# Factories

## What is a Factory?

A **Factory** is used to group, segment, and route orders. Rather than strictly representing a physical manufacturing site with inventory tracking, a Factory acts as a **logical bucket** within the system to manage workflow and data visibility.

From the system's perspective:

* **It is a grouping mechanism:** It is a way to place orders into specific "buckets" based on production location or any reason to group a set of orders together.
* **It is a routing destination:** Once orders are imported, routing logic can be applied to place orders to certain factories based on a criteria of choice. Examples include product category, decoration techniques, or quantity.
* **It is not about inventory:** VU does not track physical stock or inventory within a factory.

### Key Functions of a Factory

#### **1. Order Segmentation & Routing**

The primary role of a Factory is to serve as the destination for **Order Routing Rules**.

* Using SKU matching or Regex patterns, the system determines which orders belong in which "bucket."
* This allows a brand to separate orders by category, production type, or fulfillment partner without manual intervention.

#### **2. Access Control and Visibility**

Factories are the primary method for controlling what operators can see within the OMS. This is critical for brands working with multiple partners or locations.

* **Restricted Views:** You can restrict a user's access so they only view orders assigned to their specific Factory.
* **Operator Focus:** Operators within a single Factory bucket do not see orders that don’t belong to them, ensuring data privacy and reducing clutter on the production dashboard.

#### **3. Factory-Specific Documents & Criteria**

While a Factory is a logical group, it allows for specific localized configurations. Each Factory can be set up to generate its own specific documentation, such as:

* **Travelers:** Instruction sheets that accompany an order through its lifecycle.
* **Labels:** Specific shipping or identification labels tailored to that particular workflow.

#### Summary

When setting up a Factory, the goal is to define a clear boundary for **where orders go** and **who has permission to see them**. By treating a Factory as a bucket for segmenting orders rather than just a physical location, you can more effectively manage complex routing workflows and multi-operator production environments.