How a production order works
Cancelling an order returns the issued materials. Raw materials carry mandatory G/L mapping, so each cost lands in the right account. Items such as machine time or overheads can be added to a BOM as service lines, which become a cost of the batch and not a stock item.
| Step | What you do | In the books |
|---|---|---|
| Bill of materials | Set what one batch makes, its materials and its labour cost. | Nothing yet |
| Production order | Choose the BOM and the quantity, or create it from the plan. | Nothing yet |
| Issue materials | Move materials to production. | Inventory down, work in progress up |
| Quality | Record an in-process or final inspection, with what was checked and rejected. | Nothing |
| Complete | Finished goods come into stock. | Labour to work in progress, then finished goods at the cost produced |
Planning what to make and buy
Demand comes from open sales orders and reorder levels. Supply comes from stock on hand, production not yet completed and purchase orders not yet received. Bills of materials are exploded level by level, so a part you make yourself is planned to be made, and its own materials are planned to be bought.
The Make list shows what to produce, in whole batches, by the date needed and why. The Buy list shows the materials to buy. Tick what you want, and Navigate creates production orders or raises a requisition. Orders created from the plan carry their due date and the sales order they serve.
Work centres
Add each machine, line or team with its hours a day and working days, then add operations to a BOM with set-up hours and hours per batch. Planning shows each work centre's load for the next 14 days against its hours, with overloaded days in red. You decide what to move.
Quality
Inspections record the stage, the result (passed, passed with conditions or failed), how many were checked and rejected, and a note. You can require a passed final inspection before an order can be completed.
Disassembly
Disassembly is production in reverse, for taking finished goods apart. It can be full or partial, and it follows the BOM. In one step the finished goods leave stock, the components come in costed, and the journal posts.
The cost is shared over the components by cost share. In a partial disassembly, what is not recovered is written off to stock adjustments. A reversal needs the approve right and a reason, and it is not possible once the components have been used or sold.
Costs and reports
The finished good's cost is its materials plus labour, and stock then follows your costing method: weighted average, FIFO or standard. Reports show production cost by product, month and BOM, production orders with unit cost and labour share, the production plan and work-centre load.
Who does what
Production staff work with BOMs and orders. The approve right is for reversing a posted disassembly, and approval templates can hold other documents. Production starts from the Operations plan, whose final price depends on the modules in scope.
Where Navigate may not fit
- No automatic finite-capacity scheduling. Planning shows overloads, and you move the work yourself.
- Serialised items cannot be on a bill of materials.
- Labour cost is entered for production. It is not taken from payroll or timesheets.
- No shop-floor terminals or machine data capture.
- The work-centre load view looks 14 days ahead.
- Production is not on plans below Operations.
Frequently asked questions
Does Navigate have MRP?
Yes, in the sense of material requirements planning: it works out what to make and buy from demand, stock, work in progress and purchase orders. It does not schedule machines automatically.
Can it track serial numbers through production?
No. Serialised items cannot go on a bill of materials, so serials do not apply in production. Batches do.
How is labour costed?
A BOM carries a labour cost, which goes into work in progress at completion. It is not taken automatically from payroll or timesheets.
Can we buy materials directly from the plan?
Yes. Tick the materials and raise a requisition, which then follows the normal purchase approval. One supplier at a time is the simplest way.