The quick answer
Go to Transactions > Manufacturing > Enter Work Orders, choose the subsidiary, the assembly and the location, and set the quantity. The Items subtab calculates the kit and the labor line from the bill of materials. Save the work order, click Create Build, check the components and Projected Value on the Assembly Build, and click Save. The build adds the finished assemblies to stock, takes the kit out of stock and moves the work order to Built.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Use your own items and quantities when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, Alex Morgan at Example Supply Co. turns bulk patch kits into five PP-100 Patch Packs at the Denver Warehouse. One kit makes five packs, so the bill of materials needs 0.2 of a kit for each pack. Each pack also takes six minutes of packing labor, which the bill of materials carries as a second component, the labor item Packing Labor, measured in minutes. Five packs need 1 kit and 30 minutes.
A few things have to be in place.
- Assemblies and work orders. Assembly Items and Work Orders are enabled, and the assembly has a bill of materials that holds the kit and the labor item. The labor item here is an Other Charge item. A Service item can do the same job when its setup allows it as a production charge.
- Stock. The kit is in stock at the build location. The example has 8.
- A non-WIP work order. WIP is cleared, so Create Build records the production. A WIP work order records it through issues and completions instead.
- Your role and the period. Your role can create work orders and assembly builds, and the posting period is open for the subsidiary. If the assembly or its components are lot, serial or bin tracked, the build also needs Inventory Detail, which this example doesn't.
The screens and labels come from one account. The form, the columns and which bill of materials fills in can differ with your release, role and setup, and the quantities and values in the screenshots are examples.
01. Enter the work order for five packs
Click Transactions > Manufacturing > Enter Work Orders. The new work order opens with the status Released and Firmed checked.
Choose Ridgeline US as the Subsidiary, PP-100 Patch Pack as the Assembly and Denver Warehouse as the Location. The Bill of Materials and its revision fill in. With the starting Quantity of 1, the Items subtab shows Packing Labor at 6 in Min and PK-500 Bulk Patch Kit at 0.2 in Ea. Change the Quantity to 5. Packing Labor now needs 30 and the kit needs 1.
02. Save the work order and open Create Build
Click Save. Work order WO3118 opens under a Confirmation band. It is Released, Built is 0 and Buildable is 5, and Create Build is in the action bar. Buildable here is the quantity still to build, and the kit covers all five packs.
On the Items subtab the kit line is committed for 1 in this account. The labor line commits nothing, because Packing Labor is not stock. Commitment depends on availability and the account's commitment settings, so a Released work order can show less in yours.
Click Create Build.
03. Check the build and save it
The Assembly Build opens filled in from the work order. Created From is Work Order #WO3118, Quantity to Build is 5 and Projected Value is 21.97.
On the Components subtab, Packing Labor is 30 in Min with no on-hand figure, and PK-500 Bulk Patch Kit is 1 in Ea with a Quantity On Hand of 8. Neither line has an Inventory Detail icon, which is true of this example and can change with lot, serial or bin tracking. Projected Value is 11.47 for the kit plus 10.50 for the labor, and it's an estimate based on the item costs and the costing method. Read GL Impact on the saved build before you use the number as a cost. The component quantities can usually be changed here, within the account's rules, and Projected Value follows. Leave the calculated lines alone unless the build used something different.
Click Save.
04. Follow the build back to the work order
Assembly Build ASSYB4291 opens under a Confirmation band. The Components subtab lists the same two lines, and neither has an Inventory Detail icon.
Click the Work Order #WO3118 link beside Created From. The work order shows Built 5, Buildable 0 and the status Built. A build for the full quantity moves the order to Built. A build for part of it leaves the order open.
Click the Related Records subtab. It lists the Assembly Build ASSYB4291 with Quantity 5.
This walkthrough doesn't open an on-hand screen. If no other transaction affects the Denver Warehouse, the kit should go from 8 to 7 and the location should gain 5 packs. Check the kit and the packs on their item records to confirm.
Check the result
- Assembly Build ASSYB4291 shows the Confirmation, Created From Work Order #WO3118 and Quantity to Build 5.
- Its Components subtab lists Packing Labor 30 Min and PK-500 Bulk Patch Kit 1 Ea.
- WO3118 shows Built 5 and the status Built, and Related Records lists the build.
- The kit and the packs show the on-hand quantities you expect on their item records, and GL Impact on the build matches what your accounting owner expects.
Common questions
How do I turn a bulk kit into sellable assemblies with a work order in NetSuite?
Put the kit and any production-charge items on the bill of materials, create and save the work order, click Create Build, review the quantities and any inventory detail the build requires, and save the Assembly Build. A successful non-WIP build increases finished-assembly inventory and uses up the inventory components. A full build normally changes the work order to Built.
Can a labor item be a component on a bill of materials?
Service, non-inventory and Other Charge items can be used as production charges when their item setup and the account support it. They create no inventory availability requirement and no stock movement. Their quantity, 30 minutes in this example, and their configured cost can affect Projected Value and the saved build's accounting. Inventory Detail appears only when the item or location controls require it.
Why does my work order show 30 Min of labor and 1 kit for five assemblies?
Component quantity is generally the work order quantity times the bill of materials quantity per assembly. Five packs at 6 minutes and 0.2 kit each need 30 minutes and 1 kit. Component yield, units of measure, rounding, revisions and edited build quantities can change the result.
What happens when the quantity needs a fraction of a kit?
Three packs normally need 0.6 kit. Whether NetSuite accepts a fraction depends on the kit's unit of measure, its item setup, the BOM quantity, the component yield and the rounding rules. Check the resulting quantities on the work order and the build in your account.
Does the labor line affect inventory or cost?
Packing Labor consumes no inventory. Its 30 minutes can contribute to production cost when the item's configured cost and production-charge setup support that. The cost is the quantity times a configured rate. The costing method, the item accounts and the posting date decide the final accounting, so read GL Impact on the build.
What does Create Build do on a released work order?
It opens an Assembly Build linked through Created From and filled in with the assembly, the location, the remaining quantity and the bill of materials information. Saving it records the production and raises Built on the work order. When the full quantity has been built, the work order normally shows Built.
Can I build only part of a work order?
You can record a partial build by lowering Quantity to Build, when the account's commitment, overage, inventory detail and work order rules allow it. The work order stays open with the rest still to build.
How is Create Build different from a standalone Assembly Build?
A standalone Assembly Build is created with no work order. A build from Create Build is tied to its order through Created From and updates the order's Built quantity.
What if my work order has WIP checked?
A WIP work order records production through Work Order Issue and Work Order Completion, and can also need a Work Order Close. Routing and labor can change the accounting, so it doesn't follow the single Create Build flow shown here.