How do I use Manufacturing Orders (MO)?

Manufacturing Orders (MOs) let you track what you’re making and manage your inventory as you produce finished goods. They work alongside your Bill of Materials (BOM), the recipe that defines which components are needed to build a product.

Before creating a Manufacturing Order, ensure you’ve set up a BOM in Ordoro. See our guide on how to create a BOM.

Topics

  1. Creating a Manufacturing Order
  2. Creating Manufacturing Orders via Data Import
  3. Sharing Manufacturing Orders
  4. Completing a Manufacturing Order

Creating a Manufacturing Order

Once your BOM is ready, you can start building products using a Manufacturing Order.

1. You can initiate a new MO from either location:

  • Manufacturing tab: Click Initiate an MFG Order.

    • Product Detail Page: Click Initiate a MFG Order for your BOM SKU.

    2. In the popup modal, update the fields below:

    • MFG Order ID: This is pre-filled, but you can change it.
    • Assigned Warehouse: This determines where inventory changes will happen. Component quantities are reduced when the MO is completed, and finished goods increase in this warehouse.
    • Notes for Manufacturer: These will appear on the printable MO.
    • Internal Notes: These are only visible in Ordoro.

      3. Click Add a Finished SKU, then search and select your BOM product.

      • Under Req Qty, enter how many units you want to create. Ordoro will calculate how many can be made based on your currently available component inventory.

      4. Click Create and View MFG Order to finalize it.

      5. The MO will now be listed with a status of Initiated.

        6. After creation, you’ll see the Mfg ORD quantity reflected on the Product List and Product Detail pages.

          Here is a sample of a Manufacturing Order (MO). Click to expand the image.

          Creating Manufacturing Orders via Data Import

          You can also create a single MO or multiple MOs simultaneously, using Ordoro’s Data Import feature. For further information and instructions on Data Import, refer to this help article.

          1. Click in the top right on Your Company Name > Data Import.
          2. From the “Type of data you want to import” dropdown, select “Create MFG Order”.
          3. Click below the cutout lines on”Download an example file”.
            • This will show what columns are available and those that are required (*Req):
              • Reference ID *Req
              • Warehouse *Req
              • Internal Notes
              • Manufacturer Notes
              • Line SKU *Req
              • Line Requested Quantity *Req
              • Line Internal Notes
              • Line Manufacturer Notes
          1. Fill out the cells with the appropriate data.

          1. Save as a .csv file and drag and drop into Ordoro.
          2. Map the columns and then click on “Verify Columns”.

          1. On the next page, click “Save All” and remain on the page until the process is complete.
          2. Click the “Manufacturing” tab in the green bar. The MO(s) will be created and in the status of Initiated.

          Sharing Manufacturing Orders

          You’ve got a few options for getting the MO to your manufacturing team:

          1. Give team access to Ordoro so they can view Manufacturing Orders directly.
          2. Export to spreadsheet: See how to export.
          3. Print or download the MO.
            • Go to the MO Details page.
            • Click Preview/Print.

          • This opens the MO in a new tab so you can print or save it as a PDF.

          Completing a Manufacturing Order

          Once production is done, it’s time to update the MO so inventory adjusts correctly.

          1. Go to the Manufacturing tab and select the order you want to complete.
          2. On the MO Details page, under the Finished column, click the quantity and enter how many were completed.

          1. To Save or Mark as Finished, you have two options:
            • Save: Updates inventory but leaves the MO open.
              • Best if you’re only partially finished.
            • Mark as Finished: Updates inventory and sets the MO status to Finished.
              • Use this once all items have been produced

          What happens in inventory?

          Ordoro adjusts inventory automatically based on your BOM and finished quantity. Here’s an example:

          Before the MO update:

          • Component 1: 100 units
          • Component 2: 100 units
          • Finished Good: 0 units

          After producing 10 Finished Goods (BOM requires 4 of Component 1 and 2 of Component 2):

          • Component 1: 60 units (reduced by 4×10 = 40)
          • Component 2: 80 units (reduced by 2×10 = 20)
          • Finished Good: 10 units (added based on MO update)