Project Plan: Manufacturing & Work Order Optimization

Quinn Johns edited this page 1 hour ago · 1 revision
1. Executive Summary
The goal of this project is to streamline the manufacturing workflow within NetSuite/SuiteX, moving from a 15+ click process to a simplified ~5 click dashboard. The project will prioritize the creation of sellable product (MVP) in Q2, while addressing complex backend record relationships and inventory detail requirements.

2. Technical Architecture & Constraints
Before development begins, the engineering team must align on the following NetSuite structural realities:

Record Structure: Work Orders depend on Assembly → Bill of Materials → BOM Revision (Component List).

Scripting Constraint: The Assembly field functions as a transaction line item, despite appearing as a header field in the explorer. Scripts writing to the header level will fail.

Async Processing: Manufacturing Operation Tasks are background processes. A 30-second delay/polling mechanism is required after saving a Work Order before Operations can be accessed via script.

Inventory Detail: Crucial decision point. We must decide whether to recreate the Inventory Detail object in SuiteDX or leverage NetSuite REST API calls to handle Serial/Lot/Bin data.

3. Phased Implementation Plan
Phase 1: MVP (Target: Q2 Delivery)
Focus: Enabling the Production team to create Work Orders and record Completions for sellable goods.

Work Order Creation:

Implement logic to snapshot Component Lists and Routing Steps upon creation.

Field Mapping: Ensure Subsidiary, Assembly (Line level), Location, and Routing are correctly mapped.

Scheduling: Implement logic for Production Start Date (Forward Scheduling) or End Date (Backward Scheduling).

Work Order Completion:

Build UI for recording Start Op, End Op, and Quantity Completed.

Enable logic for "Receipt Inventory Number" (creating new Lots/Serials for finished goods).

Gap Management:

Jake to manage demo expectations regarding current functionality gaps vs. actual MVP delivery.
Phase 2: Material Issuance & Backflushing
Focus: Refined inventory consumption and cost accuracy.

WO Issue Transactions:

Automate pre-population of data based on Work Order linkage.

Restrict UI: Users can change Quantities but cannot change Components (must match BOM).

Backflushing:

Implement completion flows that automatically trigger material issuance.
Inventory Detail Support:

Handle "Issue Inventory Number" logic for consumption of serialized/lot-tracked raw materials.
Phase 3: Planning & Advanced UI
Focus: The "5-Click" Dashboard.

Production Dashboard:

Design and build the simplified UI to replace native NetSuite screens.

Visualize potential resource constraints.

Advanced Features:

Scrap reporting (only enabled on final operation steps).

Labor time entry integration with the Operations table.

4. Data Model: Manufacturing Operations
Dev Note: Operations are NOT line items; they are distinct records linked to the parent Work Order.

Object Name: Manufacturing Operation Task (often labeled "Manufacturing Project Task" in URLs).

Dependencies:

Work Center: Must link to an Employee Group with the "Manufacturing Work Center" checkbox enabled.

Cost Template: Requires traversing 3 record levels deep to retrieve cost estimation data.

Work Calendar: Defines availability/hours for the Work Center.

5. Immediate Next Steps & Owners
Action Item Owner   Notes
Create Detailed Implementation Plan Bryon & Quinn   Break down Q2 deliverables into sprints.
Dashboard UI Design Design/Product  Target reduction from 15 clicks to 5.
Inventory Detail Technical Decision Engineering Decide: Rebuild in SuiteDX vs. REST API.
Demo Expectation Management Jake    Align stakeholders on MVP limitations.