Demand and Supply

Customer orders carry the customer, order date, required date and status. Their lines identify the ordered item, quantity and unit price. Production Planner links work orders to that demand so release starts from an approved customer commitment and the team can understand why a particular product is being made.

Supplier orders provide a separate purchasing context. They carry the supplier, order and due dates, and purchasing status. Each supplier line records the item, ordered quantity, received quantity and unit cost. These records let the planner discuss incoming material with the people arranging supply and compare receipt progress with the needs of released work.

• Customer commitment. Review the customer and order lines before approving demand. The required date gives Production Planner a basis for discussing the production window and any competing priority.
• Supplier follow-up. Use supplier due dates with ordered and received line quantities to identify what still needs attention. Review the actual item and quantity before treating a supplier order as ready for production.
• Shared item language. Keep customers and suppliers clearly identified, and use the same item records across demand, purchasing and floor work. That makes a conversation about a shortage refer to the correct material or product.

Agree who acts as Manager for order approval and who maintains customer and supplier details. Decide when an order can move from Draft to Approved and how a changed customer commitment reaches Production Planner. The production release requires an approved customer order, so this upstream decision must be owned before operators depend on the schedule.

For purchasing, agree how the team records partial receipts and who confirms the received quantity on each line. If a purchasing or warehouse system owns the physical receipt, set up its connection and reconcile the resulting stock with the floor’s balances. Decide how unit costs and prices are maintained without treating them as a substitute for the accounting system’s invoice and payment records.

Prepare a customer order for 120 brackets with a required date later in the week. Manager reviews the customer and item quantity before approving it. Production Planner creates the linked work order and checks that the chosen production window supports the commitment. Rehearse an unapproved customer order as well so the planner sees why that work cannot be released yet.

Then prepare a supplier order for the required material with a line quantity of 200 and a received quantity of 80. Use the remaining difference to discuss the outstanding delivery with the supplier owner. Compare the material’s actual on-hand and reserved stock before deciding whether the bracket job can run. Finish by tracing the customer order to the production job and the material discussion to its supplier line; neither handoff should depend on matching free-text descriptions by eye.

• Customer Approval Inbox — Draft customer commitments waiting for the agreed approval decision.
• Supply Follow-up — Approved and Sent supplier orders that still need purchasing attention.
• Active Items — The item names and units used across demand, supply and production.

Continue with planning and release and review system connections.