Work Order Process
A Work Order Process — also called a route or a template — is the ordered list of stages a product goes through to be made. Think of it as the method in a recipe: not the ingredients, but the steps, in the order you do them. You describe it once, and then reuse it for every batch you ever make of that product.
This page explains the idea. The step-by-step guides for building and viewing routes are linked at the bottom.
Availability depends on your plan and your role.
What a route actually is
A route lays out how a product is made, stage by stage. For a metal part it might read:
Cutting → Welding → Painting → Packing
Each stage in that list carries three pieces of information:
| For each stage | In plain words |
|---|---|
| Materials it uses | The parts that go in at this step, and how much of each |
| Expected wastage | How much you normally lose at this step — offcuts, spillage, trim |
| Resources it needs | The machine, tool, or skill that does the work |
Because you spell this out once, Bizconnekt knows exactly what each batch should consume and produce — you don't work it out every time.
The last stage produces the finished product
Read a route top to bottom and it builds the product up. Raw materials go in at the early stages, part-made goods pass from one stage to the next, and the final stage produces the finished product — the item you set out to make. That's the thing that lands back in your stock when the job is done.
Build it once, reuse it forever
The whole point of a route is reuse. You describe how a product is made a single time, and from then on every batch simply follows that route. Nothing to re-plan, nothing to re-type.
What if a product can be made more than one way? Some products have a couple of routes — a fast line and a careful line, say, or a summer recipe and a winter one. Bizconnekt handles both cases simply:
- One route — it's used automatically. You never have to choose.
- Several routes — you pick which one to follow at the moment you raise the Work Order for that batch.
Route versus parts list — don't mix them up
It's worth repeating the one distinction that trips people up. A route is not the parts list.
- The Bill of Materials is what the product is made of — the shopping list.
- The Work Order Process (route) is how it's made — the method, stage by stage.
You need both to make something. The fuller explanation lives in BOM vs WO Process.
Related guides
- Add a Work Order Process — build a route stage by stage
- View Work Order Processes — find, open and edit your routes
- Work Order — make a batch that follows a route
- BOM vs WO Process — parts list versus production route
Need help? Contact support at support@bizconnekt.com