Plan to produce

Turn approved demand and engineering into completed, accepted production.

9 stages · 6 approvals

Roles and responsibilities

Production Planner Production Manager Operator Shop Floor Supervisor Quality Inspector Finance Manager System 1 Plan MRPRuns 2 Release work WorkOrders 3 Perform operations ProductionEntries new stock at original issue cost · system 4 Accept work ProductionEntries 5 Release quality QualityInspections 6 Confirm completion ProductionCompletions 7 Approve variance ProductionCompletions 8 Post output ProductionCompletions 9 Close work WorkOrders
  1. Step 1Plan
    Manufacturing DemandProposed
    Planned Order NumberProductWarehouseKind
    Make
  2. Step 2Release work
    Shop Floor QueueReady
    Work OrderRouting OperationWork CenterAssigned To
  3. Step 5Release quality
    Inspection QueuePlanned
    Inspection NumberProductPlanLot
Red diamonds require approval.Rows show responsibility for each step.Dashed lines are records the system creates.

Process steps

Follow the process from start to finish. Select a step to see who acts and what changes.

Plan

Production Planner calculates remaining approved customer and production-forecast demand against eligible stock and supply. Review shortages, material units, calendar capacity and current engineering. Forecast consumption prevents duplicate demand; bounded supply-conversion claims survive reruns. Proposed loads are not released commitments.

Responsible
Production Planner
Records
MRPRunsDemandRequirementsPlannedOrdersPlannedOrderAllocationsWorkCenterLoads
Effect
Review remaining demand and feasible supply
Approval required

Release work

Independent Production Manager reviews the job, excluding its planner, preparer and material editors. Confirm feasible capacity, materials, technical and inspection versions and known rates. Release freezes that basis; a later master change cannot silently replace the instructions or value of work already underway.

Responsible
Production Manager
Records
WorkOrdersWorkOrderMaterialsWorkOrderOperationsApprovalDecisions
Effect
Independently authorize the frozen job

Perform operations

Operator issues traced inventory into exclusive WIP and records time, throughput, scrap and held work. Transfers preserve unit scope between operations. Rework recirculates those units without creating more output. Unused returns create new stock at original issue cost; consumption never repeats the inventory issue.

Responsible
Operator
Records
ProductionEntriesProductionFlowsStockEventsWorkOrderCostEntries
Effect
Record actual material and operation work
Approval required

Accept work

Independent Shop Floor Supervisor accepts actual operation and time evidence, excluding the producer, recorder and material editors. Reconcile inputs with good, scrap and unfinished work. Reject overlapping time or duplicated throughput. Accepted intermediate progress remains separate from finished inventory.

Responsible
Shop Floor Supervisor
Records
ProductionEntriesProductionFlowsApprovalDecisions
Effect
Independently accept operation and time evidence
Approval required

Release quality

Independent Quality Inspector decides the exact inspected population under the frozen plan. Resolve missing results and holds before dependent work continues. First article permits continuation only; required final release remains separate. Technical, customer or financial deviation effects need their additional owners' decisions.

Responsible
Quality Inspector · when required
Records
QualityInspectionsInspectionResultsQualityHoldsQualityDispositions
Effect
Independently release the eligible inspected population
Approval required

Confirm completion

Independent Shop Floor Supervisor confirms unused accepted terminal output and its actual identity, required quality release and attributable cost. Completion and scrap reservations reduce available WIP before another claim. Partial output leaves the remaining job quantities and costs visible.

Responsible
Shop Floor Supervisor
Records
ProductionCompletionsProductionEntriesWorkOrderCostEntries
Effect
Confirm eligible terminal output and cost
Approval required

Approve variance

Independent Finance Manager reviews allocated actual WIP against frozen standard output value before posting. A quantity decision cannot authorize an unexplained cost. Missing inputs block the completion; known zero cost still needs its reviewed basis.

Responsible
Finance Manager · when the difference is nonzero
Records
ProductionCompletionsStandardCostsApprovalDecisions
Effect
Decide the required immediate variance

Post output

Shop Floor Supervisor executes the fully approved completion. Finished stock receives standard value, allocated actual WIP is relieved, and the approved signed difference posts once. Repeated execution returns the same output effect. Closing later cannot charge that completion variance again.

Responsible
Shop Floor Supervisor
Records
ProductionCompletionsStockEventsStockLayersJournalEntries
Effect
Post output, WIP relief and variance once
Approval required

Close work

Independent Production Manager approves reconciled quantity and remaining obligations. Finance Manager additionally approves remaining cost residuals. Preserve performed work and corrections; unused claims, unfinished returns or unexplained WIP cannot disappear through closure.

Responsible
Production Manager
Records
WorkOrdersWorkOrderCostEntriesApprovalDecisions
Effect
Approve remaining production and cost closure
Approvals and exception handling

6 approvals required in this process

  • Release work Production Manager signs · perform operations waitsWorkOrders, WorkOrderMaterials, WorkOrderOperations, ApprovalDecisions
  • Accept work Shop Floor Supervisor signs · release quality waitsProductionEntries, ProductionFlows, ApprovalDecisions
  • Release quality Quality Inspector signs when required · confirm completion waitsQualityInspections, InspectionResults, QualityHolds, QualityDispositions
  • Confirm completion Shop Floor Supervisor signs · approve variance waitsProductionCompletions, ProductionEntries, WorkOrderCostEntries
  • Approve variance Finance Manager signs when the difference is nonzero · post output waitsProductionCompletions, StandardCosts, ApprovalDecisions
  • Close work Production Manager signs · closes the processWorkOrders, WorkOrderCostEntries, ApprovalDecisions
  • Approved technical changes preserve performed workExplicitly disposition the affected remainder.
  • Intermediate quantitiesRework passes never multiply finished output.
  • Material, labourOverhead retain distinct frozen bases; embedded burden is not charged again.
  • Corrections reconcile consumed completionsDownstream stock or shipment before reversal.

When the process needs attention

  • shortage Plan

    Review shortages, material units, calendar capacity and current engineering.

  • reject Accept work

    Reject overlapping time or duplicated throughput.

  • hold Release quality

    Resolve missing results and holds before dependent work continues.

  • variance Post output

    Closing later cannot charge that completion variance again.

Records and postings

StageRecordsEffect
1 Plan MRPRunsDemandRequirementsPlannedOrdersPlannedOrderAllocationsWorkCenterLoads Review remaining demand and feasible supply
2 Release work WorkOrdersWorkOrderMaterialsWorkOrderOperationsApprovalDecisions Independently authorize the frozen job
3 Perform operations ProductionEntriesProductionFlowsStockEventsWorkOrderCostEntries Record actual material and operation work
4 Accept work ProductionEntriesProductionFlowsApprovalDecisions Independently accept operation and time evidence
5 Release quality QualityInspectionsInspectionResultsQualityHoldsQualityDispositions Independently release the eligible inspected population
6 Confirm completion ProductionCompletionsProductionEntriesWorkOrderCostEntries Confirm eligible terminal output and cost
7 Approve variance ProductionCompletionsStandardCostsApprovalDecisions Decide the required immediate variance
8 Post output ProductionCompletionsStockEventsStockLayersJournalEntries Post output, WIP relief and variance once
9 Close work WorkOrdersWorkOrderCostEntriesApprovalDecisions Approve remaining production and cost closure
Data model →

Process reports

All reports

Material and Capacity Plan

Each MRPRuns snapshot's approved demand, forecast consumption, eligible supply, pegged shortage/proposals and WorkCenterLoads versus nonoverlapping calendar capacity; proposed, firm and completed quantities are separate, late/missing/held inputs remain exceptions rather than assumed available stock.

Production Cost and Variance

Unique terminal ProductionCompletions, accepted material/person-hour/machine-hour bases, actual WIP relief, frozen-standard output and separately posted immediate/scrap/remaining-close variances by work order; intermediate/rework throughput never increases finished units and no variance is counted again at close.

Quality and Traceability

Actual inspected population/sample/characteristic results, independent disposition, active hold and exact lot/serial input-to-output/dispatch/return lineage; first-pass yield uses unique eligible units at their first completed pass, rework separately disclosed, missing/incomplete inspections excluded from passed denominators and shown as pending.

Run by an agent

Agent support

An assistant cannot provide a required independent human approval, invent an inspection result or turn a plan into completed production. It cannot use a sales estimate as an accepted order, release held goods without the required quality decision, or treat an uncertain bank response as settlement. Material changes require the applicable renewed review.

Start now Download agent
# Example after configuration $ curl -fsSL https://www.erp.ai/skill.md | paste into your agent › plan to produce · plan on MRPRuns, DemandRequirements, PlannedOrders, PlannedOrderAllocations, WorkCenterLoads ✓ Production Planner calculates remaining approved customer and production-forecast demand against eligible stock and supply. › plan to produce · release work on WorkOrders, WorkOrderMaterials, WorkOrderOperations, ApprovalDecisions ⏸ approval · waiting for the production manager # 7 more stages after approval: perform operations, accept work, release quality, confirm completion, approve variance, post output, close work

Other processes

5 more
ERP•AI workspace

Start now Manufacturing ERP & CRM

Create your ERP.AI account and get started with Proto.

Start now Download agent

Customize Plan to produce. With Proto, your desktop AI agent.

Ask Proto to help you customize Manufacturing ERP & CRM.

Customize
Plan to produce. Ask: “Review “Release work”.” ProtoYour desktop AI agent
Download nowFree install · ~1 GB · AI usage extra