Production Orders
A Production Order is a specific planned run based on released Production Instructions. Create one by choosing a released revision, entering Planned Output, reviewing the Scale Factor and scaled material requirements, adding schedule information where useful, and saving.
The order stores the released revision’s process and quantities so newer instruction revisions cannot rewrite the plan behind the run.
Planning estimates and Item costs
Section titled “Planning estimates and Item costs”Material requirements on a new or Planned Production Order use the current Item planning cost. For Production Order planning, Indietory uses a positive Standard Cost when one is available; otherwise it uses Average Cost; otherwise the estimate is $0.00. This is a Production Order planning rule, not a universal inventory-cost rule.
Changing Planned Output scales the required quantity and the estimated line cost. The preview uses the current planning cost before you save; saving still resolves the current Item cost on the server.
This is intentionally different from the released Production Instruction’s historical estimate. For example, PI-CHERRYCHOCO-8OZ may show a historical $0.00 estimate for PKG-LABEL-CHERRY8, while that Item now has a $1.00 Standard Cost. A new order for 10 labels shows a $1.00 Unit Cost and a $10.00 Estimated Cost.
Estimated Material Cost is a planning estimate, not the authoritative cost of inventory actually consumed. Produce Inventory records actual material use and execution cost.
Oak Creek Goods example
Section titled “Oak Creek Goods example”Use a Production Order to plan an actual Oak Creek Goods run, rather than treating a Production Instruction as the execution record. First plan the released Cherry Choco Trail Mix, Bulk instruction for its 1.362 kg intermediate output. After that output is Available, plan the released Cherry Choco Trail Mix, 8 oz Assembly instruction for 6 ea of FG-CHERRYCHOCO-8. The second order scales and displays the required 1.362 kg bulk intermediate, six pouches, six labels, and one shipping case.
Requirements and reservations
Section titled “Requirements and reservations”Each requirement identifies a material Item and the planned quantity. Use Reserve to set aside valid current inventory. A reservation does not consume inventory; it connects real stock to the plan. The screen validates availability, UOM, tracking, and status rules and shows Still Needed to Reserve when more is needed. A Lot with a due Retest, Expiry, or Final Use By Date is not valid operational inventory; see Automatic Lot Status Updates.
Review the Scale Factor before reserving. It relates Planned Output to the base output in the released instructions and scales material quantities for the run. If a reservation is rejected, use the current inline availability and validation rather than relying on a number from an older screen.
One requirement can use more than one valid Lot or Container when needed.
For the ingredient order, reserve the actual released Lots or Containers used by the bulk instruction. In particular, do not reserve RM-CHOC-NAT until its Lot is Available after the appropriate quality review. For the finished packout order, reserve the intermediate and packaging records that will physically be consumed.
Status and protected history
Section titled “Status and protected history”Production Orders move through Planned, Released, In Progress, Completed, and Canceled. A Planned order can be edited or deleted and can reflect current Item planning costs. Releasing refreshes those planning costs one final time, then freezes the released order’s estimate. Later Item cost changes do not rewrite that released estimate. Start production from a Released order, continue an In Progress order in Produce Inventory, and view completed/canceled records as retained operational history.
Released and In Progress orders can be canceled with a required reason only when they have no execution or consumed-inventory activity; active unconsumed reservations are canceled. Completed orders cannot be canceled through this action.
Use Start Production from a Released order and Continue Production from an In Progress order when you have Produce Inventory access. The Production Order handles the plan and reservations; Produce Inventory handles actual work.