Scrap, attrition, and residuals are a normal part of manufacturing, but they can create real accounting and planning noise when they are not recorded the same way every time. If scrap is not tracked consistently, job costs drift, inventory relief gets confusing, and pricing decisions end up being made on unreliable history.

Cetec ERP gives your team a straightforward way to record scrap at the point where it actually happens, on a component request or as part of closing out remaining quantities on an order. The goal is simple: make scrap visible, costed, and reportable.

Why Scrap Tracking Matters for Job Costing

Scrap has two operational consequences that matter day to day. First, it changes the true material usage for a work order, which affects profitability and quoting confidence. Second, it is often a signal that a process is unstable, whether that is a setup issue, a supplier issue, or normal yield that should be planned for.

A practical decision frame is this: if the loss is expected and recurring, your team should plan for it and measure it. If the loss is unexpected, your team should still record it the same way so you can find it later in reporting.

Scrap Single Components from a Work Order

To scrap a single component, start from the work order screen and go to the Parts tab. This is the simplest path when a specific picked or issued component is no longer usable and you need an immediate replacement.

Select the part, request more, check the scrap option, and select scrap as the reason code. The key detail is the reason code, because it drives how the activity shows up later when you need to review scrap history.

Scrap a Finished Assembly After a Partial Shipment

Sometimes the scrap event is not a single component. You may need to scrap what remains of a finished assembly after shipping a partial quantity. In that case, the workflow is tied to the shipment activity so that remaining quantities are closed out cleanly.

Start by partially shipping the order and invoicing as you normally would for the quantity that is leaving your facility.

Next, use the close line or close all action on the left side to close out the remaining line items tied to what will not be shipped.

From there, select the leftover line associated with the partial shipment and remove it. When prompted, use scrap as the reason code. This records the disposition clearly and keeps the remaining balance from lingering as if it could still ship.

At that point, the assembly and the components picked for it are treated as scrapped, and your remaining quantities are closed out in a way that is easy to audit later.

Where to Review Scrap Activity

Once scrap is being recorded consistently with reason codes, reporting becomes straightforward. In Cetec ERP, you can review scrap activity using the inventory activity report and filtering the reason to scrap.

You can also review scrap behavior from parts request activity, which is useful when you are trying to understand whether scrap is concentrated in a specific component, operation, or job family.

Key Takeaways

• Record scrap where it happens, at the component request or during closeout of remaining quantities.
• Use reason codes consistently so scrap is reportable and comparable across jobs.
• Use partial shipment workflows to ship what is good, then close and scrap what will not ship.
• Review scrap history in the inventory activity report by filtering the reason to scrap.

Conclusion

Scrap is unavoidable in many processes, but it should not be invisible. When your team records scrap in Cetec ERP using consistent reason codes and clean closeout steps, job costs stay credible, inventory stays accurate, and process issues are easier to spot and address.