How to organize production: technological maps, planning and availability of resources

Automation and accounting of production in Torgsoft begin with detailed preparation and planning, where the key tools are the Technological Card and the Production Planning mode. This allows a business to move from unfixed processes to a controlled and automated cycle.
Here are the main aspects of preparation and production planning:

I. Planning foundation: Technological Card

The Technological Card (TC) is a template for producing one unit of product. It contains all required information about the product, materials, and operations. Creating and filling out the technological card is the first and most important stage of preparation for production.

1. Defining the product and its structure:

• Creating the product. First, you need to create or select the product that will be manufactured.
• Complex products and Models. For complex products (those with size ranges, colors, or modifications), Torgsoft creates a Model. Working with models is more efficient because one TC is enough for the model, and the program generates a template for all its modifications, saving time.
• Semi-finished products. If the final product requires materials also produced in-house, they are defined as semi-finished products. Each semi-finished product receives its own Technological Card that defines materials and operations for production, and a separate Production Act is generated automatically.
• Activating the TC. After fully filling out the technological card, you must set its status to "Ready" — only then can production begin, and you can create a Route Sheet or a Production Act.

2. Planning technological operations:

• The TC includes a list of operations required to produce the item.
• Each operation has a defined measurement equivalent — Money or Time, which affects cost calculation and wages.
• You can specify the Equipment Type and Equipment related to the operation. This is important for equipment usage analysis. If operations require equipment but none is selected, the production act may not be created.

3. Material accounting and planning:

• Receiving materials. Materials must be received into the warehouse (Accounting Center) before adding them to the TC.
• Adding materials. The TC defines the material quantity needed per unit, including possible waste.
• Material analogs. For each main material, analogs (interchangeable equivalents) can be defined. They are used if the main material runs out. Analogs apply only when creating a Production Act, not a Route Sheet.
• Waste accounting. The TC can define waste quantity and whether this waste should be received into the warehouse (as the same or a new material) for reuse.

II. Production planning and raw material orders

Production Planning is a special mode that, based on ready Technological Cards and Production Orders, creates Supplier Orders for required raw materials.

1. Defining needs:

• Products are added to the Production Planning form either from the TC or an existing Production Order.
• A Production Order can include simple products or models. It is the source for determining required product quantity. It must be set to "Active" to create a TC.

2. Calculating required materials:

• The Production Planning form displays all materials needed for the planned batch.
• The program automatically compares the Required quantity from the TC with the Available quantity (current warehouse + reserved in production) and calculates the Quantity to order (can be edited manually).
• If several TCs exist for the same semi-finished product, the program uses materials from the latest TC by creation date.

3. Creating supplier orders:

• The program automatically assigns a Supplier (based on the last purchase), but it can be modified.
• Pressing "Create supplier orders" generates separate orders for each supplier containing materials from the "To order" column.
• After creating supplier orders, changes in Production Planning are restricted. The corresponding Production Order is marked with an icon.

III. Resource management: Reservation and Equipment

Effective planning also includes early management of material resources and equipment.

1. Material reservation:

• The goal of reservation is to prevent multiple production acts from using the same materials and avoid shortages.
• Reservation can be automatic (when creating a Production Act if enabled) or manual.
• Reserved materials are moved to 3rd-tier warehouse and considered engaged in production.
• The reservation status (Full/Partial) is visible in the "Material reservation" tab.

2. Equipment planning:

• In the TC, you can link operations to a specific Equipment Type and Equipment.
• If “Bind to equipment in production” is enabled, the program may require equipment selection when creating a Production Act/Route Sheet; otherwise, the document may not be created.
• The "Equipment usage analysis" mode provides detailed data on equipment workload and usage across TCs and Production Acts.

Thus, preparation and planning in Torgsoft is a step-by-step process of standardization (via TC), defining resource needs (via Production Planning), and securing materials (via Reservation and Supplier Orders), allowing full control before the production cycle starts.

IV. Common mistakes and how to avoid them

To ensure smooth production startup, consider the following:

1. The technological card is not set to “Ready”.
A TC in “Editing” cannot be used to create a Production Act or Route Sheet.

2. Materials are not received or stored in the wrong warehouse.
The program will not allow creating a Production Act if materials are missing in the selected Accounting Center.

3. Required equipment not selected.
If equipment binding is enabled but no equipment is selected, the document will not be created.

4. No TC for a semi-finished product.
If the product includes semi-finished materials, each must have its own TC.

5. The Production Order is not set to “Active”.
Without this status, creating a TC or Production Act is impossible.

V. Example of a production cycle

Example scenario:

The manufacturer plans to produce a batch of T-shirts. They create a Model, then a Technological Card defining materials, operations, and a semi-finished component (collar).

In the "Production Planning" mode, a batch of 100 units is defined, the program calculates required materials and shows shortages.

Supplier orders are created.

After materials arrive, reservation is performed, a Production Act is created, operations recorded, and materials written off.

The final step is the release of finished goods and automatic receipt into inventory.

VI. What happens after planning

Planning is a preparation stage. Next steps form the full production cycle:

1. Creating a Production Act or Route Sheet.
These documents launch production and register operations.

2. Recording completed operations.
Operations are registered via barcode scanning in the Route Sheet or manually in the Production Act.

3. Material write-off and cost calculation.
Materials are written off automatically or based on operations. Cost is calculated when closing the act.

4. Receiving finished goods.
After release, the program creates a receipt document and places the goods in the selected warehouse.

Understanding analogy:

You can imagine Preparation and Production Planning in Torgsoft as the work of an architect and cost estimator before construction begins.

The Technological Card is the blueprint and instruction (architectural project) defining which walls (materials), tasks (operations), and tools (equipment) are needed for one building.

Production Planning (cost estimation) automatically calculates how much material and time is needed to build an entire complex (batch), comparing it with stock.

And Material Reservation is pre-ordering and securing all bricks on the site so they are not taken by another project before your construction begins.