> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.garmentflow.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Style vs. order vs. MO

> Three core records, what each one is for, how they relate, and when to create each.

GarmentFlow has three records you'll use constantly: the **style**, the **order**,
and the **manufacturing order (MO)**. They sound similar but do different jobs.
This page defines each one, shows how the three connect, and gives you a rule of
thumb for when to create each.

This builds directly on the [style-centric model](/concepts/style-centric-model) —
read that first if you haven't.

## Style — the reusable product

A <Tooltip tip="The reusable product record that owns the BOM, cost sheet, and manufacturing orders.">[style](/reference/glossary#style)</Tooltip>
is the product itself: a specific garment, described once and reused. It owns the
BOM, cost sheet, packing and quality specs, manufacturing orders, and its
<Tooltip tip="The per-style validation record that takes a style from first prototype to a bulk-approved sample across seven fixed stages.">[fitting](/reference/glossary#fitting)</Tooltip>
history. A style is **not** tied to a single order — it's meant to be reused
across many.

**Think of the style as the recipe.**

## Order — a customer's commitment to buy

An <Tooltip tip="A customer's commitment to buy specific styles, colorways, and quantities to ship by a given date.">[order](/reference/glossary#order)</Tooltip>
is what a customer has committed to buy: which styles, in which colorways, in what
quantities, at what price, to ship by when. An order links to the styles it runs
and adds the order-specific details — quantities, colorways, sizes, dates, and
commercial terms.

One style can appear on many orders; one order can include several styles.

**Think of the order as the customer's request.**

## MO — the production-spec document

A <Tooltip tip="The production document issued for a specific order's version of a style; its content is frozen when it is issued.">[manufacturing order (MO, 製造單)](/reference/glossary#mo-manufacturing-order)</Tooltip>
is the production-spec workbook that tells the factory exactly how to make the
style for a specific order. It is a multi-tab factory Excel — the order's
quantities, the style's approved BOM as a per-colorway color-spec matrix, the
finalised grading grid, the sample-stage measurement comparison, and the
customer's brand-tab library attachments (packing, production notes, sample
review, style detail) — rendered from one of the workspace's
[PMS templates](/admin/pms-templates).

The MO has two phases:

* While the MO is in **draft**, you can adjust the order it is bound to,
  swap the brand-tab attachments, or leave a target empty.
* When you **issue** the MO, its content freezes. From that point on the
  workbook the factory opens reads from the issue-time snapshot, even if a
  later revision of the BOM, grading, sample measurements, or a brand-tab
  library item is made afterwards. That stability is the point of issuing:
  the factory and the order team look at the same picture for the run.

**Think of the MO as the work specification, frozen at issue.**

<Note>
  The MO (**製造單**) is the production *specification* — what to make and to which
  versions. It is a separate record from the
  <Tooltip tip="The outsourcing document (委外) covering work sent to a factory; one factory order can span several orders and styles.">[factory order](/reference/glossary#factory-order)</Tooltip>
  (**委外單**), which is the outsourcing *contract* covering the work sent to a
  factory and the money owed for it. One spec; one contract. For factory orders,
  see the [Production module guide](/modules/production).
</Note>

## How they relate

The three records form a clear hierarchy:

* A **style** is validated by [fittings](/reference/glossary#fitting) before it
  goes into bulk production.
* A **style** has many **orders** — each order runs the style for one customer
  commitment, and each order keeps its own
  [version pin](/concepts/bom-cost-sheet-artifact-versions) onto the BOM and
  cost sheet it is working from.
* An **order** has one or more **MOs** — each MO is issued against that order's
  approved BOM, its finalised grading, its sample measurements, and the
  brand-tab library items attached to the version, and its content freezes
  when the MO is issued.

```
Style  (the reusable product — BOM, cost sheet, specs)
  │  validated by fittings before bulk
  ├── Order A  (customer buys the style — pinned to its own BOM/cost versions)
  │     └── MO  (make the style for Order A — pins the order's approved versions)
  ├── Order B  (another customer, or a reorder)
  │     └── MO  (make the style for Order B)
  └── Order C
        └── MO
```

The style is shared; each order keeps its own pin onto the style's documents;
and each MO is issued against the versions that order is currently working from.

## Rule of thumb: when to create each

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Create a style" icon="shapes">
    When you have a **new product** to define and reuse — a garment you haven't
    set up before. Reuse an existing style when the same product comes back.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create an order" icon="file-text">
    When a **customer commits to buy** — you have styles, colorways, quantities,
    a price, and a ship date to record against that customer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create an MO" icon="factory">
    When an order is **ready to produce** and you need to hand the factory a
    settled specification — the BOM, cost sheet, and other specs frozen at the
    versions the order is running.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

A quick test:

* New product to define? → **style**
* Customer buying it? → **order**
* Time to spec the run for the factory? → **MO**

## Best practice: approve upstream before you issue

Issuing an MO freezes its picture of the style. The most useful picture to
freeze is the one your team has signed off on — so as a rule, **approve the
BOM, finalise the grading, and attach the customer's brand-tab library items
before you issue the MO**. GarmentFlow won't stop you from issuing earlier;
the discipline is what keeps the factory working from a workbook the order
team stands behind.

The mechanics of the multi-tab workbook — which tab renders from which
source and what a blank tab means — live on
[Build a manufacturing order (MO)](/modules/build-an-mo).

## Related pages

* [The style-centric model](/concepts/style-centric-model)
* [Order lifecycle](/concepts/order-lifecycle)
* [BOM, cost sheet, and artifact versions](/concepts/bom-cost-sheet-artifact-versions)
* [Build a manufacturing order (MO)](/modules/build-an-mo)
* [Styles module guide](/modules/styles)
* [Orders module guide](/modules/orders)