Work Orders (also called Production Orders) consume components (Material cost), add Labor, Overhead, Outside Processing and Extra Costs and ultimately produce a finished item calculating the total rolled up cost. They are the core of the manufacturing system and drive the MRP and Scheduling modules.
Work Orders are used for scheduling, production planning and shipment planning. The Work Order Bill of Material defines component Allocations and the Work Order Routing defines uses of manufacturing resources (work centers). Materials can be purchased directly to Work Orders or issued from stock. Subassembly components can be manufactured on their own work orders or can be defined as “Phantom” assemblies and all manufacturing activity tracked on a single work order.
Data Collection can be used to post labor to work orders either real time or after a supervisor review. Once the labor is posted, the job status is updated and available for customer service and other departments to know the job status.