The quick answer
When you create a WIP work order, NetSuite can fill Manufacturing Routing with the routing marked Default for the assembly's bill of materials and the Location you choose, when an eligible routing exists. Open the item, then Manufacturing and Manufacturing Routings, to see the routings and which are Default. Open a routing to see its Location. On the work order, change the Location and read the routing again, because it can follow the location. A location with no routing for that bill of materials gives nothing to fill. For one order you can pick another eligible routing from the dropdown, and then check the Operations subtab after you save.
This example uses BSB-100 Bulk Soap Base (item number BSB-100), blended at two plants, Reno Plant and Akron Plant. Akron has three routings and Omaha Plant has none. The company, subsidiary, location, item and routing names in the screenshots are fictional example data.
Before you start
You need Advanced Manufacturing with work orders and WIP, Advanced Bill of Materials, and Multi-Location Inventory. The assembly needs a bill of materials with an effective revision. Each routing belongs to that bill of materials, has at least one Location, and has a work center and a manufacturing cost template on every step. The assembly's costing method, such as standard or average costing, and its accounts have to support WIP. The work order's status and form have to allow WIP, and Planned did in the account observed. Your role needs to view items and routings and to enter work orders.
A routing's Location is a multi-select list, so one routing can serve several locations. Default is read for the bill of materials and the location together. Keep one routing flagged Default for each combination. If two are flagged for the same location, test which one NetSuite picks before you rely on it.
Some of what you will see here is what the account observed did, and yours can differ with its form and customizations. In the account observed, WIP checked itself when a location with a default routing was chosen, and the routing dropdown listed only that location's routings. If WIP does not check itself in yours, check it, and confirm what the dropdown lists. Default is a property of the routing record, and the routing belongs to the bill of materials. The work order's bill of materials revision is chosen separately.
01 · Review the assembly's routings
Open the BSB-100 item, go to Manufacturing, and click the Manufacturing Routings inner tab. It lists four routings for the one bill of materials: BSB-100 Reno Blending and BSB-100 Akron Blending show Yes under Default, and the two other Akron routings show No. The list has no Location column in the account observed, so it does not show which plant each routing serves. Open each routing to check its Location. Do not use the memo as evidence, because only the routing's Location field controls where it applies.
02 · Open the Akron default routing
Click Edit beside BSB-100 Akron Blending. NetSuite opens the routing in edit mode, so only read it and leave with Cancel. The Location list has Akron Plant selected and Default is checked. Routing Steps lists the two operations: 10 Blending on Akron-Mixer (Planned) and 20 Inspection on Akron-Inspection, with setup time and run rate for each. Click Cancel to go back to the item.
03 · Compare an alternate routing
Back on the Manufacturing Routings inner tab, click Edit beside BSB-100 Akron Blending (Actual Times). It applies to Akron Plant as well, but Default is not checked. It is an active alternate for the same bill of materials and plant, not marked Default, and its Blending step runs on Akron-Mixer (Primary). The name Actual Times does not change scheduling by itself. Click Cancel.
04 · Start a work order at Reno Plant
Click Create New in the toolbar and choose Work Order. Select Subsidiary Larkspur US, Assembly BSB-100 Bulk Soap Base and Location Reno Plant. Choosing the assembly fills Bill of Materials and its revision. Confirm WIP is checked, and check it yourself if it is not. Manufacturing Routing now reads BSB-100 Reno Blending, the Default for Reno Plant.
05 · Change the Location to Akron Plant
Change Location to Akron Plant before you save. Manufacturing Routing changes to BSB-100 Akron Blending, the Default for Akron Plant. In the account observed, changing the Location filled the routing with that location's default again. Forms can repopulate or clear it, so read the routing after you change the Location or the Assembly.
06 · Try a location with no routing
Change Location to Omaha Plant, which has no routing for this bill of materials. In the account observed, WIP unchecks and Manufacturing Routing is empty and unavailable, because there is nothing to default. Other accounts and forms can behave differently, for example by leaving WIP checked with an empty field. Saving a WIP order without a routing produces no routing operations in the account observed, so verify that in yours. Add a routing for that location, or accept a work order that is not scheduled by operation. Then change the Location back to Akron Plant: WIP is checked again and BSB-100 Akron Blending returns.
07 · Choose the alternate routing and save
Open the Manufacturing Routing dropdown. In the account observed it lists the three Akron routings and excludes the Reno routing. Subsidiary, inactive status and the form can also change what a dropdown offers. Choose BSB-100 Akron Blending (Actual Times) for this order, because the shift will capture actual times on the floor. Enter Quantity 40 and click Save. Choosing an alternate for one order does not change which routing is Default. The default only decides what the form fills in first.
08 · Read the saved work order
NetSuite shows the Confirmation band and creates WO-5207 with status Planned. Check that Location is Akron Plant and Manufacturing Routing is BSB-100 Akron Blending (Actual Times), shown as a link to the routing. The saved order was Planned in the account observed.
Open the Operations subtab. NetSuite built it from the routing's steps when the order was saved: 10 Blending on Akron-Mixer (Primary), then 20 Inspection on Akron-Inspection, which starts after Blending finishes because the connection type is Finish-To-Start. Each row shows its setup time, run rate and connection type, and the start and end times NetSuite calculated for 40 pounds. Setup time is a fixed time for the operation and run rate is applied to the quantity, so the expected durations are 20 + 0.1 × 40 = 24 minutes for Blending and 6 + 0.05 × 40 = 8 for Inspection. The times NetSuite displays can also reflect work calendars, lag and the scheduling method, so treat the arithmetic as a check on the duration and not as a full scheduling rule. Those operations are created when the order is saved, so do not assume that later edits to the routing, or a different default, change work orders you already saved. A change to the order's quantity can update its operation times, and changing a saved order's routing or location is a separate case. Test those in your account before relying on them.
Check the result
- Defaults by location: Reno Plant filled BSB-100 Reno Blending and Akron Plant filled BSB-100 Akron Blending. Omaha Plant filled nothing.
- Alternate: WO-5207 carries BSB-100 Akron Blending (Actual Times), chosen by hand.
- Operations: Blending on Akron-Mixer (Primary) and Inspection on Akron-Inspection are listed with calculated times.
Common questions
Why did my work order fill in a different manufacturing routing than I expected?
Check the assembly, the bill of materials, the Location, the WIP setting and the work order's status, then open the routings for that bill of materials and see which are active and which one is Default for that location. In the account observed, changing the Location or the Assembly filled the routing again, so read it last before you save. If two routings are flagged Default for the same location, test which one your account picks. The revision of the bill of materials is chosen separately and does not by itself set the routing.
How do I make a routing the default for one location but not another?
In the configuration shown, Default behaved as a bill of materials and location combination. Open the routing, select its Location or Locations in the multi-select list, and check Default on the routing that should fill in for those locations. Default is a property of the routing record, and one routing can serve several locations. If a routing that is Default serves several locations, test what a new work order picks at each of them. Keep one intended Default for each location and check what a new work order picks after you save the change.
Can I use a different routing on just one work order?
Yes, if the other routing is active, belongs to the same bill of materials, applies to the selected location and is available on the work order form. Choose it in the Manufacturing Routing dropdown. Choosing another routing for one order does not change the Default flag on any routing.
Why is Manufacturing Routing empty or unavailable on my work order?
If the field is unavailable, check WIP, the work order's status, the form and your permissions first. In the account observed it was unavailable until WIP was checked, and it stayed empty at a location with no routing for the bill of materials. If the field is available but empty, check that an active routing exists for that bill of materials and that location. A WIP work order saved without a routing does not get routing operations.
What happens to a saved work order if I change the routing later?
NetSuite builds the work order's Operations from the routing when the order is saved with WIP and a routing. Do not assume that editing the routing record, or making a different routing the default, rewrites operations on orders you already saved. A change to the order's quantity can update its operation times, and changing a saved order's routing or location is a separate case, so test those in your account first.
Does the default routing also apply to work orders created in bulk?
The Default flag is meant for new work orders, including mass-created work orders, but this guide does not demonstrate it. Bulk creation can follow additional rules for the bill of materials, location, scheduling and form, so check the generated order's Manufacturing Routing and Operations in your account before you rely on it.