A.   WO-WIP (Work Order-Work in Process)  is a term we use to describe inventory issues to a work order, but which exceed the needed quantity of the work order.  An example would be the issue of a reel of components containing 2000 parts, but only 1600 are actually needed for the work order.  Because it may not be feasible to portion out exactly the 1600 components, the complete reel is issued to the work order. Then from a data standpoint, there are 1600 actually issued to the work order (WIP) and 400 issued to WO-WIP.

So WO-WIP is actually inventory, NOT work in progress. We identify it as WO-WIP to make it easier to understand that it is not in a normal warehouse, and to identify the work order where these extra parts are currently held.

Doing this procedure allows us to identify the extra parts issued to a work order as being available to meet any demand requirements in MRP. Without the visibility of these WO-WIP parts, MRP would not know they were available and generate orders to obtain more parts, with the result being a likely duplication of the requirements.

At the end of the work order (or any time before it) the extra parts should be returned to the stockroom, and the kit adjusted to reflect the return. If it is not done, then when closing the kits, these parts may be absorbed by the work order, resulting in an unfavorable manufacturing variance.

It is also VERY important to note that in the Warehouse setup , the Account Number for WO-WIP must NOT be the same as the WIP account number.