Modes of Production

Standard Transformation is the preferred production model used if the ERP configuration supports this approach. In this model, each production order is associated with a single production line. Manufacturing a finished material requires multiple production orders, with each order performing a transformation step. During each transformation step:

• Input materials are consumed
• A new material is created
• The output material has a different material number from the input materials

The output of a production line can be semi-finished or finished material. Each output material is assigned to a unique material number. Semi-finished materials are defined and managed in ERP, however, if the ERP does not require visibility of these semi-finished materials, then these can be defined in MES.

If the output is a semi-finished material, then that inventory can later be consumed into a future production order.

The Work in Progress (WIP) model is designed for manufacturing processes that span multiple production lines when the ERP system does not recognize the semi-finished materials created between production stages.

In this model:

• A production order must contain at least one production run for each production line.
• Inventory created during the first production run is assigned the material number of the final production order.
• Although inventory is created early in the process, additional production runs and operations must be completed before the material becomes the finished product.

As a result, inventory can be tracked throughout production even though the manufacturing process is not yet complete.

The WIP model provides:

• Simplified ERP and MES master data management.
• Flexibility when intermediate materials are not defined in the ERP system.

End-to-end inventory traceability across all production stages.