Learn how Production Runs group Work Orders in Luminous and when to use each for co-manufactured production planning.
Collection: Work Orders: FAQ & Troubleshooting
Priority: P0
Short answer
- A Work Order is one manufacturing job: a single finished SKU + planned quantity + BOM.
- A Production Run is a container that groups multiple related work orders processed together as a batch.
Work Order
Each work order tracks:
- One finished good SKU
- Planned quantity to produce
- Bill of materials (components required)
- Its own status (Draft → Planned → In Progress → Completed)
- Expected completion date (can differ per work order in a run)
- Linked purchase orders, assembly orders, and transfer orders
Create individually from Inventory → Work Orders → Orders → Create Work Order.
Production Run
A production run provides:
- A shared co-manufacturer, production location, and destination warehouse
- A Shared Components view that consolidates material demand across all work orders in the run
- Bulk actions: Generate Purchase Orders, Quick Complete, status changes
- Run-level expected completion date and progress metrics
Create from Inventory → Work Orders → Production Runs → Create Run.
How they relate
- Creating a production run with multiple SKUs creates one work order per SKU under that run.
- You can also create standalone work orders and link them to a run later.
- Bulk-creating 2+ work orders at once auto-creates a production run.
Which should I use?
| Scenario | Use |
|---|---|
| One SKU, one-off job | Single Work Order |
| Multiple SKUs, same co-man batch | Production Run |
| Shared raw material purchasing across SKUs | Production Run (Shared Components) |
Related articles
Still stuck?
Contact support if work orders are not grouping under a production run as expected.