Define your production workflow once. Every matching order gets the same steps as work orders.
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A manufacturing plan standardizes your production workflow. Define the sequence of steps once—cut, sew, finish, pack—and apply it automatically to every matching manufacturing order.
Some products always need the same build process. Others have a fixed order that can’t be changed on the fly. A manufacturing plan captures that workflow and reuses it, so your team starts every job with a proven workflow instead of a blank sheet.
How manufacturing plans work
A manufacturing plan is a list of steps with explicit dependencies. Fabric cutting must finish before sewing starts. Packing waits for finishing and quality check. The plan makes these relationships crystal clear, so there’s no ambiguity about what runs next.
Steps are built from reusable work order templates. Create “Final QC” once, and every plan that needs it can pick that same template.
Assigning plans to products
Plans connect to products through targets. Assign a plan to:
- A specific product variant (for unique builds)
- An entire product (for standard builds)
- A collection (for shared workflows)
- Or set it as your shop’s default plan (for a one-size-fits-all workflow)
A made-to-order sofa might have its own dedicated plan. Every furniture variant in a collection might share one. Or your entire workshop might run off a single default plan.
From plan to work orders
When a manufacturing order arrives, Orderkraft matches it to the most specific available plan and copies that plan’s steps into the order as work orders, preserving all dependencies between them.
The manufacturing order then picks up production where the plan left off—with nothing to set up by hand, and no risk of missing steps or wrong sequencing.
It’s the difference between starting every job with a blank sheet and starting every job with a proven plan. The plan gets refined over time; the individual orders just follow it.
Questions
- What is a manufacturing plan?
- A manufacturing plan is a reusable workflow that defines the sequence of steps required to build a product, including dependencies between steps. Think of it as a recipe card for your production floor.
- How does a manufacturing order get its plan?
- Automatically. Orderkraft matches each manufacturing order to the most specific plan based on this hierarchy: product variant first, then the product itself, then its collections, and finally the shop default plan.
- Can I reuse steps across different plans?
- Yes. Each step is built from a reusable work order template. Create "Final QC" once, and every plan that needs it can use the same template.
- What happens when I change a plan?
- New manufacturing orders get the updated version. Orders already in production keep the steps they were created with, so mid-week changes don't disrupt work already underway.
- What does the auto-complete setting do?
- When enabled, completing the last work order on a manufacturing order automatically completes the entire manufacturing order itself, removing an extra click from your floor's workflow.
Setting this up? Read the technical docs.