MTO 101 · PROCESS OVERVIEW
What is Make to Order?
See how a confirmed sales order triggers planning and production for a specific customer requirement.
Make to Order flow
Select any stage to explore
WHY CHOOSE MTO?
Produce for a known customer requirement
Make to Order is useful when demand is specific enough that producing before the order would create configuration, inventory, or commercial risk.
Customer specificity
The product, quantity, configuration, and requested date originate from a real customer commitment.
Supply traceability
Planning and production retain the sales-order reference so supply is not silently consumed by unrelated demand.
Order economics
Quoted value, actual material and production cost, delivery, billing, and margin can be evaluated as one commercial story.
FOLLOW THE REQUIREMENT
What changes at each stage?
The sales order is more than the final customer document: it is the demand signal that planning, procurement, production, logistics, and Finance follow.
- 01
Specify Sales
The sales order captures the product or configuration, quantity, requested date, partners, price, and customer-specific requirements.
Creates Individual customer demand and commercial reference
- 02
Promise Sales + Planning
Availability and scheduling evaluate component supply, procurement lead time, production duration, capacity, and delivery preparation before confirming a feasible date.
Protects A credible customer commitment
- 03
Plan and peg Planning + Purchasing
MRP explodes the relevant BOM and creates planned orders or purchase requisitions linked to the originating sales-order requirement.
Creates Traceable, order-specific supply proposals
- 04
Produce Manufacturing
The production order controls components, operations, confirmations, goods movements, output, and actual cost while preserving the customer reference.
Creates Finished output reserved for the requirement
- 05
Deliver and settle Logistics + Finance
The assigned output is delivered and billed. Revenue, cost, variance, results analysis where applicable, and settlement complete the order economics.
Reveals Fulfilment status and actual customer-order margin
REQUIREMENT TRACE
One customer demand, connected supply
The defining feature is the reference carried from the sales requirement into planning and execution. That reference makes ownership and availability visible.
See how supply is peggedCONTROL POINTS
What keeps MTO reliable?
Traceability only works when master data, dates, stock assignment, and commercial status remain aligned.
Requirement definition
Strategy group, requirements type, item category, schedule line, configuration, and account assignment determine how demand behaves.
Explore the requirement → BEFORE CONFIRMATIONFeasible promise
Component dates, procurement, capacity, scheduling margins, and delivery time must support the confirmed customer date.
Explore the promise → BEFORE CLOSUREQuantity and value closure
Delivery, billing, actual cost, variance, results analysis, settlement, and margin status must tell the same story.
Explore settlement →MTO OR MTS?
The difference is ownership of supply
MTO begins with a customer-specific requirement; MTS normally begins with forecast or replenishment demand.
MTO output may remain assigned to the sales order; MTS output replenishes common stock.
MTO emphasizes traceable order economics; MTS emphasizes service level, availability, and inventory efficiency.
A customer orders a motor with a specific voltage and mounting option. The sales order creates individual demand, MRP plans the configured components, production receives the finished unit into order-specific stock, and delivery and billing complete the customer requirement.
Explore the planning, production, and control capabilities that make Make to Order work.
Choose the stage closest to your question. The pages are related references, not required lessons.