Table of contents
A process order is used in process manufacturing industries (e.g., pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and beverage) to manage and control production by transforming raw materials through actions like mixing or blending. Unlike discrete manufacturing, it focuses on continuous processes rather than part assembly. In an ERP system, a process order serves as a digital blueprint, outlining instructions, timelines, and resource planning throughout the production cycle.
For more information about Process orders guidelines, see Process order transactions.
Create and submit process orders
Perform this task to create and submit new process order. Additionally, buyers can begin work on a process order and save it for completion at a later time.
Perform this task to create new process order and submit them to suppliers.
- Select the Main Menu
icon. - Select in the header.
- Select a [MPL Network] from the drop-down in the header.
- Select a (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.
- Select the button.
- Select from the left menu.
Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower. - Select .
- Select the New
button. - On the New Process Order screen, fill in the following fields:
- field – A unique identifier assigned to a process order.
- drop-down – The start date of process order.
-
Select the Save
button.The screen refreshes with the saved process order in the draft state and with the required sections populated.
-
Select the Edit
button. - In the Transaction Information section, select Submitted from the drop drown.
- In the Process Order Information section fill in the following fields:
- field – A unique identifier assigned to a process order.
This field auto populates the value entered on the New Process Order screen. - field – The start date of process order.
This field auto populates the value entered on the New Process Order screen. - drop-down – The type of process order transaction
- drop-down – The classification that defines the type of process order.
- field – The code for the plant where the product will be made.
- field – The start date of process order.
- field – The end date of process order.
- field – The material number for which process order is created.
- field - The inspection lot number of finished goods.
- field – An unique identifier assigned to a person tasked with managing Material Requirements Planning (MRP) activities for designated materials.
- field – Group responsible for calculating capacity needs during scheduling.
- field – A key that defines the production method by controlling BOM explosion and selecting the task list type, group, and counter for manufacturing.
- field – Department where manufacturing occurs, followed by Quality Assurance (QA)and inspection.
- drop-down – The different states of process orders.
- field – BOM item identifier used in the production of finished good.
- drop-down – The different states of bill of material.
- drop-down – A brief description stating the purpose of the transaction.
- field – A unique identifier assigned to a process order.
- In the Processing Quantity section, select the Add
icon and fill in the following fields in Processing Quantity Information section:- field - The unique identifier of an organization.
- drop-down– The type of quantity recorded.
If the value does not match the available options, the value must be entered manually - field - The total quantity of produced good expected in inventory.
- drop-down - The unit in which the line item is measured.
- Select .
A new processing quantity line is added.
- In the Reference Transaction section, select the Add
icon and fill in the following fields in Reference Transaction Information section:- drop-down - The type of transaction to reference.
- type-ahead field – The unique identifier of the transaction.
If the value does not match the available options, the value must be entered manually. - field - The date of the transaction being referenced.
- Select .
A new reference transaction line is added.
- In the Customer and Supplier section, fill in the following fields under Customer group:
type-ahead field – The name of the company sending process order. This company is customer of goods. This field pulls from the Owner's company and location master data.
The remaining Customer fields are auto populated with the values from the company or location's master data entry. If the name of the company is not present in the Owners master data, the company name must be entered manually.
- field – The address of the particular location.
- field – Any additional address information.
- drop-down – The two-letter country code with country name for this location.
- field – The state or region for this location.
- field – The city for this location.
- field – The postal code for this location's main address.
- field – The company or location's phone number.
- field – The company or location's fax number
- drop-down – The identifier type used for this company or location.
- field – The value associated with the identifier type.
-
In the Customer and Supplier section, fill in the following fields under Supplier group::
-
type-ahead field – The name of the company receiving the process order. This company is supplier of goods. This field pulls from the Owner's company and location master data.
The remaining Supplier fields are auto populated with the values from the company or location's master data entry. If the name of the company is not present in the Owners master data, the company name must be entered manually.
- field – The address of the particular location.
- field – Any additional address information.
- drop-down – The two-letter country code with country name for this location.
- field – The state or region for this location.
- field – The city for this location.
- field – The postal code for this location's main address.
- field – The company or location's phone number.
- field – The company or location's fax number
- drop-down – The identifier type used for this company or location.
- field – The value associated with the identifier type.
-
- In the Operations section, select the Add
icon and fill in the following fields in Operations Sequence Information section:- field - The number to identify the line item.
- field – An unique code or number assigned to an item, event, transaction, or record in a sequential order.
- Select .
A new operations sequence information line is added. - Select a operations sequence information line row and then select the branch
icon and fill in the following fields under Components List Information section:- field – The order of operations within a sequence.
- drop-down – The work center identifier where operation will be performed.
- field – A brief description of operation.
- drop-down – Indicates which of the business transactions list should be executed in work center as part of work center activities.
- Select .
A new components list information line is added. - Select the operations sequence information line row drop down to view the components list information in a table.
- Select a components list information line row and then select the branch
icon and fill in the following fields under Operations Work Activity Information section:- field – The department responsible for performing the activity.
- field – The name of the activity being performed.
- drop-down – The type of work for the activity
- field – The amount of work needed to perform the activity.
- field - The number to identify the line item.
- field - A unique code or reference used to represent a specific capacity requirement.
- field - An unique value used to identify or track individual capacity requirements.
- Select .
A new operations work activity information line is added. - Select the components list information line row drop down to view the operations work activity information in a table.
- In the Components section, select the Add
icon and fill in the following fields in Components List Information section:- field - The number to identify the line item.
- field – An unique code or number assigned to an item, event, transaction, or record in a sequential order.
- Select .
A new components list information line is added. - Select a components list information line row and then select the branch
icon and fill in the following fields under Reservation Items Information section:- field – The line item number for the reserved material or component.
- field – The reservation or dependent requirements identifier.
- field – The reservation or dependent requirements position.
- field – The classification or category of a component or part used in manufacturing.
- field – The code for the plant where the product will be made.
- field - The storage location for issuing components or receiving materials.
- field - The product identifier for the component.
- field - The batch number associated with the material.
- field - The name of the product.
- field - The product code identifier value.
- Select .
A new reservation Items information line is added. - Select the components list information line row drop down to view the reservation Items information in a table.
- Select a reservation Items information line row and then select the branch
icon and fill in the following fields under SubLine Process Order Reservations Information section:- drop-down – The classification or category of a reserved quantity.
- field – The total quantity of a material or resource that has been reserved.
- drop-down – The unit in which a quantity of material or resource is reserved or allocated.
- Select .
A new subline process order reservation information line is added. - Select the reservation Items information line row drop down to view the subline process order reservation information in a table.
- In the Process Order Item Information section, select the Add
icon and fill in the following fields in Item Information section:- field - The number to identify the line item.
- field – The code for the plant where the product will be made.
- field – The material number of finished goods.
- switch – Indicates whether process order is released against the process order received in the system.
- field – The relationship between an alternate unit and a product’s base unit of measure.
- field – The conversion ratios between an item’s alternate unit and its base unit of measure.
- Select .
A new item information line is added. - Select a item information line row and then select the branch
icon and fill in the following fields under Item Quantity Information section:- drop-down – The category of quantity recorded.
- drop-down – The total quantity of produced good expected in inventory.
- drop-down – The unit in which the line item is measured.
- Select .
A new components list information line is added. - Select the item information line row drop down to view the components list information in a table.
- In the Notes section, select the Add
icon to enter any additional comments or instructions. - To submit the process order:
To save the process order in a Draft state and finish it later, ensure the button is not selected and then select the Save
button in the draft state. Select the button at the top of the screen.
The submit status indicator circle is filled in with green to indicate the desired action upon selecting save.
Select the Save
button.The process order is submitted.
Tips
-
Select the Add
icon, to add a new line item, where available. -
Select the Delete
icon, to remove an individual line item, where available. -
Select the branch
icon, to add a new line item in the inserted table, where available. - New process orders can also be created by selecting the New
button on the Process Orders Details screen for an existing process order.
Complete and submit a saved process order in the draft state.
- Select the Main Menu
icon. - Select in the header.
- Select a [MPL Network] from the drop-down in the header.
- Select a (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.
- Select the button.
- Select from the left menu.
Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower. - Select .
- Select the Filter
button to find process orders in Draft state. -
Select the link in the results table.
-
Select the Edit
button. - In the Transaction Information section, select Submitted from the drop drown.
- Confirm the process order details and select the Edit
icon associated with that line item to modify the fields if required. See Create and submit a new process order for detailed field description of process orders. -
Select the button at the top of the screen.
The submit status indicator circle is filled in with green to indicate the desired action upon selecting save.
-
Select the Save
button.The process order is submitted.
Tips
- To delete a process order in a draft state, select the process order number row and then select the Delete
icon on the top of the Search Process Orders screen.
A deleted transaction cannot be retrieved.
Search and view process orders
Perform this task to search for and view the details of the process orders sent or received by suppliers or customers. Viewing the details of a process order enables suppliers or customers to quickly access process order information (e.g. the quantity for each line item in an order) in TraceLink without having to search through the actual B2B message.
- Select the Main Menu
icon. - Select in the header.
- Select a [MPL Network] from the drop-down in the header.
- Select a (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.
- Select the button.
- Select or from the left menu.
Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower. - Select .
- Select the Filter
button. - In the Filters panel, fill in one or more of the following fields to filter the results:
- field – A unique identifier assigned to a process order.
drop-down – The state of the process order:
- Draft – The transaction is in the draft state.
- Submit – The transaction has been created.
- Processing – The application is getting ready to handle incoming transactions by doing some initial tasks, such as copying the files it receives.
- Processed – The application changes the standard information into a format that is easy to use and specific to your transaction.
- Preparing to Send – The application is getting ready to send out a transaction and is doing some initial tasks, like copying the necessary information for the process.
- Sending –The application sends out business transactions to the buyer or supplier.
- Sent – The transaction is successfully completed and shared with the receiving party.
- type-ahead – Displays only if the menu item is Sent Process Orders The name of the company the process order was sent to.
If the name of the company is not present in the Owners master data then the company's name must be entered manually. - type-ahead – Displays only if the menu item is Received Process Orders The name of the company the process order was received from.
If the name of the company is not present in the Owner's master data then the company's name must be entered manually. - drop-down – The start date of process order.
- drop-down – The period of time in which the process order was last updated:
- Today – The transaction was modified within the last few hours.
- Yesterday – The transaction was updated within the past 24 hours.
- Last Week – The transaction was modified in the last 7 days.
- Last Month – The transaction was modified in the last 30 days.
- Last 3 Months – The transaction was modified in the last 90 days.
- Last 6 Months – The transaction was modified in the last 180 days.
- Custom Range – Select a specific period of time that the transaction was modified in from the calendar.
-
Select .
A list of process orders displays based on the filter results.
-
Select the link for the process order from the results table.
The View Process Orders screen displays.
- To view all fields for each line item, select the View
icon on the Details screen..
Reprocess and resubmit process orders
After the process order is submitted, the user might encounter an error and the processed status will be set to Paused With Error. Use the following procedure to resolve any error messages encountered while submitting a process order.
- Select the Main Menu
icon. - Select in the header.
- Select a [MPL Network] from the drop-down in the header.
- Select a (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.
- Select the button.
- Select from the left menu.
Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower. - Select .
- Select the Filter
button to find process orders in Processing, Processed, Preparing to Send, or Sending state. - Select a link in the results table.
- View the following fields for error in the Transaction Information section:
- Process Status - Displays the status of the submitted transaction.
- Last Transaction Error - Displays the error message.
- Select the Edit
button. . - In the Transaction Information section, select Submitted from the drop drown.
- Select the Save
button.
The process orders request is moved from Processing state to Sending state indicating that the process order is submitted successfully.
Do not select the button, as it will cause the transaction to skip a workflow state, preventing successful delivery.
If a transaction is successfully sent to a partner but an issue occurs on the partner's side (e.g. in their ERP system), the sender can avoid re-entering all the details by rolling back to a previous workflow state and resending the transaction, thus saving time and effort for both parties.
- Select the Main Menu
icon. - Select in the header.
- Select a [MPL Network] from the drop-down in the header.
- Select a (e.g. your entire company or a Link to a specific Partner or internal location) in the header.
- Select the button.
- Select from the left menu.
Partners must have the correct roles assigned if using the Owner's instance of Multienterprise Information Network Tower. - Select .
- Select a in Sent state.
-
Select the Edit
button.
The state of the process order is automatically moved to Sending state. -
Select the button at the top of the screen.
The submit status indicator circle is filled in with green to indicate the desired action upon selecting save.
-
Select the Save
button.The process order is submitted.
The statues of the process order moves to Sent state.