Routing is the manufacturing master that lists the sequence of operations, workstations, setup times, run times, and labour needed to produce a finished good. It is the operational twin of the BOM.
Why It Matters
Routing powers accurate scheduling, capacity planning, and labour costing. Without a routing master, planners cannot calculate machine load, delivery dates are promised blindly, and the true cost of a finished good is unknown. For job-shop MSMEs running 30 or more part numbers across shared machines, routing is essential.
Example with Indian Context
A sheet-metal enclosure has a routing of 5 operations: shearing (laser, 2 min setup, 0.5 min per piece), bending (press brake, 10 min setup, 1 min per piece), welding (MIG station, 5 min setup, 3 min per piece), powder coating (external vendor, 1 day batch), and assembly (bench, 4 min per piece). For a work order of 200 enclosures, this routing drives a machine schedule, a job work challan, and a total labour cost of roughly 2,800 minutes of shop capacity.
Related Terms
How ERPDrive Handles It
ERPDrive stores routings per item with multi-step operations, workstations, setup and run times, and labour rates. Work orders inherit routing automatically. Capacity planning and load charts come for free once routings are defined.
See It in Your Factory
ERPDrive handles routing as a first-class workflow alongside BOM, MRP, quality, and GST. Book a 30-minute demo.
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