From Excel Trackers to a Live PO-to-Ship Schedule
Job shops still chase multi-department orders in shared spreadsheets. Flow turns a purchase order and a promised ship date into department steps, work queues, and a schedule that moves when the floor does.
In pilot with a multi-department job shop. Access is by invitation for now.
The Path From Spreadsheet to Floor
Four moments where a shared Excel tracker breaks down, and what changes with Flow.
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A New PO Lands
BeforeSomeone copies the order into the workbook and guesses the dates by hand.
With FlowThe planner enters the PO and promised ship date, and the steps and plan dates are generated from standard times.
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CNC Finishes Late
BeforeDownstream cells stay green until someone notices.
With FlowThe delay carries into mould, injection, and assembly, and the projected ship date updates.
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Assembly Asks If It Is Ready
BeforePhone calls, and scrolling to find the right row.
With FlowThe department queue shows Ready to Start the moment the upstream work is Done.
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The Monday Chase Meeting
BeforeExport, filter, color-code, and argue about whose copy is current.
With FlowLate, due-soon, and problem steps are flagged in one shared view.
Enter the Order Once
The planner types the purchase order one time. Flow builds the department steps and the dates behind them, so nobody maintains a second copy.
- Customer, reference, category, promised ship date, and notes on the order header
- Part lines with quantity, and mould count where the process needs it
- The process chain expands into department steps automatically
- Plan dates are back-scheduled from the promised ship date using standard times
- A planner can override a step length or date for the exception
- Existing order rows can be imported from an Excel workbook
Each Department Works Its Own Queue
CNC does not need to scroll past assembly rows to find its next job. Every department sees its own work, grouped by what can happen next.
- Queues grouped as Ready to Start, In Progress, Problem, Waiting on Upstream, and Done
- Start and Complete record the actual dates as the work happens
- A problem is reported with a reason, the delay in days, and a note
- Completing a step releases the next department's work
- Built to be used on a shared department screen
When the Floor Moves, the Schedule Moves
A spreadsheet holds the dates somebody typed. Flow holds the rules behind them, so a change on the floor shows up where it matters.
- Standard times as fixed days or quantity-based bands
- Dependencies across CNC, mould, injection, overmolding, sourcing, and assembly
- Late, due-soon, and problem steps flagged on every open order
- Promised and projected ship dates side by side
- Baseline plan dates stay on record, so slippage can be measured
English and Chinese From the First Screen
Many job shops run planning in English and the floor in Chinese. Flow shows both from the same live data, so there is no second spreadsheet in the other language.
- Interface and step names in English and Chinese
- Each user chooses their own language
- Orders, shipments, and steps export together as one Excel workbook
What Flow Is, and What It Is Not
Flow plans and runs the path from purchase order to ship date, and it says where that stops.
What Flow Is
- Production planning and shop-floor execution for multi-department job shops.
- A shared replacement for the Excel order tracker.
- PO-to-ship scheduling with department queues and delay tracking.
What Flow Is Not
- Not an ERP. No accounting, inventory valuation, or purchasing.
- Not a full MES. No plant-wide manufacturing suite.
- Not Trace, Measure, or Quote. Those cover work instructions, first-article inspection, and CNC quoting.
Flow is in pilot and access is by invitation until a wider release.
Common Questions
Flow is production planning and shop-floor execution software for job shops. A planner enters a purchase order and a promised ship date. Flow expands the order into department steps, back-schedules them from standard times, and gives each department its own live queue. When a step finishes late or a problem is logged, the steps that depend on it and the projected ship date move with it.
No. Flow replaces the multi-department Excel production tracker. It is not an ERP and it is not a full manufacturing execution system. It plans and runs the path from purchase order to ship date across departments. Accounting, inventory valuation, and plant-wide MES suites are out of scope.
Trace runs digital work instructions and records who did what on each serial number. Flow schedules the order across departments and tracks it from purchase order to ship date. Many shops will want both, because they solve different jobs.
That is the job it is built for. Open orders, department steps, promised dates, and delay notes live in one shared app, so several people no longer edit the same workbook. Order rows can be imported from an Excel workbook, so open orders do not have to be retyped.
Typical job shop chains such as CNC, mould, injection, overmolding, sourcing, and assembly. Departments, process chains, and standard times are set up for your shop.
Yes. English and Chinese are both supported in the interface and in step names, and each user can switch language. Both languages show the same live data.
Yes. Orders, shipments, and steps export together as one Excel workbook, so your planning data is never trapped in the app.
Not yet. Flow is in pilot with a small group of teams and access is by invitation. Contact Asytra to join the waitlist or to talk about pilot access. There is no public pricing for Flow yet.
Talk to Us About Flow
If your shop still runs production through a shared spreadsheet, tell us how your departments are set up. We are piloting Flow with a small group of teams before a wider release.