Plan co-manufactured production from raw materials through assembly to shipment using Production Runs, Work Orders, and Shipment Planning in Luminous.
Collection: Work Orders: Getting Started
Priority: P0
Who this is for
Production planners, purchasing, receiving, and shipping teams who manage co-manufactured or in-house assembly workflows end to end.
Before you begin
Your Luminous account must have the Work Orders module enabled. Admins should complete setup first — see Work Orders module prerequisites.
You will need:
- Manufactured SKUs with bills of materials (BOMs)
- Co-manufacturer vendors and warehouse locations configured
- Supplier records for raw materials (if you purchase components)
What is the Work Orders module?
The Work Orders module helps you plan production, procure raw materials, record manufacturing output, and ship finished goods. Open it from Inventory → Work Orders.
The module has five tabs:
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Orders | Individual work orders — one finished SKU and quantity per order |
| Production Runs | Groups of work orders processed together as a batch |
| Materials Planning | Cross-run view of material shortages (read-only dashboard) |
| Shipment Planning | Finished goods ready to ship via transfer orders |
| Job Status | Progress for background bulk operations (e.g., Quick Complete) |
End-to-end workflow
Most co-manufacturer workflows follow this sequence:
- Create a Production Run — Add one or more work orders (finished SKUs + quantities) under a single run.
- Review material shortages — The Shared Components table shows raw material demand, on-hand stock, incoming POs, and shortages.
- Cover shortages — Allocate from Incoming on existing POs, then Generate Purchase Orders for anything still short.
- Move to Planned — Signal that purchasing is finalized and the run is approved for ops.
- Receive raw materials — Use Bulk Receive on linked purchase orders in the work order sidebar.
- Move to In Progress — Commits inventory for production.
- Record production — Use Quick Complete for partial or full batches; finish Assembly Orders with lots and yields.
- Ship finished goods — Use Shipment Planning to create and post Transfer Orders, then push to your 3PL WMS or reconcile to Amazon inbound shipments.
- Complete the run — Move work orders and the production run to Completed when everything is done.
Key concepts
Production Run vs Work Order
- A Production Run is a container that groups related work orders (e.g., one month's co-man batch).
- A Work Order is a single manufacturing job: one finished SKU, a planned quantity, a BOM, and a lifecycle status.
See also: What is the difference between a Production Run and a Work Order?
Status lifecycle
Work orders and production runs share the same statuses:
Draft → Planned → In Progress → Completed
See Work order statuses: when to move Draft → Planned → In Progress → Completed.
Co-manufacturer workflow callout
If your finished goods are produced at a co-manufacturer and stay there until shipped:
- Set Production Location and Destination Warehouse to the co-man site when creating the run.
- Use blanket POs for common raw materials — allocate from incoming stock before generating new POs.
- Run production in partial batches with Quick Complete; repeat until the work order is fully produced.
- Ship via Shipment Planning when goods are ready to leave the co-man.
Related articles
- Create a production run
- Understand material shortages on a production run
- Work order statuses
- Ship finished goods with Shipment Planning
Still stuck?
Contact Luminous support with your production run number and a description of where you are in the workflow.