Introduction
Welcome to the Empress guide about Work Orders. A Work Order is a critical document in the business process, particularly in the manufacturing sector. In simple terms, it’s an official instruction from the production planner to the production floor, requesting the creation of a specified quantity of a product. This guide will guide you on how to harness the power of Work Orders in Empress for your business.
What Can Work Orders Do for You?
Work Orders in Empress initiate the generation of material requirements necessary for the production of a product. They can be created from a Production Plan, based on Sales Orders. The Work Order simplifies your production process by automatically fetching the required materials based on the Bill of Materials for the item to be produced.
To access the Work Order list, follow this path:
Home > Manufacturing > Production > Work Order
Before You Begin
Before diving into the creation and use of Work Orders, ensure you have the following set up:
- Bill Of Materials
- Operation
- Workstation
How to Create a Work Order
Creating a Work Order in Empress is a straightforward process. Follow these steps:
- Navigate to the Work Order list and click ‘New’.
- Select the item you want to manufacture.
- The system will automatically fetch the default Bill of Materials (BOM) for the chosen item. Modify the BOM if necessary.
- Input the quantity to be manufactured. The system will fetch raw material items only when this is set.
- If the selected BOM includes Operations, the system will fetch all Operations from the BOM. These values can be changed.
- Set the Planned Start Date, which is the estimated date you want the production to begin.
When creating a Work Order, there are certain fields that are automatically populated and others that you can manually define. These include:
- Use Multi-Level BOM: This option is enabled by default. If you plan materials for sub-assemblies of the item you’re manufacturing, leave this enabled. If you plan and manufacture the sub-assemblies separately, you can disable this checkbox.
- Select Warehouses: You can indicate the Source Warehouses, Work-in-Progress Warehouse, Target Warehouse, and Scrap Warehouse.
- Required Items: All the required items (raw materials) will be fetched from BOM and populated in this table. Here, you can also change the Source Warehouse for any item.
Note: While you can save a Work Order without selecting the Warehouses, Warehouses are essential for submitting a Work Order.
Additional Options when Creating a Work Order
Creating a Work Order provides you with several additional options to streamline your production process. These include linking to a Sales Order or a Project, allowing Alternative Items, and skipping Material Transfer to the Work in Progress Warehouse.
The Power of Work Orders
Work Orders come with several features that empower your production process. These include setting the Planned Start Date and Expected Delivery Date, modifying the Source Warehouse for raw materials, tracking the status of operations, calculating operation costs, and more.
All these features bring significant benefits to your production process. They allow for efficient planning, accurate tracking, and precise calculation of costs, ensuring your manufacturing process is well-orchestrated and cost-effective.
Managing Your Work Order
Once you have submitted your Work Order, you can manage the entire process through Empress. This includes transferring materials for manufacturing, creating Job Cards, updating Finished Goods, planning capacity, stopping a Work Order, and returning non-consumed materials to the stores from the Work in Progress Warehouse.
Conclusion
Work Orders in Empress are a powerful tool for your business, enabling you to plan, track, and manage your production process efficiently. They are designed to be user-friendly and adaptable to your specific needs. By following this guide, you’ll be well-equipped to utilize Work Orders to enhance your business operations. For more information and support, please refer to the Empress user guide or contact our support team.