Project-Based Manufacturing, Reimagined
Project2Prod gives manufacturers complete visibility and control over project costs, schedules, and time tracking — all inside NetSuite.
Key Features
Auto Project Tasks
Automatically creates project tasks from Work Orders and operations with full hierarchy.
MFG Scheduling
Gantt-based scheduling with capacity planning, dependency tracking, and delay propagation.
Cost Tracking
Planned vs. actual cost visibility with labor, machine, and overhead breakdowns.
Time Entry Automation
Auto-creates time entries from shop floor completions linked to project tasks.
Project Segmentation
Auto-assigns project segments across Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, and Work Orders.
Orchestrator
Intelligent automation engine with monitoring, recovery, and notifications.
Project2Prod is the only NetSuite-native solution that bridges manufacturing operations with project management. Built for manufacturers who need to track project-level costs, schedules, and time entries across multiple Work Orders — without leaving NetSuite.
Why Project2Prod
The Problem
Manufacturers using NetSuite's Advanced Manufacturing module have no native way to track project-level costs, scheduling, and time entries across multiple Work Orders. Finance teams lack visibility into planned vs. actual costs, and project managers can't see manufacturing progress on their dashboards.
The Solution
Project2Prod bridges the gap between NetSuite's Manufacturing and Project Management modules. When a Work Order is created with a project assigned, Project2Prod automatically creates a full hierarchy of project tasks, populates planned costs, synchronizes dates, rolls up actuals, and generates time entries — all without any manual intervention.
Key Differentiators
100% NetSuite Native
No external software, no connectors, no middleware. Your data stays in one system and updates in real time.
Fully Automated
Zero manual entry required. Event-driven processing means data syncs as your team works.
Bi-Directional Sync
Dates, costs, and hours flow both ways between manufacturing and project management with intelligent dependency propagation.
The Project2Prod Difference
What You Get
8 integrated modules covering project task automation, cost tracking, scheduling, time entries, segmentation, completions tracking, integrity validation, and orchestration — all deployed in 2–4 weeks.
Why Project2Prod
What Project2Prod does, how it works, and why it's different.
The Problem
Manufacturers using NetSuite's Advanced Manufacturing module have no native way to track project-level costs, scheduling, and time entries across multiple Work Orders within a single project. Finance teams lack visibility into planned vs. actual costs at the operation level, and project managers can't see manufacturing progress on their project dashboards.
The Project2Prod Solution
Project2Prod bridges the gap between NetSuite's Manufacturing module and its Project Management module. When a Work Order is created with a project assigned, Project2Prod automatically creates a full hierarchy of project tasks — one per Work Order, and one per manufacturing operation. Planned costs from routing cost details flow into project budgets. Actual costs and hours roll up from shop floor completions. Dates stay synchronized with dependency propagation. Time entries are auto-created for project billing and resource tracking.
Key Differentiators
Zero-Integration Architecture
Project2Prod lives entirely inside NetSuite. No external software, no connectors, no middleware. Your data stays in one system and updates in real time.
Bi-Directional Synchronization
Dates, costs, and hours flow both ways — from manufacturing operations into project tasks, and project schedule changes propagate through the dependency chain. Finish-to-Start dependency rules are respected with intelligent delay propagation.
Idempotent & Safe
Every automation is designed to be safely re-run. Summary searches always produce the same aggregated totals, updates overwrite rather than increment, and a manual override flag ensures hand-edited values are never overwritten.
Full Cost Visibility
Labor run costs, labor setup costs, machine costs, and overhead are all broken out at the operation level. Compare planned costs from routing cost details against actual costs from shop floor completions — all on a single project task record.
How It Works
How Project2Prod connects Manufacturing and Project Management inside NetSuite — automatically.
Project Task Hierarchy
When a Work Order is linked to a project, Project2Prod automatically builds a structured hierarchy of project tasks that mirrors your manufacturing operations:
Automated Pipeline
Project2Prod runs a 5-step pipeline that keeps your project data perfectly synchronized with manufacturing — no manual intervention needed:
Real-Time Event Processing
In addition to scheduled batch processing, Project2Prod reacts to events in real time as your team works in NetSuite:
| When This Happens | Project2Prod Automatically |
|---|---|
| A Work Order is created with a project | Creates the full project task hierarchy and populates planned costs |
| A Sales Order is saved with a project | Assigns the project segment to all line items for financial reporting |
| A Purchase Order is created from an SO | Inherits the project segment from the Sales Order |
| A Work Order completion is recorded | Captures the employee, rolls up actual costs, and creates time entries |
| An operation's schedule changes | Propagates the date shift through all dependent tasks |
Data That Flows Into Projects
Every project task created by Project2Prod carries a rich set of manufacturing data — giving project managers and finance teams full visibility without leaving the project record:
| Data Point | Source | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| Linked Work Order | Work Order record | Set at creation |
| Linked Operation | Manufacturing Operation Task | Set at creation |
| Planned Labor & Machine Costs | Routing cost detail | Recalculated when routing changes |
| Actual Labor & Machine Costs | Shop floor completions | Rolled up after each completion |
| Actual Hours (Labor, Machine, Setup) | Operation completions | Rolled up after each completion |
| Start & End Dates | Operation Task schedule | Synchronized continuously |
| Completion Employee | User who recorded completion | Captured at completion |
Auto Project Tasks
Automatically creates a complete project task hierarchy from manufacturing Work Orders and Operations.
How It Works
When a Work Order is created or edited with a project assigned, Project2Prod automatically creates two levels of project tasks. First, a WO-level project task is created as a direct child of the project. Then, operation-level project tasks are created beneath it — one for each manufacturing operation (Cutting, Milling, Final Assembly, etc.).
Before Project2Prod: Project managers manually create tasks for each manufacturing step, then spend hours keeping them updated. Cost and schedule data lives in manufacturing — invisible to project dashboards.
After Project2Prod: Tasks auto-create with the full operation hierarchy. Planned work, dates, and costs populate automatically. Project managers get instant visibility without any manual data entry.
Key Behaviors
Duplicate Prevention
Before creating a project task, the script checks if one already exists for the Work Order + Operation combination. This ensures safe re-runs and prevents duplicates when editing Work Orders.
Batch & Real-Time Modes
Project2Prod supports both targeted execution (processing a specific Work Order immediately when saved) and batch mode (processing all Work Orders with projects on a schedule). You get the best of both worlds — instant updates during the day and comprehensive reconciliation overnight.
Project Segmentation
Automatically creates and assigns project segments across Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, and Work Orders for unified financial reporting.
How It Works
Project2Prod uses a custom project segment to tag every transaction line with the associated project. When a Sales Order, Purchase Order, or Work Order is saved, Project2Prod reads the project from the header and automatically sets the segment on all lines — including item lines and expense lines. If the segment record doesn't exist yet, it's created on the fly.
Transaction Coverage
| Transaction | Segment Source | When It Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Order | Project from SO header | On create, edit, or copy |
| Purchase Order | Inherited from linked Sales Order | On create, edit, or copy |
| Work Order | Project from WO header | On create, edit, or copy |
Result: Finance teams can run P&L by project segment across the entire order-to-cash and procure-to-pay cycle without any manual tagging.
MFG Scheduling
Gantt-based visual scheduling with capacity planning, dependency tracking, and project-filtered views.
Work Order Gantt View
Project2Prod synchronizes manufacturing dates into project tasks, enabling a Gantt view that shows all Work Orders for a project on a single timeline. Filter by project, status, location, work center, or assembly item. See delays highlighted in red, and drag work orders to reschedule.
Work Center Capacity View
The capacity planning view shows work center utilization over time. Color-coded bars indicate load levels — green for under 80%, yellow for 80–100%, and red for over 100%. This gives production planners the ability to balance workloads across work centers and avoid bottlenecks.
Date Synchronization
Project2Prod continuously synchronizes manufacturing dates with project tasks. When an operation's schedule shifts, the change propagates through Finish-to-Start dependencies — successor tasks are pushed forward, but never pulled earlier than their predecessors allow. This ensures your project schedules always reflect manufacturing reality.
Cost Tracking
Full visibility into planned vs. actual costs with labor, machine, and overhead breakdowns at every operation.
Planned Costs
When project tasks are created, Project2Prod reads the cost detail from each manufacturing operation's routing. It calculates planned labor costs (run rate × planned hours), planned machine costs, and setup costs — all stored directly on the project task. If the routing changes, Project2Prod detects the update and recalculates automatically.
Actual Costs
As operations complete on the shop floor, Project2Prod aggregates actual hours and calculates costs using the same routing rates applied to actual hours instead of planned. Labor, machine, setup, and overhead costs are all broken out separately — giving you a detailed cost variance at every operation.
Cost Calculation Logic
| Cost Type | Planned Calculation | Actual Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Labor Run | runrate × planned labor hours | runrate × actual labor hours |
| Labor Setup | fixedrate or (runrate × planned setup) | fixedrate or (runrate × actual setup) |
| Machine Run | runrate × planned machine hours | runrate × actual machine hours |
| Machine Setup | fixedrate or (runrate × planned setup) | fixedrate or (runrate × actual setup) |
| Overhead | Added to respective category | Added to respective category |
Time Entry Automation
Automatically creates Time Entry (timebill) records from shop floor completions, linked to the correct project and task.
How It Works
When a Work Order completion captures actual labor hours and the employee who performed the work, Project2Prod automatically creates a Time Entry record. This time entry is linked to the project, the project task, and the employee — making it immediately available for project billing, resource utilization reports, and payroll integration.
Duplicate Prevention
Project2Prod tracks which project tasks have already had time entries generated. If the process runs again, it will not create duplicate entries — ensuring clean, accurate time data every time.
Result: Project managers see accurate time data without employees needing to manually log time against project tasks. The shop floor completion IS the timesheet.
WO Completions
Tracks Work Order completions with automatic employee capture and project linkage.
How It Works
When a Work Order completion is recorded in NetSuite, Project2Prod springs into action. It captures the employee who performed the work and stores it on the linked project task. It then triggers the cost rollup and time entry creation processes — ensuring your project data is always up to date within moments of a shop floor completion.
Data Captured
| Field | Source | Stored On |
|---|---|---|
| Completion Employee | Current user at time of completion | Project Task |
| Actual Setup Hours | Operation Task completion | Project Task |
| Actual Labor Hours | Operation Task completion | Project Task |
| Actual Machine Hours | Operation Task completion | Project Task |
| Completed Quantity | Assembly Build record | Project Task |
Integrity Validation
Automated health checks for the entire Project ↔ Work Order ↔ Operation Task ↔ Project Task linkage chain.
Validation Checks
Project2Prod runs scheduled health checks to detect and optionally fix data quality issues across your entire manufacturing-to-project linkage:
| Check | Issue Detected | Auto-Fix Action |
|---|---|---|
| Orphan Work Orders | WO has project but no project task | Trigger project task creation |
| Orphan Operations | Operation Task has no project task (when WO has project) | Queue for project task creation |
| Broken WO Links | Project Task points to inactive/deleted WO | Flag for review or deactivate |
| Broken Op Links | Project Task points to inactive/deleted Operation | Flag for review or deactivate |
| Date Mismatches | Project Task dates differ from source by > 3 days | Sync dates from source |
Safety Controls
Dry-Run Mode
Auto-fix is disabled by default. In dry-run mode, the script logs everything it would fix without making any changes. Enable auto-fix via script parameter only after reviewing the dry-run report.
Fix Limits
A maximum of 100 fixes per run prevents runaway corrections. All fixes are logged with before/after values for full auditability.
Orchestrator
An intelligent automation engine that keeps your project data perfectly synchronized with manufacturing — with built-in monitoring, recovery, and notifications.
Processing Pipeline
The orchestrator runs a 5-step pipeline in the correct dependency order, ensuring each step completes before the next begins:
| Step | Process | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create Project Tasks | Builds the full project task hierarchy from Work Orders and operations |
| 2 | Calculate Planned Costs | Reads routing cost details and populates planned labor & machine costs |
| 3 | Synchronize Dates | Aligns project task dates with manufacturing schedules and propagates delays |
| 4 | Roll Up Actual Costs | Aggregates actual hours and costs from shop floor completions |
| 5 | Generate Time Entries | Creates time records for project billing and resource tracking |
Execution Modes
FULL_CHAIN (Default)
Runs all 5 scripts in sequence. Use for daily/nightly batch processing.
SINGLE_SCRIPT
Runs only the specified script. Use for targeted execution when you need to re-run a specific step.
FROM_SCRIPT
Runs from the specified script to the end of the chain. Use to resume processing after a failure without re-running completed steps.
Monitoring & Recovery
The orchestrator tracks each step's progress and generates a detailed execution report. If a critical step fails, the pipeline pauses automatically so nothing proceeds with incomplete data. Email notifications are sent to your designated administrator with the full status report — including what succeeded, what failed, and how long each step took. You'll never wonder whether your project data is up to date.
Roadmap
What's built, what's coming, and what's on the horizon.
Delivered v1.0
Auto Project Task Creation
WO-level and operation-level project tasks with full hierarchy and duplicate prevention.
Project Segmentation
Auto segment assignment across SO, PO, and WO transactions.
Planned & Actual Cost Tracking
Full cost breakdown (labor, machine, setup, overhead) with planned vs. actual comparison.
Date Synchronization
Finish-to-Start dependency propagation with delay tracking.
Time Entry Automation
Auto timebill creation from shop floor completions.
Orchestrator & Integrity Validation
Script chain management, monitoring, and automated health checks.
Coming Soon v1.1
Project Dashboard Portlet
Real-time summary of project health — on-time %, budget utilization, and cost variance at a glance.
Planned v2.0
Earned Value Management (EVM)
CPI, SPI, EAC, and ETC calculations based on manufacturing progress.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Project2Prod.
Does Project2Prod require any external software?
No. Project2Prod is 100% native to NetSuite. There are no external applications, middleware, or connectors to install or maintain. Everything runs inside your existing NetSuite environment.
What happens if I edit a project task's costs manually?
Check the "Cost Manually Edited" checkbox on the project task. This tells Project2Prod to skip that record during automated cost calculations, ensuring your hand-tuned values are preserved.
Can I run the scripts on-demand instead of on a schedule?
Yes. The orchestrator supports three execution modes: FULL_CHAIN (all scripts), SINGLE_SCRIPT (one specific script), and FROM_SCRIPT (resume from a specific point). You can trigger any of these on-demand.
What happens if a script fails mid-run?
If a required script fails, the orchestrator stops the chain and marks remaining scripts as SKIPPED. You can use FROM_SCRIPT mode to resume from the failed step after fixing the issue. An email notification is sent with full error details.
How does Project2Prod handle multiple Work Orders per project?
Each Work Order creates its own branch in the project task hierarchy. A project can have dozens of Work Orders, each with multiple operation tasks, all visible on the same project schedule with proper dependency tracking.
Is it safe to re-run the automation?
Yes. Project2Prod is designed to be safely re-run at any time. It checks for existing records before creating new ones, overwrites cost values rather than incrementing them, and tracks which time entries have already been generated to prevent duplicates.
What NetSuite modules are required?
Project2Prod requires NetSuite Advanced Manufacturing (for Work Orders, Operations, and Routings) and NetSuite Project Management (for Projects and Project Tasks).