Design Production Lifecycle

Last updated: 2026-03-26

This document covers how designs move from creation through sampling and into production using the Production Run system.

Production Runs — The Single System

Production Runs are the sole system for all partner production work, including sampling. The legacy Send-to-Partner (v1) workflow has been deprecated in the UI.

Feature	Production Runs
Run types	`production` and `sample`
Multi-partner	Yes (parent + child runs with assignments)
Quantities	Yes
Design snapshot	Yes (specs, colors, sizes, inventory at creation time)
Dependencies	Yes (`depends_on_run_ids` for sequential steps)
Order linking	Yes (order_id, line_item_id, product_id, variant_id)
Cost tracking	Yes (consumption logs with unit_cost, auto-calculated design cost)
Cancel	Yes (`POST /admin/production-runs/:id/cancel`)
State machine	Explicit policy (`ProductionRunPolicy`)

Lifecycle

Design Created (Conceptual)
  |
  v
Design Development (In_Development -> Technical_Review -> Sample_Production)
  |
  v
Sampling --------------------------------------------------------+
  |  Create Production Run (run_type: sample)                    |
  |  quantity: 1, no order linked                                |
  |  Approve -> assign partner -> create tasks                   |
  |  Partner logs consumption (with unit_cost per item)          |
  |  Admin commits consumption logs (inventory deducted)         |
  |  Partner completes sample run                                |
  |  -> Auto-calculates design cost from consumption logs        |
  |     material_cost + 30% overhead -> design.estimated_cost    |
  +--------------------------------------------------------------+
  |
  v
Design Approved -> Commerce_Ready
  |
  v
Product Created (auto-promotion workflow)
  |
  v
Customer Orders Product (cart uses design.estimated_cost)
  |
  v
Production ----------------------------------------------------------+
  |  Production Run auto-created (order.placed)                      |
  |  Status: pending_review                                          |
  |  Admin approves with partner assignments                         |
  |  Child runs created per partner/role                             |
  |  Tasks dispatched -> partner executes                            |
  |  Partner logs consumption during production                      |
  |  Completion cascades up to parent run                             |
  +------------------------------------------------------------------+
  |
  v
Order Fulfilled

v1 Send-to-Partner — Deprecated

The legacy Send-to-Partner workflow has been deprecated in the UI as of 2026-03-26.

What was removed from UI

Admin: "Send" button removed from partner section, batch send drawer removed from designs list
Partner UI: DesignActionsSection removed (Start/Finish/Redo/Refinish/Complete buttons)

What remains (for in-flight workflows)

Backend endpoints: All v1 partner action endpoints still work (/partners/designs/:id/start, /finish, /redo, /refinish, /complete) with a cancelled guard
Cancel endpoint: POST /admin/designs/:id/cancel-partner-assignment — cancels the workflow transaction, resets design metadata, optionally unlinks the partner
Partner route pages: design-start and design-complete routes still registered (won't break bookmarks)

Transition flow

Admin clicks "Cancel" on the v1 assignment badge in the partner section
Workflow transaction cancelled, v1 tasks cancelled, metadata reset
Partner is still linked (unless unlink: true)
Admin creates a new Production Run for the same partner
Partner sees the production run in their design detail page

Production Run Cancel

Cancel a run

POST /admin/production-runs/:id/cancel
{ "reason": "optional reason text" }

Sets status to cancelled, cancels all linked tasks
Cascades to child runs if cancelling a parent
Auto-cancels parent if all siblings are terminal
Blocks cancel on completed runs
Idempotent on already-cancelled runs

Cancel v1 assignment

POST /admin/designs/:id/cancel-partner-assignment
{ "partner_id": "...", "unlink": false }

Cancels workflow transaction (marks async gates as failed)
Cancels all v1 tasks
Records partner_assignment_cancelled_at in metadata
Partner actions blocked with 400 "cancelled" error

Cost Estimation from Sampling

When a sample production run completes, the design's cost is auto-calculated from consumption logs.

Cost resolution priority

consumption_log.unit_cost — partner input at log time
raw_material.unit_cost — admin-set or backfilled from order history
0 — no cost data available

Auto-calculation (subscriber on `production_run.completed`)

Material cost = Sum(log.quantity x resolved_unit_cost)
Production cost = material_cost x 30% overhead
estimated_cost = material_cost + production_cost

Results written to proper design columns:

design.estimated_cost — total
design.material_cost — sum of material costs
design.production_cost — overhead amount
design.cost_breakdown — JSON with per-item details, sources, timestamp

Manual backfill script

# Backfill raw_material.unit_cost from inventory order line history
npx medusa exec src/scripts/backfill-inventory-unit-cost.ts -- --dry-run
npx medusa exec src/scripts/backfill-inventory-unit-cost.ts

# Calculate design cost from committed consumption logs
npx medusa exec src/scripts/calculate-sample-cost.ts -- --design_id=01KE6E3NY88RB64J6D1CCT0E0C
npx medusa exec src/scripts/calculate-sample-cost.ts -- --all-samples

Currency Conversion

When a design is converted to a cart in a different currency than the store default, prices are automatically converted using the Frankfurter API (ECB rates).

Conversion step in createDraftOrderFromDesignsWorkflow
Same conversion in store checkout (POST /store/custom/designs/:id/checkout)
Original price + currency stored in line item metadata for audit

Partner UI Features

Design List

Pre-filtered to show active designs only (excludes completed, cancelled)
Work Status dropdown filter (Incoming, Assigned, In Progress, Finished, Completed, Cancelled)
Sorted by most recently updated
Priority column with colored badges
Relative date format ("3h ago", "2d ago")

Design Detail

Production section (top of main): progress stepper, single primary action button, inline tasks with subtask checkboxes
Consumption logs: unit_cost input, auto-resolved partner location
Cancelled runs: dimmed with error message, action buttons hidden
Cancelled v1 assignments: status "cancelled", all actions blocked

Inventory & Stock

Partner-scoped stock locations (/partners/stores/:id/locations)
Partner-scoped reservations (/partners/reservations)
Auto-linked inventory levels at partner location on product creation
Location names resolved in inventory detail via stock location service

Auto-Assignment

When creating a production run without explicit assignments but with a quantity, the system auto-populates assignments from linked partners:

1 partner: full quantity assigned
N partners: quantity split equally (last partner gets remainder)
template_names from the request body are applied to each assignment

Key Files

Production Runs

File	Purpose
`src/modules/production_runs/models/production-run.ts`	Data model (run_type: production/sample)
`src/modules/production_policy/service.ts`	State machine and validation
`src/workflows/production-runs/create-production-run.ts`	Create with snapshot
`src/workflows/production-runs/send-production-run-to-production.ts`	Task creation + partner dispatch
`src/api/admin/production-runs/[id]/cancel/route.ts`	Cancel endpoint
`src/api/admin/designs/[id]/production-runs/route.ts`	Create with auto-assignment
`src/api/partners/production-runs/[id]/complete/route.ts`	Complete with consumption
`src/subscribers/sample-run-completed.ts`	Auto cost calculation
`src/scripts/calculate-sample-cost.ts`	Manual cost calculation
`src/scripts/backfill-inventory-unit-cost.ts`	Backfill raw_material costs from orders

Cost & Consumption

File	Purpose
`src/modules/consumption_log/models/consumption-log.ts`	Log model (unit_cost field)
`src/modules/raw_material/models/raw_material.ts`	Raw material model (unit_cost, cost_currency)
`src/modules/designs/models/design.ts`	Design model (material_cost, production_cost, cost_breakdown)
`src/workflows/consumption-logs/log-consumption.ts`	Log workflow
`src/workflows/consumption-logs/commit-consumption.ts`	Commit workflow (inventory deduction)

v1 Legacy (deprecated UI, backend retained)

File	Purpose
`src/api/admin/designs/[id]/send-to-partner/route.ts`	v1 send endpoint (backend only)
`src/api/admin/designs/[id]/cancel-partner-assignment/route.ts`	Cancel v1 assignment
`src/workflows/designs/send-to-partner.ts`	v1 workflow (23-day timeout)

Production Run Convergence Plan — Gap analysis and implementation steps
Send-to-Partner Migration Guide — In-flight workflow handling
Ad Planning Usage Guide — Design-to-cart flow
Partner Portal API Scoping — Partner endpoint conventions

Production Runs — The Single System​

Lifecycle​

v1 Send-to-Partner — Deprecated​

What was removed from UI​

What remains (for in-flight workflows)​

Transition flow​

Production Run Cancel​

Cancel a run​

Cancel v1 assignment​

Cost Estimation from Sampling​

Cost resolution priority​

Auto-calculation (subscriber on production_run.completed)​

Manual backfill script​

Currency Conversion​

Partner UI Features​

Design List​

Design Detail​

Inventory & Stock​

Auto-Assignment​

Key Files​

Production Runs​

Cost & Consumption​

v1 Legacy (deprecated UI, backend retained)​

Related​