The order lives in Excel
The specification in one file, the price in another, the status in a manager's head. The client asks when it will be ready and three people look for the answer.
CRM FOR MANUFACTURING
CRM for a manufacturing company
Orders, specifications, production queue, raw material and finished goods stock, shipping — in one system instead of Excel and phone agreements.
Free consultation
Typical pains of a manufacturer
An opaque queue
What is in production, what waits for materials, what will be finished this week — visible only to whoever stands on the shop floor.
Materials run out suddenly
A shortage is discovered when the order has to be made, not when the material could have been ordered calmly.
Approximate cost price
Materials, labour, scrap and rework are never added up, so real margin per order is a guess.
Deadlines slip quietly
The owner hears about a delay from the client rather than from the system.
How it is solved
Order with specification
One card: client, product composition, quantity, price, deadline, status, documents.
Production queue
A stage board: accepted, in production, waiting for materials, ready, shipped — visible to everyone, not only the shop manager.
Raw material and finished goods stock
Write-offs against orders, balances, reorder point for materials.
Cost price and margin
Materials plus labour plus scrap, per order, before month end.
Deadline control
Delays are highlighted automatically with escalation to the manager.
What exactly we set up for manufacturing
Manufacturing differs from trade in that between the sale and the shipment there is a process with its own deadlines, dependencies and scrap. The system has to see that process, not just the deal.
Order card and specification
What is produced, from what, how much, by when. The specification is versioned, so a change after approval is visible instead of "the client said otherwise".
Production stages
Cutting, machining, assembly, quality control, packing — a set matching your process, each stage with an owner and a deadline.
Capacity planning
You see how many orders are queued and when a work centre is actually free, which removes deadlines promised by gut feel.
Raw material stock
Balances, reservation against orders, reorder point. Materials run out on schedule rather than suddenly.
Finished goods stock
What is produced, what is shipped, what sits paid and waiting for the client.
Order cost price
Materials by actual write-off, labour by norm or fact, scrap and rework as separate lines. Margin is calculated honestly.
Scrap and rework
Recorded as a distinct cost reason. After a quarter you see at which stage and why money is lost.
Shipping and documents
Delivery notes, waybills and acts generated from order data, together with delivery if you ship yourself or via a carrier.
Reporting for the owner
Orders in production, delays, work centre load, margin by client and by product type.
How the implementation goes
1. Production audit
Which stages an order passes, where the queue forms, how cost price is calculated today and who approves purchases.
2. Order model
Specification, stages, roles, material write-off rules, agreed in writing before configuration.
3. Setup and migration
Catalogue, stock, active orders, document templates.
4. Launch on the floor
We train operators and the storekeeper on real orders. The shop floor interface is a few actions from a tablet or phone.
Manufacturing package
- Orders with versioned specifications
- Production stages and queue
- Raw material and finished goods stock
- Cost price and margin per order
- Scrap and rework tracking
- Training for the floor and the office
Frequently asked questions
Our technologist calculates everything in Excel. Do we have to break that?
No. The calculation can stay where it works; the system stores the result — specification, norms, cost price. Breaking a working tool for the sake of "everything in one place" is the fastest way to get the whole floor resisting.
The shop floor will not work with a computer. What then?
For the floor only a few actions remain: take into production, mark a stage done, write off material, record scrap. That means a tablet or phone with large buttons, not a card with thirty fields.
Can we plan work centre load?
At a basic level yes: the queue, deadlines and who is busy with what are visible. Full calendar planning with machines and shifts is a separate project worth doing after the basic tracking has taken root.
How is cost price calculated if materials are written off by eye?
Initially by specification norms, then corrected against stocktaking. That gives a working number immediately, and accuracy grows as write-off discipline improves.
How long does implementation take?
The base setup takes three to six weeks depending on the number of stages and the state of the catalogue. Describing the process takes longer than configuring it.