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Overview

The Manufacturing module helps you manage your production operations from planning to execution. It handles bill of materials (BOM), production planning, work orders, shop floor operations, and capacity management.

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Key Features

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Bill of Materials (BOM)

Define the recipe for manufacturing your products:

Multi-Level BOM

  • Nested sub-assemblies
  • Exploded view
  • BOM comparison
  • Version control

BOM Components

  • Raw materials
  • Operations/routing
  • Scrap items
  • Operating costs

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Core Doctypes

The central document for production execution.
# From work_order.py
class WorkOrder(Document):
    status: Literal[
        "Draft",
        "Not Started",
        "In Process",
        "Completed",
        "Stopped",
        "Cancelled"
    ]
Key Features:
  • BOM-based material planning
  • Operation scheduling
  • Batch size production
  • Material transfer management
  • Job card generation
  • Quality inspection
  • Scrap tracking
  • Capacity planning
Workflow:
  1. Create work order from sales order or production plan
  2. Transfer materials to WIP warehouse
  3. Complete operations via job cards
  4. Manufacture finished goods
  5. Transfer to finished goods warehouse
Work orders automatically reserve materials and calculate production capacity requirements.
The blueprint for manufacturing.BOM Structure:
  • Items: Raw materials and sub-assemblies required
  • Operations: Manufacturing steps and routing
  • Scrap: Expected scrap/waste
  • Costs: Material + operating costs
BOM Features:
  • Multi-level nested BOMs
  • BOM versioning
  • BOM comparison tool
  • Cost rollup calculation
  • Alternate BOM
  • Allow alternative items
Costing:
Total Cost = Material Cost + Operating Cost + Scrap Value
Aggregate production planning tool.Planning Methods:
  • Get items from sales orders
  • Get items from material requests
  • Manual item entry
Features:
  • Multi-item planning
  • Material requirement planning (MRP)
  • Warehouse planning
  • Sub-assembly planning
  • Auto-create work orders
  • Auto-create material requests
  • Download production plan
MRP Capabilities:
  • Check available stock
  • Calculate required quantities
  • Consider sub-assemblies
  • Generate purchase requests
  • Create manufacturing orders
Track operations on the shop floor.Purpose:
  • Record time spent on operations
  • Track worker allocation
  • Capture production quantities
  • Record downtime
  • Quality verification
Time Tracking:
  • Start/stop timestamps
  • Employee assignment
  • Actual vs planned time
  • Time-based costing
Job Card Types:
  • Normal operations
  • Sub-operation
  • Corrective operations

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Workstation Management

Define and manage production resources:

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Workstation Setup

Capacity Planning

  • Working hours
  • Number of shifts
  • Holiday calendar
  • Efficiency percentage

Cost Tracking

  • Hourly operating cost
  • Electricity cost
  • Maintenance cost
  • Labor cost

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Workstation Types

  • Workstation: Individual machine/station
  • Workstation Type: Group similar workstations
  • Cost tracking: Operating component-wise costs

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Production Planning

Plan production efficiently:
1

Create Production Plan

Add items to produce based on sales orders or forecasts
2

Get Material Requirements

System calculates required raw materials using BOM
3

Check Stock

Verify available stock vs required
4

Create Work Orders

Generate work orders for items and sub-assemblies
5

Create Material Requests

Generate purchase requests for shortage items

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Routing and Operations

Define manufacturing process steps:

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Operation Details

  • Operation name: Process step
  • Workstation: Where operation is performed
  • Operation time: Standard time required
  • Batch size: For time calculation
  • Operating cost: Cost per operation

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Routing Template

Create reusable routing: 
# Example routing
Operation 1: Cutting → Workstation: Cutting Machine → 10 mins
Operation 2: Drilling → Workstation: Drill Press → 15 mins
Operation 3: Assembly → Workstation: Assembly Line → 20 mins
Operation 4: Quality Check → Workstation: QC Station → 5 mins
Operations can have sub-operations for more detailed tracking and costing.

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Material Planning (MRP)

Material Requirements Planning:

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MRP Process

  1. Calculate gross requirement: Based on production plan
  2. Check available stock: Current inventory levels
  3. Consider safety stock: Minimum buffer required
  4. Calculate net requirement: Gross - available - ordered
  5. Generate material requests: For shortage items

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Multi-Level Planning

MRP automatically plans for sub-assemblies by exploding multi-level BOMs.

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Shop Floor Control

Manage production floor operations:

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Job Card Workflow

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Time Tracking

  • Planned time: From BOM operation
  • Actual time: Recorded via job card
  • Variance: Efficiency analysis
  • Downtime: Track non-productive time

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Production Costing

Accurate cost calculation:

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Cost Components

ComponentCalculation
Material CostSum of BOM item costs
Operating CostOperation time × hourly rate
Scrap ValueDeducted from total cost
Additional CostsCustom charges

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Valuation Method

  • Standard costing: Fixed BOM cost
  • Actual costing: Based on actual consumption

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Quality Management

Integrate quality checks:

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Inspection Points

  • In-process: During manufacturing
  • First article: Initial piece inspection
  • Final inspection: Before completion

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Quality Parameters

  • Define quality parameters in BOM
  • Record readings in job card
  • Accept/reject based on criteria
  • Block completion on rejection

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Manufacturing Reports

Overview of all work orders:
  • Status-wise summary
  • Pending quantity
  • Completion percentage
  • Delivery delays
Visual production insights:
  • Monthly production trends
  • Item-wise production
  • Workstation utilization
  • Efficiency analysis
Material availability for production:
  • BOM-wise stock check
  • Producible quantity
  • Shortage items
  • Sub-assembly availability
Operation tracking:
  • Operation-wise time
  • Worker productivity
  • Workstation efficiency
  • Pending operations
Track production losses:
  • Machine downtime
  • Downtime reasons
  • Impact on production
  • Workstation-wise analysis

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Capacity Planning

Optimize production capacity:

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Capacity Calculation

Daily Capacity = (Working Hours × 60) / Operation Time per Unit
Monthly Capacity = Daily Capacity × Working Days

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Capacity Planning Report

  • Available capacity: Based on workstation hours
  • Required capacity: From work orders
  • Capacity utilization: Used vs available
  • Overload detection: Capacity shortfalls
System warns if work orders exceed available workstation capacity.

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Subcontracting

Outsource manufacturing operations:

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Subcontracting Process

1

Purchase Order

Create PO with subcontracted items
2

Transfer Materials

Send raw materials to subcontractor
3

Receive Goods

Receive finished/processed items
4

Accounting

System handles cost allocation automatically
Cost Tracking:
  • Material cost (transferred items)
  • Service cost (subcontracting charges)
  • Total landed cost

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Alternative Items

Handle material substitutions: Features:
  • Define alternative items in BOM
  • Allow alternative during material transfer
  • Automatic suggestion on shortage
  • Cost variance tracking

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Scrap Management

Track production waste:

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Scrap Items

  • Define expected scrap in BOM
  • Record actual scrap in work order
  • Scrap valuation
  • Scrap item creation
  • Variance analysis

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Batch Production

Produce in batches: Features:
  • Define batch size in work order
  • Multiple batches in single work order
  • Batch-wise material consumption
  • Batch number auto-generation

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Manufacturing Settings

Configure module behavior:
SettingDescription
Default WIP WarehouseWork-in-progress stock location
Default FG WarehouseFinished goods warehouse
Backflush Raw MaterialsAuto-consume materials on completion
Material Transfer for ManufactureRequire explicit material transfer
Update BOM Cost AutomaticallyAuto-update on rate changes
Time Between OperationsDefault wait time (minutes)
Over Production AllowancePercentage allowed

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Make-to-Order vs Make-to-Stock

Make-to-Order

  • Produce based on sales orders
  • No finished goods stock
  • Custom products
  • Link to customer order

Make-to-Stock

  • Produce for inventory
  • Based on forecasts
  • Standard products
  • Faster delivery

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Production Workflow

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Standard Manufacturing Flow

The manufacturing module integrates with sales, purchasing, and stock to provide end-to-end production visibility and control.

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