📘 Related article: This guide builds on Manufacturing & Work Orders: Key Features. Start there for a full tour of the manufacturing order screen.
Picking assigns specific inventory to the materials on a manufacturing order (MO). It tells Sutton exactly which labels went into a job, so your inventory counts, job costs, and traceability stay accurate.
Before you start
Materials must come from the location assigned to the MO. If you search for or scan a label stored at a different location, Sutton shows an error, and the label isn’t picked.
⚠️ Heads up: If you see the error Materials must be picked from the manufacturing location assigned to the MO, the label you scanned belongs to a different location. Pick a label from the MO’s location instead.
Check what still needs picking
Open the MO and go to the Overview tab. The Materials table opens on the Not picked filter, so you can see at a glance what the job still needs.
Click Picked to see what’s already been picked. Each row shows the label, when it was picked (Picked on), the bin it came from (Picked from), and the quantity.
Choose Auto pick or Manual pick
The dropdown next to the search bar controls what happens when you search for or scan a label.
Method | Serialized label | Standard item |
Auto pick | Picks the full quantity on the label right away, with no modal. Nested labels open the Pick nested inventory modal. | Opens the Pick inventory modal so you can choose the quantity. |
Manual pick | A label with exactly 1 unit is picked right away. For any other quantity, a modal asks how many you want to pick. | Opens the Pick inventory modal so you can choose the quantity. |
ℹ️ Note: Auto pick only works for serialized inventory. For standard items, Sutton can’t pick everything in a bin at once, so you always choose the quantity. To learn more about the two tracking types, check out When to Use Standard vs Serialized Inventory Tracking.
Pick materials by searching or scanning
Find a label’s serial number
To search for inventory, you’ll need its serial number:
Serialized inventory: Go to Inventory, open the Serialized tab, and copy the code from the Serial number column.
Standard inventory: Open the item from Items. The serial number is in the General section.
Search or scan to pick
In the Materials table, choose Auto pick or Manual pick from the dropdown.
Search for or scan the label:
Search: Enter the serial number in the Search for inventory or scan barcode bar.
Handheld barcode scanner: Click the search bar first, then scan the label.
Phone: Tap the camera icon and scan a printed label from your active inventory.
If Manual pick is selected or the item uses standard inventory, a modal opens. Enter the quantity you want to pick, then click Pick items for serialized inventory or Pick for standard inventory.
Serialized on manual pick
Standard on manual pick
Keep searching or scanning labels until Picked qty matches Planned qty.
📘 Sutton Tip: The camera icon works best on phones. On a laptop, a handheld barcode scanner is the fastest way to pick.
Pick materials from the line item
You can also click Pick at the end of any line in the Materials table. This opens the Pick inventory modal, which shows a progress bar (for example, Picked 240 of 600 g) and every place you can pick from.
Standard inventory
Each row shows a location and bin, with the available quantity. The quantity field is pre-filled with what’s left to pick.
Click Pick to pick the quantity in the field.
Click All to fill in the full quantity available in that bin.
To pick a different amount, type it in the field, then click Pick.
Serialized inventory
Each row is an available label, with its location, bin, and Inventory #. Enter the quantity for a label and click Pick, or click All to use the full label. Nested labels show See nested instead of a quantity field.
Pick from a nested label
A nested label groups other labels together, such as boxes on a pallet. When you search for or scan a nested label, or click See nested, the Pick nested inventory modal opens.
The modal lists each child label with its location, bin, available quantity, and Inventory #. The total available across all child labels is shown at the bottom. Enter the quantity for each child label and click Pick, or click All to fill in the full label quantity.
Unpick materials
If you picked the wrong label or too much, you can unpick it. Unpicked inventory goes back to its original label and bin.
In the Materials table, click Picked.
Find the label you want to unpick:
To unpick the full quantity, click Unpick.
To unpick part of it, enter the amount to remove in the quantity field, then click Unpick.
How backflush inventory picks for you
If backflush inventory is turned on for your account, you’ll see a Backflush inventory enabled notice above the Materials table. When output is created, Sutton automatically picks the materials needed for the completed quantity:
Materials are picked first-in, first-out (FIFO), starting with the oldest available label.
Anything you’ve already picked for the job counts toward what’s needed, so Sutton only picks the remaining quantity.
This means you can still pick specific labels yourself before logging output, and Sutton picks the rest.
📘 Sutton Tip: For the full details on backflush, including what happens when materials run short, check out Production: Operation Defaults.
Incorrect picking alerts
If Alert on incorrect material picking is turned on, Sutton checks your picks when you complete a work order. If the picked quantities don’t match what the order calls for, you’ll see an alert. Click Cancel to go back and fix your picks, or Continue to complete the work order and address it later.
📘 Sutton Tip: To learn how to turn this alert on, check out Production: Operation Defaults.
Your materials are picked and ready for production
You can now pick materials by searching, scanning, or from the line item; unpick when plans change; and know what backflush handles for you. Accurate picks keep inventory counts, job costs, and lot traceability reliable on every job.
If you have additional questions, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager or contact us at [email protected].