The short answer
Connect read-only to the systems that already record the work, agree once on what each quantity means, and show ordered, recorded, completed and shipped quantities together for each work order. The view stays current from the source, so nobody exports and regroups a spreadsheet to find out where a job stands.
Why WIP turns into a spreadsheet
The ERP holds the order. The floor records labor and quantities against the work order. Shipping records what left the building. Each screen answers part of the question, and the standard reports answer the questions someone thought to ask when they were set up.
So someone exports, regroups the data in a spreadsheet, and circulates it. By the time it is read, it is already out of date, and a question about any figure means repeating the work.
What it takes
- A read-only connection to the systems that record the work: the ERP, the shop floor records, and shipping.
- One agreed definition for each quantity, such as what counts as recorded, completed, or shipped. Your team agrees it with us once, and every view uses it.
- One view per work order with those quantities side by side, instead of four screens.
- A drill-down from any total to the records behind it, with exceptions flagged for review.
A note on value: this is about where work stands. WIP value in dollars depends on your costing method, so your accounting team defines it with us before it is shown.
What changes
In our production scheduler case study, ordered, tracked, completed and shipped quantities used to live in separate places. The schedule now shows them together for each job it covers, and the scheduler decides what to run next and what to chase from the recorded numbers.
In the plant controller case study, the weekly export-and-regroup step is gone, and a question about a figure is answered by drilling into it. That is what analytics should do: put the answer where the decision is made.