A work order is a document that helps manufacturers marshal and organize their manufacturing process. This basic unit of inventory control and warehouse management is constantly changing and being refined in today’s business world. This is especially true when it comes to keeping your work orders connected to your supply chain in real time.
Any inventory expert can tell you that 2016 is the year of digital supply chains and AR (Augmented Reality). And any inventory consultant will also advise you to look to your work order fundamentals first and foremost, to make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck:
Show Me the Money.
- Make sure your work orders are profitable by being capable of:
- Piecing products together.
- Taking them apart.
- Extracting parts from one product and placing them into another item.
- Fixing products that are not functioning properly.
- Performing anticipated maintenance on items.
Long story short: Your work orders must be capable of multitasking. Just like your employees.
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Backing up your work orders with adequate raw materials.
You wouldn’t write a check without enough funds in the bank, would you? Well, what do you suppose happens if the work orders start to pile up and there’s not enough nuts and bolts and widgets to get those orders out on time? Your customers can’t make money on your promises, only on delivered product. So make sure you:
- Have automatic reorder points already set on every item in your warehouse.
- Maintain regular inventory cycle counts.
- Keep a constant eye on vendor performance – and let them know you are doing so!
- Track and update all incoming and outgoing orders.
Don’t forget that Fishbowl has outstanding order management software to insure you stay on top of all supply chain management challenges. There is no denying that it is one of the best manufacturing solutions you can acquire. It excels at implementing multilevel work orders and timely bills of materials, among many other vital warehouse and inventory operations.
Generating work orders fast is good – generating ACCURATE work orders fast is even better. Fishbowl consulting will do that for you, as sure as the sun shines and the ocean’s salt!
About Lance Brandow, Insightful Accountant's Contributing Fishbowl and Method Expert:
Lance Brandow
With over ten years of experience supporting QuickBooks professionals as the premier Fishbowl consultant in the US of A, Lance Brandow is always ready, willing, and able to boost his client's warehouse and inventory systems into the stratosphere. A Utah Valley University graduate in Business Management, Lance has been called a "flawless worker" and "an absolute expert in all things Fishbowl" by some of his many satisfied clients.
He is a Method/CRM certified advanced consultant who has also had wide experience in sales and banking. He understands Fishbowl implementation like Tim Tebow understands football. As well as consulting, Lance is also a noted instructor in SMB process consulting, SQL databases, and accounting and inventory process management. Lance also speaks Japanese and is a skilled carpenter as well.
You can reach Lance at Brandow Consulting
This article was originally featured in Lance's Blog on Feb. 19, 2016. The article was submitted by, and has been reprinted by Insightful Accountant with, the permission of Lance Brandow, all rights reserved.