Work order and operation
Workshop, product/work order, external operation, planned quantity, owner and current status. Keep visible which production requirement each subcontracted job serves.
ERP Guides
External production coordination guide
How to Track Subcontracted Work
Subcontracting tracking makes more than dispatch and delivery visible: it covers workshop confirmation, work status, schedule risk and acceptance. This guide focuses on job status and date coordination; quantity reconciliation for materials sent and semi-finished goods returned should be handled through separate transaction records.
Practical workflow
Track subcontracted work in six steps
-
01
Identify the workshop and operation owners
Record the workshop and external operation, the internal coordinator and workshop contact. Verify the workshop is suitable for the product and work type.
-
02
Confirm the work order and delivery expectation
Confirm the work order, quantity, work description, acceptance criteria and target date with both sides. Set separate quantities and dates for planned partial deliveries.
-
03
Standardise status stages
Define statuses such as awaiting workshop confirmation, queued, in progress, ready for inspection, partial delivery and complete. Clarify what each status means and who updates it.
-
04
Review schedule risk regularly
Compare the workshop’s confirmed date with the plan. If delay is likely, review the revised estimate, downstream operations and customer delivery plan with production coordination.
-
05
Complete delivery and quality approval
Record receipt and completion of the required inspection. If quality review, rework or partial acceptance remains, do not show the job as fully closed; record the outstanding action and owner.
-
06
Review job history and workshop performance
Review planned and actual dates, delay reasons and recurring issues periodically. Compare results in context of product, operation and period; avoid generalising from a single delay.
Tracking scope
Review the full subcontracted job in one view
A subcontracted work order is more than “at the workshop” or “complete.” Link job status, capacity, quantities held outside, quality and commercial closeout to their relevant records so the plan and deviations can be managed.
Capacity and due dates
Capacity confirmed by the workshop for the period, its open jobs and planned/revised delivery dates. Assess downstream operation and customer-delivery impact when dates change.
Work and materials held at the workshop
Track quantities dispatched, in process, awaiting return or accepted in relation to their source transactions. This summary does not replace inventory movements; it gives a quick view of what is currently at the workshop.
Quality and scrap
Separate work awaiting inspection, accepted, rejected or requiring rework. Link scrap quantity and cause to approved production/quality records; keep completion status consistent with the quality decision.
Service and settlement review
Track which job and accepted quantity support the subcontracting service, along with applicable rate terms and approval status. Reconcile with work-order and delivery records before invoice or settlement closeout.
Change and communication history
Record dates and owners for due-date confirmations, quantity changes, quality decisions and actions. This helps workshop and internal teams work from the same current information.
Performance view
Assess workshop performance using more than one measure
Read periodic indicators in the context of work type and workshop capacity. They support supplier discussions and future work allocation, but should not be used as an automatic decision rule on their own.
On-time performance
Compare confirmed and actual delivery dates and track delay causes by period.
Delivery quantity and acceptance
Separate planned, received and quality-accepted quantities to identify shortages or partial deliveries.
Scrap and rework
Review scrap and rework by operation, product and cause; keep recording definitions consistent across workshops.
Example workflow
Early-warning workflow for schedule risk
When a workshop reports that work will miss its target date, the owner records the revised estimate and reason. Planning reviews the effect on downstream operations and customer delivery, then considers alternative capacity or sequencing if needed. Workshop confirmation and internal plan changes should be traceable on the same job record.
- 1Workshop confirmation
- 2Job status update
- 3Schedule risk review
- 4Delivery and acceptance
Checkpoints
Check before closing the subcontracted job
- Are workshop and internal owners identified?
- Are target and interim delivery dates confirmed?
- Who owns status updates?
- Does a delay update include revised date and reason?
- Is any work pending quality review or rework?
- Are receipt approval and outstanding actions recorded?
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Which statuses should subcontracting tracking include?
Depending on the workflow, statuses can include workshop confirmation, queued, in progress, partial delivery, quality review and completion. Each status needs an owner.
How should a subcontracting delay be handled?
Confirm the revised estimate and reason, then assess downstream operations, capacity and customer due dates. Record decisions and notifications on the job.
How does subcontracting tracking differ from capacity planning?
Capacity planning assesses workshop load and timing before assigning work. Tracking follows confirmation, progress, dates and delivery after assignment.
How are material and semi-finished quantities tracked?
Link dispatch, return, acceptance, scrap and open balances to the work order as separate quantity transactions. Job-status tracking does not replace these inventory movements.