How to manually create production orders in Business Central?
In this video, I’m will show how to create a production order.
This is what happens in the video
Creating a production order in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can be done in two ways: manually or automatically from the planning worksheet after running an MRP calculation. Both methods produce the same result, a production order with calculated component lines and routing lines that you can release for production.
When you create a production order from the planning worksheet, you accept and carry out the action messages, and Business Central creates a firm planned production order and removes the line from the worksheet. When you create one manually, you click New, select the source type Item, enter the item number and quantity, and use Refresh to calculate the lines.
Before you can post on a production order, you must change its status to Released. You typically print the job card and material acquisition documents from the released production order.
Two ways to create a production order
A production order can be created in two different ways: either manually, or from the planning worksheet after calculating an MRP. Both approaches end up giving you the same production order with the same calculated lines, so it comes down to which workflow suits your situation.
Creating a production order from the MRP plan
If you go into the planning worksheet and assume that someone has already run the plan, you will see the items that need processing. For a production item, the plan shows it as a production item out on the line.
From here you click Accept Action Messages and then Carry Out Action Messages. Make sure the production order is set to the right action, in this case to create a firm planned production order. This creates the production order and removes the line from the planning worksheet.
You can now find the new order in the firm planned production order list. It was created automatically from the planning worksheet by the calculation algorithm.
Working with components and routing on the production order
On a firm planned production order, you can open the line and see the components. These are the material requirements necessary for the order, the items you have to go and pick from inventory. You can change them manually if you want and select other items.
On the same line you can also see the routing, if a routing is defined for the item. The routing is the set of processes you need to perform to make the order, and you can change the routing here as well.
Printing the job card and material acquisition documents
From the Process tab you can print the job card and the material acquisition document. These correspond to the same two tables on the order.
The material acquisition document is the list of components you need to pick from inventory. This is typically a document for the warehouse employee.
The job card is a document for the production people, with one page for each operation. If you have five different operations, you get five pages, one for each step in the process.
Releasing the production order before posting
Before you can post on a production order, you need to release it first. A production order has different statuses, and you change the status to Released. This transfers the firm planned production order to a new released production order, ready to go into production.
Creating a production order manually
You can also create the production order manually by clicking New, either from the firm planned production order list or the released production order list. You choose the source type Item, select the item number you are going to produce, and enter the quantity.
From the Process tab you select Refresh, which calculates the production order lines. This calculates the routing line and the component line, exactly the same as on the automatically calculated production order. From here you can change the status and release the order so it is ready to go into production.
Finding and printing your released production orders
Once you have created your orders, whether manually or from the worksheet, you can enter the released production order list and see them there. Normally you print the documents from the released production order, which is the most common point to do it.
Q&A
What are the two ways to create a production order in Business Central?
You can create a production order manually by clicking New, or automatically from the planning worksheet after running an MRP calculation. Both methods produce the same result.
How do you create a production order from the planning worksheet?
In the planning worksheet, click Accept Action Messages and then Carry Out Action Messages. Make sure the production order is set to create a firm planned production order. This creates the order and removes the line from the worksheet.
What is the difference between the material acquisition document and the job card?
The material acquisition document lists the components you need to pick from inventory and is typically used by warehouse employees. The job card is for the production people and contains one page for each operation in the routing.
What do you need to do before posting on a production order?
You need to release it first by changing its status to Released. This transfers the firm planned production order to a released production order, which is ready to go into production.
How do you create a production order manually?
Click New from either the firm planned or released production order list, choose the source type Item, select the item number and quantity, then use Refresh from the Process tab to calculate the production order lines.
What is a routing on a production order?
A routing is the set of processes you need to perform to make the order. It is shown on the production order line if a routing is defined for the item, and you can change it there.