Handling Production and Subcontract Lead Times in Cetec ERP Scheduling

For make to order manufacturers, realistic lead times are what keep customer promises and production capacity in sync. Teams have to line up customer due dates, shipping transit time, and internal production and subcontract work. If those dates are handled loosely in the scheduling system, planners either cut it too close or build in excessive buffer that ties up material and capacity.

Cetec ERP uses three core order dates and a flexible work order structure to model this clearly. This post explains how Dock Date, Ship Date, and Work Start Date work together on parent orders, how to treat subassemblies, and how MRP driven batch work orders help when you overbuild subassemblies for stock.

Dock Date, Ship Date, and Work Start Date in Cetec ERP

On an end customer work order in Cetec ERP, often called the parent order, each line carries three key dates. Dock Date is the customer due date, the day your customer expects the product to be in their facility. Ship Date is the day you need to ship in order to meet that promise, especially important if you ship across the country or internationally.

Work Start Date is the date you need to begin work on the final assembly work order so you can ship on time. Cetec ERP can back into this date from the Ship Date in several ways. You can apply a fixed production lead time, such as always starting two weeks ahead. You can rely on labor estimates on your BOMs and basic checks to keep production lead time within reasonable limits. Or you can involve capacity filters as you mature your scheduling process.

Parent Assemblies, Subassemblies, and Work Orders

A typical parent order may represent a complex assembly built from many raw components and multiple subassemblies, each with its own production steps. Cetec ERP lets you choose how deeply you model that structure in work orders so that scheduling and paperwork stay manageable.

If you only ever build subassemblies to order, you can create nested sub work orders that sit underneath the parent order. Those sub work orders inherit dates based on the parent Work Start Date so that each subassembly is complete in time for the parent build. Each subassembly work order can have its own Work Start Date backed out from its due date using the same lead time and capacity options described above.

If you want to simplify the routing and treat a subassembly as a structural level only, you can define that subassembly as a phantom BOM. A phantom BOM flattens the components to the parent work order so the build happens in one work order while you still preserve the BOM structure for engineering and costing.

When to Avoid Discrete Sub Work Orders

If you routinely overbuild subassemblies, creating a new discrete sub work order for every parent order can create noise. You may end up with many small work orders for the same subassembly, which is harder to plan, kit, and track on the floor.

In that case, a common pattern in Cetec ERP is to enter only the parent work order. Material and build requirements for subassemblies then flow to MRP and planning reports, where production planners create separate batch work orders. Those batch work orders can cover demand from multiple parent orders and give planners room to choose lot sizes and dates that work best for the schedule.

Using MRP to Drive Build for Stock Subassemblies

From the MRP report in Cetec ERP, planners can launch build for stock work orders for subassemblies. When they create those work orders, they assign realistic due dates, then set or back into Work Start Dates either manually or using the same lead time rules used on parent jobs.

Once these work orders are on the schedule, they create demand for all lower level subassemblies and raw components. Purchasing teams then see that demand on planning and purchasing MRP reports and can place purchase orders or adjust existing supply to cover it. Parent orders drive the initial need, and the combination of MRP and batch subassembly work orders gives both production and purchasing the earliest possible view of future requirements.

How Dates Appear on Paperwork and the Floor

For end customer orders, all three dates matter. Dock Date expresses the customer promise, Ship Date drives shipping, and Work Start Date controls when the job should begin. For build for stock work orders, Dock Date and Ship Date are usually set to the same value, representing the single production due date.

Cetec ERP carries the real due date, effectively the ship date, on both printed paperwork and digital production screens. That keeps supervisors and operators focused on the date that matters on the floor, while planners still have access to the separate dates and lead time rules that drive the schedule.

Key Takeaways

• Dock Date, Ship Date, and Work Start Date give you distinct controls for customer promises, shipping, and production start in Cetec ERP.
• Use nested sub work orders when subassemblies are built only to order and need their own routed builds.
• Rely on MRP driven batch work orders when you routinely overbuild subassemblies and want fewer, larger jobs to manage.
• Phantom BOMs let you keep engineering structure while building everything on a single parent work order.
• Clear date rules and consistent work order structures give production and purchasing an earlier and more accurate view of demand.

Conclusion

Handling production and subcontract lead times well is mostly about consistent use of dates and work order patterns. By using Dock Date, Ship Date, and Work Start Date deliberately, choosing when to nest sub work orders, and leaning on MRP for batch subassembly builds, your team can keep Cetec ERP aligned with the real schedule on the floor and give purchasing enough time to secure material.