Enter BOM Header:
   • Parent Item: The item being manufactured
   • BOM Name: Descriptive name
   • Revision: Version number (e.g., A, B, 001)
   • Status: Draft, Active, Obsolete
   • Effective Date: When this BOM becomes valid
   • Quantity: Output quantity (typically 1)
3. Add Components:
   • Click "Add Component Line"
   • Select Component Item
   • Enter Quantity per parent
   • Set Operation Number (where component is used)
   • Specify if component is a sub-assembly
   • Add multiple components as needed
4. Multi-Level BOMs: If a component is itself manufactured, it can have its own BOM
5. Click "Save" - BOM is created in Draft status
6. Activate BOM: Change status to Active when ready for production

Step 2: Create Routing

Navigate to: Manufacturing → Routings

Defining Manufacturing Process

1. Click "Create Routing"
2. Enter Routing Header:
   • Item: Select the manufactured item
   • Routing Name
   • Revision number
   • Status: Draft or Active
3. Add Operations:
   • Click "Add Operation"
   • Operation Number: Sequence (10, 20, 30...)
   • Operation Description: (e.g., "Cut to Length", "Assembly", "Paint")
   • Work Center: Where operation is performed
   • Setup Time: Hours to setup
   • Run Time per Unit: Hours per piece
   • Labor Rate: Cost per hour
   • Overhead Rate: Burden cost per hour
4. Operation Dependencies: Operations run in sequence by default
5. Save Routing: Now ready to use in work orders

Step 3: Create Work Order

Navigate to: Manufacturing → Work Orders

Creating a Work Order

1. Click "Create Work Order"
2. Enter Work Order Details:
   • WO Number: Auto-generated
   • Item: Select item to manufacture
   • Quantity to Produce
   • BOM: Select active BOM (auto-selected if only one)
   • Routing: Select active routing
   • Site: Production location
   • Start Date: Planned start
   • Due Date: Required completion date
   • Priority: Normal, High, Rush
   • Reference: Sales Order or Project number
3. Material Requirements: System automatically lists required materials from BOM
4. Operations: System automatically creates operation schedule from routing
5. Save as Draft: WO status: Draft
6. Release Work Order: Change status to Released - now ready for shop floor

Step 4: Issue Materials to Work Order

Navigate to: Manufacturing → Material Issue

Issuing Materials

1. Select Work Order from list of released work orders
2. View Material Requirements:
   • Required Quantity (from BOM)
   • Already Issued
   • Still Needed
   • Available in Inventory
3. For Each Material Line:
   • Select Source Location
   • Enter Issue Quantity
   • If lot tracked: Select lot number
   • If serial tracked: Enter serial numbers
4. Click "Issue Materials"
5. System Actions:
   • Reduces inventory in source location
   • Records material cost to work order
   • Updates WO material issued quantities

Step 5: Execute Operations on Shop Floor

Navigate to: Manufacturing → Shop Floor

Recording Operation Progress

1. View Work Orders by Work Center
2. Select Operation to Execute
3. Clock In to Operation:
   • Select Operator/Employee
   • Enter Start Time (or use current time)
   • Operation status: In Progress
4. Record Production:
   • Quantity Completed
   • Quantity Scrapped (if any)
   • Scrap Reason Code
5. Clock Out of Operation:
   • Enter End Time
   • System calculates actual labor hours
   • Records labor cost to work order
6. Complete Operation: Operation status: Completed

Step 6: Complete Work Order

Finishing Production

1. Verify All Operations Complete
2. Navigate to Work Order
3. Click "Complete Work Order"
4. Enter Completion Details:
   • Quantity Completed (good units)
   • Quantity Scrapped (defects)
   • Completion Date/Time
   • Destination Location for finished goods
5. System Actions:
   • Increases inventory of finished item
   • Calculates actual production cost
   • Compares actual vs. standard cost
   • Records cost variances
   • WO status: Completed

Analyzing Production Costs

Navigate to: Manufacturing → Cost Analysis

Understanding Variances

Common Scenarios

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