Batch production#
With the Single-Source Lot functionality, you can limit material usage for production components or split or reduce the quantities on production orders to ensure that all items delivered with an order were made from the same batch (lot) of raw materials.
As an additional benefit, you save time by not having to assign components to a lot manually.
Note
You need a separate license before you can use this feature.
Workflow#
Create a firm planned order#
To work with the feature, you first need to set up a firm planned production order in the manufacturing area.
- Go to the role center, and then choose Firm Planned Prod. Orders.
- On the ribbon, choose New.
- On the lines, specify the items that you want to manufacture in the Source No. fields, and then fill in the Qty. fields.
This retrieves the relevant components from the (active) item BOMs and the (active) routings, including the necessary operations.
Edit the components#
Afterward, select a production order line and run the Line > Components action on the ribbon to open the components specified for it. The production quantity will be shown in red to indicate that item tracking is required.
Find lots#
To create the right lot size while considering the expiration date of each lot, you can then use one of the following actions on the ribbon:
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| Find Single-Lot FEFO | Assigns tracking codes to all component lines where expiration dates are reached first, with line availability being checked as well. Order demand might not be fully met in this way, which means that the order will need to be split (see Change Quantities). |
| Find Single-Lot Qty. | Assigns item tracking codes to all component lines on which demand could not be covered entirely. The codes assigned to other lines will remain in place. Even then, not all items requested might be manufactured so that you need to lower the total quantity that will be produced with the order. |
You can run the Find Single-Lot Qty. action even after using the Find Single-Lot FEFO function without affecting lines where components can fully meet order demand.
However, the system will recalculate all lines on which lots and expiration dates have been given and adjust both if necessary.
As for orders that should always use only single-source batches of raw materials (if possible), run only Find Single-Lot Qty., not Find Single-Lot FEFO, to look for a single-lot component quantity in inventory while ignoring other lots that are about to expire and supply less than the quantity needed in production.
This way, the system assigns lots that meet the relevant quantity requirements, not those that simply expire first.
Adjust quantities#
Running one of the functions described in the previous section initiates checks for component availability and expiration dates, potentially revealing that certain components aren’t available in the numbers required on the production order.
The Find Single-Lot FEFO function assigns the lot with the nearest expiration date to components with corresponding tracking codes and determines how much of the batch could be produced with the stock available. You’ll see a message if this means that the order cannot be fulfilled in its entirety.
When you choose OK, the system shows the lot components that are short in supply. You can then run the following functions to adjust the quantity on the order:
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| Split Qty. | Splits the production order to ensure that a single raw material lot is used for the order by adjusting component quantities, component availability in percent, and the quantity of the production item. A second firm planned order is then created automatically and filled in with the missing quantity. |
| Adjust Qty. | Lowers the order quantity so that the number of components matches the inventory available, updating components, routings, and the relevant order lines in the process. To cover the remainder, you might then need to create another production order manually. |
On the production orders that are created by the Split Qty. function or that you create manually, you can again use the Find Single-Lot FEFO or Single-Lot Qty. action.
Here, too, the quantity resulting from the production order might not be available in full. You can then run the Adjust Qty. action another time, to reduce the quantity to what is still in inventory and reorder by using MRP data.
Change order status and release#
When you use the Change Status function (Ctrl+F9) on a firm planned production order, you’re asked if you want the items required for the order to be picked and a pick document to be printed immediately.
If the pick is created and registered without modification, the lots suggested for the components are then assigned to the order as lots for consumption. Afterward, the production order is released and can be processed in the usual way until you set its status to Finished.