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Picking ingredients for a manufacturing order (MO)

Before you begin an MO, it's best to pick the ingredients needed from the warehouse.

Dayvid Lorbiecke avatar
Written by Dayvid Lorbiecke
Updated this week

Before starting a manufacturing order (MO), it’s best to physically pick and reserve ingredients from your warehouse. This ensures all required materials are available at the workbench, preventing delays and confusion on the shop floor.

Note: To perform ingredient picking, the Advanced Manufacturing add-on is required.


Enable ingredient picking

Screenshot showing where to enable picking from the Manufacturing section of settings

Before picking, enable the feature in your settings:

  1. Click your profile name (top-right) and go to Settings

  2. Choose Manufacturing.

  3. Toggle Ingredient picking ON.


How to pick Ingredients for an MO

Once enabled, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Make screen and open an MO.

  2. In the Ingredients table, click Pick all (top-right of the table).

    Screenshot showing the Pick all option on an MO

  3. Katana will try to reserve all listed ingredients.

    • If all are available, they’ll be picked instantly.

    • If some are out of stock, you’ll be prompted to pick only what’s available.


Ingredient picking status

After picking:

  • The Ingredients table will show one of these statuses:

    • Not picked – nothing picked yet

    • Partially picked – some ingredients picked

    • Fully picked – all ingredients picked

  • If the status is Partially picked, you can click Pick all again when the rest of the ingredients are available for picking.

    Screenshot showing an MO with ingredients in a Partially picked status

  • A new Picked column shows how much of each ingredient was reserved.

    Screenshot showing the picked column on an MO
  • The Availability column will show Picked next to the ingredient name when it’s reserved.

You can return later and click Pick all again once more stock becomes available.


What happens after production

  • If you use more ingredients than picked, the MO status will revert to Partially picked.

  • When the MO is marked as Done, Katana:

    Screenshot showing the Done status for an MO
    • Increases stock for the finished product.

    • Returns any unused ingredients to inventory.

    • Links the returned ingredients to the MO in Inventory Intel.


Real-world example

Alex, a Production Manager, creates an MO for a custom walnut desk.

  • He uses Pick all, and walnut planks, screws, and glue are reserved immediately.

  • But drawer handles are missing. Thanks to early picking, he discovers the issue in time.

  • He orders the missing parts right away, avoiding production delays and keeping the schedule on track.


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