The quick answer
Open the released work order, go to the Items subtab and scroll right to the Transaction column. Click Spec. Ord. on the component you're short of. In this account a purchase order opened with Created From set to the work order and a line for every component that had a back-ordered quantity. Review those lines, choose a Vendor, remove the lines you don't want to order, and click Save. The save returned to the work order. The line that was ordered now shows Purchase Order as its Item Source and links to the new order, and NetSuite recalculated its Committed, Allocated Supply, Back Ordered and Available numbers. Those values depend on your allocation and commitment settings.
The screenshots show sample data. The company, people, items, vendor and amounts are fictional. Use your own records and values when you follow the steps.
Before you start
You need a work order that is short of at least one component. The role has to be able to view and edit work orders, create purchase orders, choose the vendor and see the work order's subsidiary and location. The features involved are Assembly Items, Work Orders and Manufacturing Work In Process, plus Multi-Location Inventory if you manage supply by location and Supply Allocation if you want the Allocated Supply and Allocated Demand columns. The example is a OneWorld account with Work Order WO1201, Released, for 1,000 UM-200 Compact Monitors at Oakland. It has four components: CB-050 Control Board, MB-100 Monitor Base, MC-100 Monitor Case and LC-150 15 in LCD Panel. The order is for MB-100, from Northfield Components.
Spec. Ord. showed up here on component lines with Item Source Stock and a back-ordered quantity. Whether it shows on yours depends on the work order status, the line's item source, your features, your role and your form. Look for the link before you plan around it. Custom forms, workflows and scripts can change it too, and menu labels and columns vary the same way.
01. Read the component lines on the work order
Open the work order and click the Items subtab. Each of the four components reads Committed 54, Allocated Supply 1000, Back Ordered 946 and Available 0. The quantity needed is 1,000 of each, so 946 are short. Write down the MB-100 numbers, because you'll compare them after the save.
Scroll the grid to the right. Item Source reads Stock on all four lines, and each line has a Spec. Ord. link in the Transaction column.
02. Click Spec. Ord. on the MB-100 line
Click Spec. Ord. on the MB-100 Monitor Base line. A new Purchase Order opens. Created From reads Work Order #WO1201, and Vendor is empty and marked required. In this account nothing filled it in. Whether a vendor fills in by default depends on your account and the item's setup, so read the field instead of assuming a preferred vendor. The Summary total is 249,800.76.
Scroll down to the Items sublist. It has a line for every component that had a back-ordered quantity, not just the one you clicked, and each is at quantity 946. That's the back-ordered quantity shown on the work order when the form opened, not the 1,000 the work order needs. Always review the generated lines before you save.
03. Choose the vendor and keep the line you want
In Vendor, choose Northfield Components. The order can't be saved without one.
Remove the CB-050, MC-100 and LC-150 lines so that only MB-100 Monitor Base is left: 946 Ea at 32.50, which is 30,745.00. The other three components stay on the work order as Stock, with Spec. Ord. still available if you want to order them later.
For the order to supply the work order, its supply has to be compatible with the work order's demand: subsidiary, location, item, unit and your allocation rules. Here the order's location, Oakland, matches the work order's. Don't assume an order for another location will allocate to the work order. Test that case on its own.
04. Save the purchase order
Click Save. NetSuite saved the order as PO7305, and the save returned to Work Order #WO1201. The order saved as Pending Receipt, with no approval routing in this account. Approval workflows, purchasing preferences and scripts can give you an approval status instead, and an order that isn't approved yet may not count as supply.
05. Check the work order line and the purchase order
Read the Items subtab again. The MB-100 line is the only one that changed. Committed dropped from 54 to 0, Allocated Supply went from 1000 to 946, Back Ordered went from 946 to 1,000 and Available went from 0 to 52. Days Late moved from 17 to 106 too. Treat these as the values this account calculated. They aren't a formula you can work out from the order quantity, and they depend on your allocation, commitment, location and date settings. Read each one on your own saved work order.
Scroll right. Item Source on the MB-100 line is now Purchase Order, and the Transaction column shows PO7305 where Spec. Ord. used to be. The Reallocate link is gone. The other three lines still read Stock, with Reallocate and Spec. Ord.
Expected Supply Date on the MB-100 line changed from 10/15/2026 to 01/12/2027. That's later than the 10/28/2026 expected receipt date on the order line. The cause wasn't established here, and neither was why Days Late moved, so read the date on your own line instead of assuming it's copied from the purchase order.
Click PO7305. Created From reads Work Order #WO1201, the status is Pending Receipt and the Summary total is 30,745.00.
The order is future supply. NetSuite allocated it to the work order before anything arrived, but allocated supply isn't received stock and doesn't add to on hand. Available rising to 52 doesn't mean any Monitor Base came in. Check the on-hand quantity and the item receipt for that. The goods arrive through a receipt against the purchase order, and this walkthrough didn't do that.
Scroll down to the order line. It shows MB-100 Monitor Base, quantity 946, rate 32.50 and amount 30,745.00, with Allocated Demand 946. The work order line shows the same 946 as Allocated Supply.
Check the result
- The MB-100 line on the work order reads Item Source Purchase Order and shows PO7305 in the Transaction column.
- Committed is 0, Allocated Supply is 946, Back Ordered is 1,000 and Available is 52 on that line.
- The other component lines still read Stock, Committed 54, Back Ordered 946, with Spec. Ord. available.
- PO7305 is created from the work order, shows the status you expect, and has one line of 946 with Allocated Demand 946.
Common questions
What does the Spec. Ord. link on a work order do?
In this walkthrough it opened purchase order entry with Created From set to the work order. The order started with a line for each component that had a back-ordered quantity, and after the save the line that was kept showed Item Source Purchase Order and linked to the order. The link showed up on component lines with Item Source Stock and a back-ordered quantity. It isn't there for every line or every work order status, so check the status, the line's item source, your role and your features if you don't see it.
Why is the Vendor field empty on the purchase order from Spec. Ord.?
Here the order opened with Vendor empty and required, so it couldn't be saved until a vendor was chosen. Whether a vendor fills in depends on the item's vendor setup, preferred-vendor and purchasing settings, the subsidiary, your form and any customization. Read the field before you save, and don't assume the preferred vendor will come across.
Does Spec. Ord. order only the component I clicked?
Not in this walkthrough. The order started with a line for every component that had a back-ordered quantity, each at the back-ordered quantity of 946 instead of the 1,000 the work order needed. Review those lines and remove the ones you don't want before you save. The components that were removed stayed on the work order as Stock, with Spec. Ord. still there.
Why did Committed drop to 0 and Available go up after I saved?
After the save, NetSuite recalculated the line. It showed Item Source Purchase Order, Allocated Supply 946, Back Ordered 1,000, Committed 0 and Available 52. Those are the results this account calculated, not a simple formula. Supply allocation, commitment rules, location, inventory status, dates, units and approval status can all change them, and allocation can run right after the transaction is saved or later, depending on your settings. Read all four quantities on your own saved work order.
Does saving the purchase order give me the component?
No. Saving the order doesn't receive anything or add to on hand. It's future supply that NetSuite can allocate to the work order, and the goods arrive through an item receipt against the purchase order. Allocated Supply and a higher Available figure don't show that anything has arrived.
What happens to the work order line if I delete the purchase order or change its quantity?
Editing, deleting or removing a line from the order can change the work order line's sourcing and allocation, but this walkthrough didn't test any of those, so the exact result isn't established here. Recheck Item Source, the Transaction column and the four quantities after each change.
Do I need to approve the purchase order before it counts as supply?
It depends on your setup. The order here saved as Pending Receipt with no approval routing. If your account sends purchase orders for approval, an order that isn't approved yet may not count as supply until it's approved and allocation has run, so check its status and the work order line's Allocated Supply before you rely on it.