Manufacturing · Order changes · ERPNext
What Happens When a Customer Changes an Order After Production Starts?
“Can we change the specification for the remaining units?” It sounds like a small request. But materials may already be purchased, components issued and machine time booked. Before we confirm the change, we need to understand what it changes inside the business.
By Craft Interactive · Published 4 November 2026
Why order changes after production starts need a wider review
Order changes after production starts can affect materials, work in progress, production capacity, delivery commitments and the amount the business earns from the job. The response should connect the customer’s revised requirement to the actual production position.
We recommend recording the request, controlling the affected work, assessing the impact and agreeing revised terms before releasing new instructions. Updating a sales document alone does not resolve the changes on the shop floor.
Start with this question: What has already been completed, what can still be changed, and what will the change cost in money and time?
One order, three different production positions
Harbour Panel Works is a fictional UAE manufacturer. A customer orders 100 control enclosures. After production begins, the customer requests a different cable-entry arrangement for the remaining 60 units.
The customer accepts the original specification for the 40 units already finished. The production team confirms the following position:
40 finished
Completed to the original specification and accepted by the customer as unchanged.
20 in progress
Partly assembled and requiring a technical review before modification.
40 not started
Able to follow revised instructions once approved materials and capacity are available.
Treating all 60 remaining units as one group would hide the rework needed on the 20 already in progress. Treating the entire order as changed would misrepresent the 40 completed units.
The company, quantities and costs in this article are illustrative. They are not a client case study.
First, establish a controlled change point
Record the requested specification, affected quantities, drawing reference and required date. Confirm whether “remaining units” means not yet manufactured, not yet delivered or not yet accepted by the customer.
The production owner should decide where affected work can pause safely. Unaffected work may continue where appropriate. A commercial request must reach the people issuing materials, operating machines, inspecting goods and arranging dispatch.
Keep the original instructions identifiable and prevent obsolete copies from being used for the revised quantity. If the change is declined, the team also needs a clear instruction about which approved version remains in force.
Materials: purchased, issued and consumed are different
Procurement may have ordered components for all 100 units. Some are still with the supplier, some are in stores, and some have already been fitted. Each position creates a different decision.
| Material position | What we need to establish | Possible response |
|---|---|---|
| Ordered but not received | Supplier progress, cancellation terms and lead time. | Agree a revised purchase, cancellation or replacement without assuming the supplier can absorb the change. |
| Received into stores | Suitability for the revised order or another demand. | Retain, reallocate or arrange an approved return. |
| Issued but not consumed | Actual location, quantity and condition. | Return or reassign through the supported stock process. |
| Already fitted or consumed | Technical feasibility and cost of recovery. | Plan approved rework, replacement or scrap. |
In our example, engineering confirms that the 20 partly assembled units can be modified. Procurement identifies the additional components needed for all 60 revised units. Any recovered parts require an explicit reuse decision.
A component being removed does not automatically make it reusable. Equally, an unused component should not be written off merely because this order no longer needs it.
Scheduling: the change competes with other promised work
Rework needs people, equipment and inspection time. Those resources may already be allocated to another order. Expediting new materials will not solve a workstation bottleneck by itself.
The planner should review the remaining operations, extra setup time, material availability and the jobs that would move if this order receives priority.
- For the 20 units in progress: identify the rework route and any repeat inspection.
- For the 40 units not started: release the revised design and confirm the material-ready date.
- For other orders: check whether the revised sequence changes an existing commitment.
We recommend confirming the revised completion date only after these constraints are reviewed. A faster supplier delivery is one input to that decision.
Delivery: agree what arrives, in which version and when
The customer may accept the 40 original units first and the 60 revised units later. That arrangement needs clear identification so the receiving team knows what it is accepting.
Confirm the specification applicable to each delivery, quantities, dates, inspection requirements and any additional freight or packaging charges. Update the documents used by sales, production and dispatch consistently.
Where the two versions are not interchangeable, consider whether separate item identities or another controlled revision method are needed. A free-text note alone may not provide enough traceability.
Margins: a higher selling price can still mean a lower percentage
Assume the original order value is AED 50,000 and its estimated direct job cost is AED 35,000. That leaves AED 15,000 after the included direct costs, or 30% of sales.
The change assessment identifies AED 4,000 of additional direct costs:
- Additional materials: AED 1,800.
- Rework labour and machine time: AED 1,200.
- Expedited transport: AED 600.
- Incremental unrecoverable material loss: AED 400.
The customer agrees to an additional AED 4,500. The revised estimate becomes:
| Measure | Original estimate | Revised estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Order revenue | AED 50,000 | AED 54,500 |
| Included direct job costs | AED 35,000 | AED 39,000 |
| Revenue less included direct costs | AED 15,000 | AED 15,500 |
| Margin on that basis | 30.0% | Approximately 28.4% |
The amount left after included direct costs increases by AED 500, while the percentage falls. Without the additional charge, the revised amount would be AED 11,000, or 22% of the original revenue.
This simplified management example excludes taxes, financing, shared overhead and other business expenses; it is not net profit. Additional costs are incremental and counted once. Avoid adding material loss again if the same loss is already included in the revised material estimate.
Keep the estimate separate from the actual result. Rework hours, replacement components and expedited deliveries must be captured as they occur. Otherwise, the final order can appear healthier than it really was.
How we connect the change to ERPNext records
ERPNext provides manufacturing and commercial records that support the review. The implementation needs to define how those records stay aligned when the requirement changes.
Sales Order: preserve the commercial agreement
Review affected quantities, rates and delivery dates. ERPNext provides supported Sales Order update and amendment routes, subject to document state and linked transactions. Do not assume a submitted order can be freely rewritten.
Bill of Materials: identify the approved production specification
The Bill of Materials describes materials and operations. Submitted BOMs are not freely editable. Use the supported revision or new-BOM approach appropriate to the transaction, and retain the original specification needed to explain completed work.
Work Orders and Job Cards: establish actual progress
Review Work Orders, material movements and Job Cards before deciding how to handle the remaining quantity. Stopping a Work Order does not undo consumption or finished production. The supported route and prerequisites must be checked in the deployed version.
Stock records: keep physical movements traceable
Return unused components, record additional issues and account for approved losses through the relevant stock transactions. Avoid changing quantities only to make a report match the revised plan.
A customer-change register, drawing approval workflow, revision dashboard or consolidated cost-impact report may need configuration or development. Updating the Sales Order or BOM should not be assumed to automatically revise every linked transaction.
A practical change-control sequence
- Record the request: specification, affected quantity, reason and requested date.
- Confirm the production position: finished units, work in progress, unstarted units and materials.
- Assess the impact: technical feasibility, additional cost, capacity and delivery.
- Agree revised terms: obtain the necessary internal and customer approvals.
- Release consistent instructions: update the relevant commercial and production records.
- Review the outcome: compare actual costs, delivery performance and accepted quantities with the revised agreement.
For businesses considering ERPNext manufacturing in Dubai and across the UAE, this is a useful implementation test. Take a partly completed order, introduce a realistic change and verify the records each department needs to act correctly.
Frequently asked questions
Can we accept a change after production starts?
Often, but acceptance should follow a review of technical feasibility, completed work, materials, capacity, costs and the revised delivery commitment.
Should the whole production order stop?
Not necessarily. The production owner should establish a safe, controlled pause for affected work and determine whether unaffected operations can continue.
Does a new BOM automatically change existing production?
Do not assume so. Existing Work Orders, material movements and completed operations must be reviewed explicitly. A revised design does not rewrite production history.
What happens to materials we no longer need?
Check whether they can be reused, reallocated, returned or require an approved loss or disposal. Record the actual decision and movement rather than treating all surplus material as scrap.
Why can the margin percentage fall after a price increase?
Additional costs may rise faster relative to revenue. Compare both the amount remaining after the relevant costs and that amount as a percentage of the revised revenue.
Bring us an order that changed halfway through
We can discuss how your teams assess the impact, communicate the revised instructions and track the result—and where ERPNext can support that process.
Discuss your manufacturing workflow
Product references
The scenario and financial example are illustrative. For product details, see ERPNext’s official documentation on Sales Order amendments, Bills of Materials, Work Orders, Job Cards and Stock Entries.
