Using Work Orders and Assembly Builds for manufacturers

Generally, manufacturers build the finished goods they sell from components they purchase (that is, raw materials). They purchase the components from their suppliers or might make some of those themselves as well. They process those in various ways (which is work they need to track, since it represents an expense) and the result is the product they sell, plus some waste/scrap that’s left over (very frequently). Whether they’re making food products, craft items, or clothing, most manufacturers follow one of these two patterns.

Here are the two most common manufacturing work processes we track in NetSuite:

Figure 16.1 – Workflow 1 with Work Orders and Assembly Builds

Figure 16.2 – Workflow 2 with Work In Progress and Manufacturing Routing features in use

Businesses that manufacture products usually have extra requirements around that process. They want to track their steps and...