What is Routing? Definition & Manufacturing Examples

What is Routing?

A routing in manufacturing is a detailed specification of the sequence of operations required to produce a part or assembly, including which work centers perform each operation, the setup and run times involved, and any special tooling or instructions. The routing is essentially the recipe for manufacturing a product — it tells the shop floor how to make the part, step by step. Every production order references a routing, and the scheduling system uses routing data to plan capacity, assign resources, and calculate lead times.

How Routing Works in Manufacturing

A routing consists of a series of operations numbered in sequence. Each operation specifies:

• Operation number: Typically numbered in increments of 10 (10, 20, 30) to allow inserting additional operations later
• Work center: The machine or department that performs the operation
• Operation description: What is done at this step (face, drill, bore, grind, assemble, inspect)
• Setup time: Time to prepare the machine for this operation
• Run time per unit: Processing time for each piece or per batch
• Tooling: Required tools, fixtures, and gauges
• Quality requirements: Inspection criteria, tolerances, test specifications

The routing drives the scheduling system. When a production order is created for 100 units of Part XYZ, the system reads the routing to determine which work centers are needed, calculates total processing time (setup plus run time multiplied by quantity), and schedules each operation against the appropriate resource.

Routing accuracy is critical. If the routing says a CNC milling operation takes 30 minutes per part but it actually takes 45 minutes, every schedule based on that routing will be 50 percent too optimistic. This cascading error causes downstream operations to start late, due dates to be missed, and planner credibility to erode.

Routing Example

Here is a typical routing for a precision shaft:

For a production order of 50 shafts, total processing time is:

• Op 10: 0.25 + (50 x 2/60) = 1.92 hours
• Op 20: 1.5 + (50 x 8/60) = 8.17 hours
• Op 30: 0.75 + (50 x 5/60) = 4.92 hours
• Op 40: 0.5 + (50 x 6/60) = 5.50 hours
• Op 50: 0 + (50 x 3/60) = 2.50 hours

Total: 23 hours of processing across 5 work centers. The scheduling system uses this data to load each work center and schedule the operations in sequence.

Why Routing Matters for Production Scheduling

Routings are the data backbone of any scheduling system. Without them, the system cannot schedule work, calculate capacity needs, or estimate delivery dates. Investing in accurate, up-to-date routings pays dividends in schedule reliability and planning accuracy.

Resource Manager DB (RMDB) imports routing data from your ERP system or allows direct entry, then uses it to generate finite capacity schedules. Each operation in the routing becomes a scheduled time block on the Gantt chart, assigned to a specific machine at a specific time. Accurate routings translate directly to accurate schedules and reliable delivery commitments.

Related Terms

• Operations Scheduling — The detailed scheduling of each routing operation to specific resources and time slots
• Setup Time — A key routing data element that affects scheduling and machine utilization
• Run Time — The per-unit processing time specified in the routing for each operation

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more in our complete manufacturing glossary or production scheduling guide.