Operations: Common Production Workflows and Scenarios

Every roastery handles production a little differently. This article covers common scenarios your team may run into — from large orders that span multiple days to handling last-minute order changes after you've already planned production.

Fulfilling a large order over multiple days

Sometimes a customer places a large order that your team works on across several days before shipping. There are two ways to handle this.

Option A: Enter the full order and fulfill piece by piece

This is the simpler approach and works well for most teams.

1. Enter the order with the full quantity and assign it to the first production day, update the ship day to when you'll be sending it to the customer .
2. Talk with your production team about which items to prioritize each day. The Tasks page doesn't show which customer an item is for, so this communication step is important.
3. On the Fulfill page, check off items as they're allocated to the order each day. The order stays in the fulfill list until every item is done.
4. Mark the order as shipped once the entire order is fulfilled at the end of the week.

Option B: Create daily internal orders for demand

This gives you tighter control over daily production quantities.

1. Create smaller internal orders (for an internal customer) with each day's planned production amount.
2. Auto Plan and complete tasks against those daily orders. (but don't mark them as fulfilled)
3. At the end of the week, cancel the internal orders.
4. Fulfill and ship the actual customer order.

Getting ahead for tomorrow

Your roaster finished early and wants to knock out a few extra batches. Here's how to keep the system in sync so tomorrow's plan accounts for it.

1. Go to Operations > Plan Tasks.
2. In the Roast section, click Add Task and enter the details (coffee, batch size).
3. The task appears on the Tasks page. Complete it when the roast is done.

The extra inventory carries over to the next day. When you run Auto Plan tomorrow, the system sees that inventory and creates fewer tasks accordingly — so you won't double-produce.

This works the same way for packaging. If someone packages a few extra bags at the end of the day, add a packaging task, complete it, and the inventory is ready for tomorrow's fulfillment.

Handling order changes after Auto Plan

Orders change — customers cancel, add items, or ask to push delivery. Here's what to expect when changes happen after you've already run Auto Plan.

If an order is canceled or moved to a different day

The tasks that were already created for that order remain on the Tasks page. This is by design — Auto Plan never removes tasks, because we'd rather your team have extra inventory than fall short.

If you want to remove the tasks that were associated with that order you will need to review the planning pages.

To clean up:

1. Go to Operations > Plan Tasks.
2. Use the "packages with carryover" filter to see where you'll have extra inventory.
3. Delete any tasks you no longer need, or leave them if the extra inventory is useful for tomorrow.

If a new order comes in after planning

The abacus icon on the Operations dashboard turns red if your current plan won't cover all demand — meaning you'll be short on something.

1. Go to Operations > Plan Tasks.
2. Use the "outstanding" filter to see where you'll fall short.
3. Either click Auto Plan again (it will add only what's missing) or manually add the tasks you need.

Deciding who approves orders and when

There's no single right answer here — it depends on your team's schedule and who's available when. Here are two common approaches.

Office approves before production starts

The office manager or account manager reviews and approves orders before the production team arrives. By the time the roaster walks in, everything is in ready status and they can go straight to counting inventory and planning.

Works well when: Your office staff starts before production, and order review requires context the production team doesn't have (custom orders, hold requests, etc.).

Production lead approves as part of morning planning

The production lead checks pending orders first thing — especially overnight commerce orders — and approves them as the first step of their planning routine.

Works well when: Roasters start early (e.g., 5–6 AM) before the office opens, and orders are straightforward enough that the production lead can make approval decisions.

Managing custom labels and UPC stickers

Some customers require special labeling — UPC stickers, private labels, or specific date formats. The Tasks page doesn't show which customer ordered what, so here's how to handle it.

Use the Fulfill page for customer-specific visibility

The Fulfill page connects products to specific customers, which is where you can see who needs special handling.

1. Go to Operations > Fulfill.
2. Sort by order to see each customer and their items.
3. Identify which orders need UPC stickers or custom labels.

Use the Label tab on the Tasks page

The Label tab on the Tasks page can also help organize labeling work. You can sort it by product or by bag size — for example, if all your trade bags get a specific sticker, sorting by bag size groups them together.

Tips & FAQs

Q: What if I accidentally marked something as fulfilled but it wasn't done?

A: You can select it again to un-fulfill it.   Go back to the Fulfill page and uncheck the item. The inventory returns to its previous state.

Q: What happens to tasks if I delete an order?

A: Tasks remain on the Tasks page — they don't get removed when the order is deleted. Check the planning page's carryover filter to find and clean up any tasks you don't need.

Q: Can I run Auto Plan more than once in a day?

A: Yes. Auto Plan only adds tasks — it won't duplicate or remove existing ones. If new orders come in after your initial plan, running it again will create tasks for just the additional demand.  You can auto plan numerous time.  But you will need to wait a few minutes between autoplans.

Q: What if my roaster did a different batch size than what was planned?

A: Create a new task with the actual weight, complete it, then delete the original task. For example, if the plan said 55 pounds but they roasted 60, add a 60-pound task, complete it, and remove the 55-pound one.

Q: How do I know if someone changed an order after I already planned?

A: If you'll be short, the alert icon on the Operations dashboard turns red. If you'll have extra (from a canceled or moved order), there's no automatic alert — use the "packages with carryover" filter on the planning page to check.

Q: Can someone on the production floor add or remove orders?

A: Yes — the Schedule Orders page in Operations lets production staff approve, move, or manage orders. Whether they should depends on your team's process. See Deciding who approves orders and when above.