How to structure work orders for batch cutting runs
Manufacturing operations that route by raw stock need a bill of materials and work order structure that combines multiple customer orders into a single cutting run while preserving individual part-level tracking and shipping visibility. Without this setup, production managers are forced to choose between managing fragmented individual orders or losing the ability to track and fulfill each mark and variant separately.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
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- 1Grouping by run, which prevents work orders from naming individual parts producedDid this help you?
- 2Grouping by mark, which results in hundreds of work orders per job with a separate clock-in for eachDid this help you?
- 3Speaking to third-party apps like Timesact and manually adding everything upDid this help you?
- 4Consulting with colleagues via direct messageDid this help you?
- 5Reviewing different enterprise system configurations through trial and errorDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“We route by raw stock rather than by part.”source ↗
“The question is how to group work orders so that they follow the way the shop actually runs, while still giving us part-level visibility.”source ↗
“Neither is workable on its own. How should the BOM and work order structure be set up so that one work order can cover a full cutting run and we can still see, track and ship each mark individually?”source ↗
“I come from the CPG supply chain world and need help understanding the various ways that an ERP architect would set up work orders for companies in food manufacturing.”source ↗
“I'm now seeing a version that is tied to Sales Orders. You create a Sales Order, and on the sales order line item, each SKU has a 'create WO' button when you scroll towards the right of the screen (in that same line item box). I'm not sure i understand why this one exists.”source ↗
“The issue is that their report lists each customer’s order separately. I need a combined report showing the total quantity to manufacture for each variant.”source ↗
“For example, if ten customers each buy one unit of the same variant, I need one row showing ten units to order from the factory. The original customer orders would still stay separate for fulfilment.”source ↗
Where this came up
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