Release to ship
Move released work through production, reviewed time and quality checks into a traceable customer shipment.
9 stages · 3 approvals
Roles and responsibilities
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Step 1Schedule
Work CenterJobOperation NumberDescription
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Step 2Run
Ticket NumberEmployeeWork CenterJob
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Step 4Report
Ticket NumberEmployeeWork CenterJob
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Step 6Production checks
Inspection NumberInspection TypeJobJob OperationIn Process
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Step 7Outside operations
Work CenterJobOperation NumberDescription
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Step 8Final inspection
Inspection NumberInspection TypeJobJob OperationIn Process
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Step 9Ship and invoice
Invoice NumberCustomerInvoice TypeInvoice DateDeposit
Process steps
Follow the process from start to finish. Select a step to see who acts and what changes.
Schedule
Production Manager confirms eligible work across the shop against resource calendars and remaining dependencies. Shop Supervisor can confirm and reorder their own work-centre queues. Proposed displacement is reviewed before changing confirmed slots; a shortage or hold still blocks the affected operation.
Run
Operator starts assigned released work at the current snapshot after checking input and inspection permission. A first-article setup is limited to its defined sample until approved. Time retains clock instants, labour shares and machine occupancy; indirect work has no job.
Issue material
Operator issues against their eligible job claim; Buyer or Production Manager handles authorized stock-room work. The issue consumes the exact claim and physical base quantity together, retaining the heat, customer ownership and original cost. A different heat requires a valid replacement claim.
Report
Operator closes and submits the ticket with good and scrap quantities against its actual production lot. Those quantities remain provisional. Clock, allocation and input errors require correction before posting.
Approval required
Approve tickets
Shop Supervisor within their centre, or Production Manager across the shop, independently reviews the worker's submitted version. Material editors cannot sign their own correction. Approval posts bounded production and labour, machine and burden effects once. Indirect time creates no job cost.
Approval required
Production checks
Quality Inspector reviews the defined first-article or in-process scope. First-article approval permits continuation of that setup and revision; it does not complete the batch. An in-process decision releases only its eligible quantity, with rejected pieces held for disposition.
Outside operations
Buyer records exact lots dispatched to a processor and received against that dispatch. Outside review releases only accepted returns. Outstanding and rejected quantities remain visible, and the operation completes only when all assigned work is resolved.
Approval required
Final inspection
Quality Inspector, independent of the production being accepted, checks disjoint completed lots at the current revision. Accepted and rejected quantities reconcile to the presented lot. Reinspection references its earlier decision and cannot add the same accepted pieces twice.
Ship and invoice
Office Manager claims eligible accepted lots within remaining customer demand, freezes the cert pack and confirms actual dispatch. Partial shipments leave the remaining scope open. Billing follows the accepted shipment or milestone/final route; final tax and unbilled amount checks precede invoice issue.
Approvals and exception handling
3 approvals required in this process
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Approve tickets
Shop Supervisor or Production Manager signs · production checks waits
ApprovalDecisions, TimeAllocations, ProductionEvents, JobCostEntries -
Production checks
Quality Inspector signs when required · outside operations waits
Inspections, ApprovalDecisions, ProductionLots -
Final inspection
Quality Inspector signs · ship and invoice waits
Inspections, ProductionLots, ProductionEvents, NonConformances - A queue entry never overrides materialPredecessor, hold or quality requirements.
- Labour allocation cannot exceed one employee's intervalAnd a machine cannot be charged twice for the same occupied time.
- Own-ticket and own-production final approvals remain prohibited even under a small-shop owner exception.
- Posted corrections must reconcile downstream movementShipment; editing status cannot recreate consumed pieces.
- Scrap attribution adds no second material withdrawal or duplicate job expense.
When the process needs attention
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shortage
Schedule
Proposed displacement is reviewed before changing confirmed slots; a shortage or hold still blocks the affected operation.
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reject
Production checks
An in-process decision releases only its eligible quantity, with rejected pieces held for disposition.
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reject
Outside operations
Outstanding and rejected quantities remain visible, and the operation completes only when all assigned work is resolved.
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reject
Final inspection
Accepted and rejected quantities reconcile to the presented lot.
Records and postings
| Stage | Records | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Schedule | ScheduleSlotsWorkResourcesJobOperations | Confirm the feasible queue |
| 2 Run | TimeTicketsTimeAllocationsJobSnapshots | Record authorized work intervals |
| 3 Issue material | MaterialIssuesMaterialReservationsMaterialMovements | Consume stock and record material cost |
| 4 Report | TimeTicketsProductionLots | Submit time and production evidence |
| 5 Approve tickets | ApprovalDecisionsTimeAllocationsProductionEventsJobCostEntries | Post approved work once |
| 6 Production checks | InspectionsApprovalDecisionsProductionLots | Release the specified quality checkpoint |
| 7 Outside operations | OutsideDispatchesReceiptsJobOperations | Track external custody and accepted returns |
| 8 Final inspection | InspectionsProductionLotsProductionEventsNonConformances | Release unique accepted pieces |
| 9 Ship and invoice | ShipmentAllocationsShipmentsInvoiceAllocationsInvoices | Dispatch and bill eligible scope |
Process reports
All reportsOutside Processing Status
Each posted OutsideDispatches lot: sent, physically returned, accepted/rejected, still-outside and unresolved quantity, original/current promised instant and elapsed days. Partial returns do not mark the whole operation complete; LOT cost/billing basis and unknown promise remain explicit.
Work Centre Load
Confirmed ScheduleSlots remaining occupied machine/work hours by named resource and week divided by actual available calendar hours, rolled up without multiplying machine count twice. Zero capacity shows unschedulable work, proposed slots shown separately; outside supplier spans are lead time, not internal capacity.
Labour Efficiency
Net approved allocated labour Setup/Run hours against the original/current estimated hours for comparable quantities; MachineHours and Rework are separate. Indirect time by code is included separately, never posted to a job. Preserve worker/work-centre and rate basis; zero estimate yields unavailable ratio, and overlapping tickets cannot create extra employee hours.
Scrap and Rework
Unique first-pass input/good/scrap physical quantities from ProductionEvents by cause, job and work centre, with rejected/reworked units shown separately. Scrap rate uses scrapped first-pass units divided by original first-pass input; reinspections/rework cycles are not new input. Cost is ScrapCostAllocations plus genuinely incremental rework expense, with source overlaps eliminated, not an extra ledger charge.
Receivables Ageing
Positive finalized issued invoice Balance as of a stated date in current, 1–30, 31–60, 61–90 and over-90 days past due. CreditMemo availability and retained unapplied cash appear separately by customer; Draft/Void invoices, unconfirmed refunds and repeated events do not change balances. Prior deposit/progress billing remains a receivable until settled, even after offset on the final bill.
Run by an agent
Agent support
An agent cannot turn preparation into a required human approval. Margin exceptions, controlled purchases, production release, ticket approval, quality decisions and job close follow their configured authority. Automatic policy paths must be explicitly defined; an agent role does not create a bypass. Access to a record does not permit changing a released traveler, spending reserved stock or rewriting a posted amount.
# Example after configuration
$ curl -fsSL https://www.erp.ai/skill.md | paste into your agent
› release to ship · schedule on ScheduleSlots, WorkResources, JobOperations
✓ Production Manager confirms eligible work across the shop against resource calendars and remaining dependencies.
› release to ship · run on TimeTickets, TimeAllocations, JobSnapshots
✓ Operator starts assigned released work at the current snapshot after checking input and inspection permission.
› release to ship · issue material on MaterialIssues, MaterialReservations, MaterialMovements
✓ Operator issues against their eligible job claim; Buyer or Production Manager handles authorized stock-room work.
› release to ship · report on TimeTickets, ProductionLots
✓ Operator closes and submits the ticket with good and scrap quantities against its actual production lot.
› release to ship · approve tickets on ApprovalDecisions, TimeAllocations, ProductionEvents, JobCostEntries
⏸ approval · waiting for the shop supervisor or production manager
# 4 more stages after approval: production checks, outside operations, final inspection, ship and invoice
Other processes
5 moreQuote to job
Turn the customer RFQ into a reviewed offer and a released job with the right drawing, traveler and material plan.
7 stages · 2 approvals
Outside processing
Follow each lot through its supplier order, outbound custody, partial return and quality acceptance.
7 stages · 2 approvals
Change orders
Review changes against the work already done, authorize their cost and customer impact, and release a clear revised traveler.
6 stages · 1 approval
Non-conformance and rework
Contain affected pieces, authorize the recovery plan and keep quality, quantity and cost evidence connected.
7 stages · 3 approvals
Job close
Reconcile completed work and remaining obligations, authorize the final cost review and preserve a useful benchmark for repeat quotes.
6 stages · 2 approvals