Some of you may be familiar with the manufacturing processes in Fishbowl Inventory, but here are some tips that might help streamline your everyday manufacturing activities.
(did you know we also train on the full Fishbowl suite?)
You Can Modify Your Work Orders
One thing that is certain in your daily production activities, is that things do not always turn out how we plan them. How can you make changes to Manufacture Orders that you have already created in Fishbowl?
- Did you know you can split your Work Orders into more manageable chunks? When you are starting a Work Order, you have the option to start a lower quantity than the original quantity on the Work Order. For example: if you have a Work Order for a quantity of 50, when you start the Work Order, you can change the starting quantity to 25, and the Work Order will then be split into two separate Work Orders on the same Manufacture Order. This makes it pretty smooth for separating your production over multiple days.
- You can substitute parts and quantities on a Work Order. If you need to change a Raw Good, or even a Finished Good, on any of your Work Orders, you can visit the “Materials” tab on an unissued Manufacture Order, or the “WO Details” tab on an issued Manufacture Order. In either of these tabs, you can switch your parts, or quantities, if the situation requires.
- Once your Raw Goods have been picked, you cannot make changes to the parts or quantities, unless the pick is voided. Once you have voided the pick, you can make your needed changes.
There Are More Ways Than One to Finish a Work Order
The long way to complete a Work Order is by clicking the “Start” button, then going to the picking module to complete the pick, and then returning to the Manufacture Order to “Finish” the Work Order. You don’t have to take all of these steps, if you don’t have changes to make on the order. Instead, you can do one of the following:
- You can skip straight to the “Finish” step in the Manufacture Order module. This will combine the “Start”, “Pick”, and “Finish” steps into one quick and easy wizard.
- You can click the “Quick Fulfill” icon at the upper-left-hand side of the screen to finish all Work Orders within a Manufacture Order.
Taking these steps will help streamline your manufacturing, especially if you have a lot of Work Orders to process each day.
What if You Make a Mistake?
Even the most advanced Fishbowl Inventory users can make mistakes when it comes to manufacturing. So, what do you do when you have completed a Work Order, and find out that it was done incorrectly? You might be tempted to make inventory adjustments to get your inventory back to where it should be. However, the best practice is to do a “Disassemble” Work Order.
Here’s how you disassemble your Work Orders:
- Create a new Manufacture Order.
- Click the green plus sign at the right side of the screen. This will open the “Add Bill of Materials” screen.
- Choose “Disassemble” from the list.
- Use the drop-down list, or the magnifying glass, to choose which Work Order you are going to disassemble.
- In the next screen, type the quantity of that item that you are going to disassemble.
- Finish the wizard, adding any other pertinent information.
- Repeat steps 2 through 6 to add more disassemble Work Orders to the Manufacture Order, if needed.
Once you have added all of the disassemble Work Orders to your Manufacture Order, issue the Manufacture Order and then process the Work Orders as usual. Completing these disassemble Work Orders will remove the Finished Goods, and will place the Raw Goods, back into your inventory. Don’t forget to create your replacement Work Orders!
As usual, feel free to call or email us if you have any questions about Fishbowl Inventory, or if you would like to find out more about our custom integrations and add-ons.
LilyPad for Fishbowl – Premier Fishbowl Consultant and Marketplace Solution
If you’ve had trouble in the past with Fishbowl Go, or if you’re looking for a better alternative software to integrate your Fishbowl inventory services, your search is finally over. LilyPad for Fishbowl offers a wide variety of up-to-date, easy-to-use software add-ons to help make your Fishbowl experience the best possible. LilyPad also offers on-site trainings, consultations, and other premier Fishbowl services.
Get Started Today with LilyPad for Fishbowl!
