Is a production request a production order?
No. A request communicates order demand to planning. A production order may be created after capacity, materials and priorities are reviewed under the company’s approval process.
ERP Guides
Order and production planning guide
How to Convert Orders into Production Requests
Moving from order to production request turns quantities and due dates in customer orders into clear demand for planning. Orders, products and dates remain traceable as suitable work is grouped; planners then assess capacity and material availability before deciding production.
Practical workflow
Pass order demand to planning in six steps
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01
Select orders for planning
Identify approved orders that require production. Separate draft, pending, cancelled or stock-fulfilled lines; define which order statuses can create a production request.
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02
Validate order lines
Check product/model, variant, quantity, unit, due date and any customer priority. Complete missing product or date information before passing demand to production planning.
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03
Set the grouping rule for production requests
Decide whether to group by product/model, production area, due-date window or similar manufacturing conditions. Retain traceability to each customer order and delivery line when grouping.
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04
Set requested quantity and date
Set the total quantity required for production and the need date for planning. If partial production or split delivery is expected, separate quantities and dates into distinct request lines.
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05
Send demand for capacity and material review
A production request is an input to planning, not an approved production order by itself. Planning decides after reviewing capacity, product data, inventory and material supply.
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06
Keep status and order links current
Track whether a request is pending, planned, partially fulfilled or cancelled. When planned quantity or dates change, check the impact on source orders and customer delivery plans.
Example workflow
Example: turning two orders into a planning request
Suppose two approved orders for the same model require 30 and 45 units in the same week. Planning can assess a combined 75-unit request while retaining which 30 and 45 units belong to each customer and their delivery dates. If capacity or material constraints require different dates, split the request and keep its links to the orders.
- 1Approved order
- 2Validated demand lines
- 3Grouped production request
- 4Capacity and material review
Checkpoints
Check before submitting the request
- Is the order in a status eligible for production?
- Are product, variant and unit correct?
- Are quantity and need/delivery dates clear?
- If grouped, are source customer order links preserved?
- Are stock-fulfilled lines separated from production demand?
- Are planning requests distinguished from production orders?
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Can separate customer orders be combined into one production request?
They can be grouped when model and production conditions are compatible. Retain links to order, customer, variant and delivery quantity; separate lines with different dates or specifications when needed.
Should in-stock products be included in a production request?
Check available and reserved stock first. Separate stock-fulfilled quantities and pass only the remaining production requirement to planning.
How should a changed order due date be handled?
After approval, update the request date and customer order. Reassess capacity, material availability and downstream production steps.