Work Orders
How to Access
"Production" → "Work Orders"
Table of Contents
- Section 1: About This Feature — Overview / How to Access / 4 Use Cases
- Section 2: Feature Guide — Filters / List Columns / Action Buttons
- Section 3: FAQ — 8 Questions + Notes
- Section 4: Related Features
Section 1: About This Feature
Quick Links: Overview | How to Access | Use Cases
1.1 Overview
Work orders manage product assembly, disassembly, or processing operations: combine multiple input materials into a bundled product, or break existing products down into other products. After a work order is confirmed, the system first reserves the required materials for it; once picking and processing are done, the materials are deducted and a finished-goods inbound order is created automatically, so the finished goods go through the normal receiving and putaway flow and your inventory records stay in sync with what is physically on the shelves.
Used together with "BOM" recipes, you can standardize common material combinations and populate materials and outputs with one click when creating a work order, reducing input errors.
1.2 How to Access
"Production" → "Work Orders"
1.3 Use Cases
Quick Links: Assemble Gift Sets | Confirm and Allocate | Track Progress | Retry Allocation After Restock
Scenario 1: Create a Work Order for Gift Set Assembly
Situation: Holiday season is approaching and you need to assemble multiple products into gift sets.
How to Do It:
- Click the "New" button
- Select the merchant (auto-filled when your system serves a single merchant)
- Fill in the "Name" (click "Suggest number" to generate one automatically) and the "Scheduled At" date
- Click "Apply BOM", choose a recipe and enter "Sets" to auto-populate materials and outputs; or manually add "Produce Output" and "Consume Materials" items
- Click "Save"
Result: The work order is created in "Draft" status and will be executed in the warehouse you are currently working in. You can proceed with confirmation and material picking.
Scenario 2: Confirm the Work Order So the System Reserves Materials
Situation: After creating a work order, it needs to be confirmed so the system reserves material inventory for it.
How to Do It:
- Find the work order with "Draft" status in the list
- Click it to open the detail page
- Verify the materials and output information
- Click the "Confirm" button
Result: If all materials are reserved successfully, the status changes to "Allocated" and you can create a picking list. If any material is insufficient, the status shows "Out of Stock".
📌 Why confirm first? Processing can only start when all materials are available. Confirming reserves the materials for this work order so the same stock cannot be taken by other orders or work orders at the same time. If even one material is missing, the whole work order is marked out of stock and nothing is reserved, leaving the stock available for other operations.
Scenario 3: Track Work Order Progress
Situation: You need to understand the processing progress of all work orders.
How to Do It:
- Use the "Status" filter
- Select the statuses to view ("Draft", "Out of Stock", "Allocated", "Processing", "Completed", "Canceled")
- Click a work order to view detailed progress and picking status
Result: Quickly grasp the quantity and progress of work orders at each stage.
Scenario 4: Retry Allocation After Restocking
Situation: Some materials were insufficient when the work order was confirmed, so its status shows "Out of Stock". You want to allocate again after the materials are restocked.
How to Do It:
- Use the "Status" filter to find work orders in "Out of Stock" status
- Confirm the missing materials have been received into the warehouse
- Open the detail page and click the "Retry Allocation" button
Result: Once all materials are reserved successfully, the status changes to "Allocated" and you can proceed to create a picking list.
Section 2: Feature Guide
Quick Links: Filters | List Columns | Action Buttons
2.1 Filters
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Status | Filter by work order status, multi-select supported |
| Merchant | Filter by specific merchant, multi-select supported (hidden when serving a single merchant) |
| Search | Search by work order number or name, multiple queries supported |
| Input SKU | Filter by material SKU, multiple queries supported |
| Output SKU | Filter by finished goods SKU, multiple queries supported |
2.2 List Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Status | Current status of the work order |
| Name | Work order name with the "Work Order Number" below it, click to view details |
| Merchant | Merchant the work order belongs to (hidden when serving a single merchant) |
| Scheduled At | Planned processing date |
| Created At | Work order creation time |
2.3 Action Buttons
Top right of the list page:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| New | Create a new work order |
The following buttons appear on the work order detail page depending on its current status:
| Button | When Shown | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Edit | Draft, Out of Stock | Modify the work order; editing an out-of-stock work order triggers allocation again automatically |
| Confirm | Draft | Reserve material inventory for this work order (allocation) |
| Retry Allocation | Out of Stock | Allocate again after materials are restocked |
| Create Picking List | Allocated | Create a picking list for material retrieval; the work order moves to "Processing" |
| Complete | Processing with picking done | Deduct material inventory and create a finished-goods inbound order |
| Cancel Work Order | Draft, Out of Stock, Allocated | Cancel the work order and release reserved materials |
Section 3: FAQ
3.1 FAQ
▪ What are the work order statuses?
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Draft | Newly created work order, editable, no inventory reserved yet |
| Out of Stock | Some materials were insufficient at confirmation; nothing is reserved. Retry allocation after restocking |
| Allocated | All materials reserved, ready to create a picking list |
| Processing | Picking list created; picking or processing in progress |
| Completed | Completed; materials deducted and the finished-goods inbound order created |
| Canceled | Work order canceled; previously reserved materials released |
▪ What is a BOM recipe?
A BOM defines the list of materials and quantity ratios needed to produce a finished product. When creating a work order, click "Apply BOM", choose a recipe and enter "Sets" — the system auto-populates materials and outputs, ensuring consistent material ratios for every run.
▪ Can a confirmed work order be canceled?
Yes. Work orders in "Draft", "Out of Stock", or "Allocated" status can be canceled from the detail page via "Cancel Work Order"; reserved materials are released back to inventory. If picking is in progress (a picker is working on it), the picking list must be handled in Picking Lists first. Completed work orders cannot be canceled.
▪ What if material inventory is insufficient?
When confirming a work order with insufficient material inventory:
- The work order status shows "Out of Stock" and no materials are reserved
- Wait for materials to be restocked, then click "Retry Allocation" on the detail page
- Or click "Edit" to adjust quantities to match available inventory
▪ Where are finished goods stored after completion?
On completion the system automatically creates a finished-goods inbound order, and the finished goods go through the normal inbound receiving and putaway flow onto shelves.
📌 Why go through the inbound flow? Finished goods use the same receiving and putaway process as regular incoming products, so every inventory movement has a complete record — essential when tracing batches or quantity discrepancies later.
▪ Why doesn't the "Complete" button appear on the detail page?
The "Complete" button only appears when the work order is in "Processing" status and all its picking lists are done. Make sure picking is finished first; for work orders without a picking list yet, click "Create Picking List" first.
▪ Can multiple work orders be processed simultaneously?
Yes. Material reservations for different work orders are independent. As long as inventory is sufficient, multiple work orders can be processed concurrently. Plan according to warehouse staff and space availability.
▪ How are materials retrieved for a work order?
After confirmation, click "Create Picking List" on the detail page, or go to the "Material Picking" page to select picking requests from multiple work orders and generate picking lists in one batch. After pickers retrieve the materials from shelves following the picking list, you can complete the work order.
3.2 Notes
⚠️ Important
- Allocated materials are reserved: After confirming a work order, reserved materials cannot be used by other orders or work orders; cancel work orders you are not going to process to release the stock
- Complete picking before finishing: All picking lists must be done before the work order can be completed
- Work orders cannot cross warehouses: A work order is created in the warehouse you are currently working in; material picking and finished-goods inbound all happen in the same warehouse
- Recommend using BOM: Create recipes for common combinations to reduce manual input errors and improve efficiency
Section 4: Related Features
| Feature | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| BOM | Define material composition for finished products (recipes) | Go |
| Material Picking | Consolidate work order picking requests and generate picking lists | Go |
| Inventory List | View material and finished goods inventory | Go |
| Product List | Manage material and finished goods product data | Go |