Introduction
Imagine running a business where every customer’s information, order details, and production plans are scribbled onto a small piece of paper. Sketches in the margins, measurements jotted down, all moving from desk to desk, and if a customer calls a week later, you’re flipping through a stack of papers hoping to find the right estimate. This was the reality for our client—until we digitized their entire workflow. What was once a scattered, manual process became a streamlined, efficient system. Here’s how we transformed their paper-strewn chaos into a digital workflow that ensures nothing gets lost, no matter how fast they grow.
The Challenges
This manufacturing business relied entirely on small paper “order sheets” to track customer information, job estimates, scheduling, and production. These order sheets acted as their CRM—though with no search functionality or customer history except what existed in the accounting system. Large customers with special pricing or unique, repeated order requirements needed their details looked up or recalled from memory, or manually retrieved from previous sheets. If a customer called back to confirm an order, staff would flip through potentially hundreds of sheets to find the right one, with no organized follow-up process in place.
Scheduling production and deliveries was similarly manual. The production queue was managed by physically stacking these sheets for upcoming production days, and deliveries were scheduled in the same way. If an order needed to be located, the team had to manually scan through stacks of paper.
Production planning was especially time-consuming. Common tasks or parts were manually identified across all the order sheets for the day, aggregated, and then transcribed into a Word document. This manual process took several hours each day, leaving plenty of room for errors and inefficiencies.
The Solution
Several meetings were held to understand their workflow, identify bottlenecks and pain points, and design a holistic, end-to-end solution. This digitized everything from customer creation and order estimating to delivery.
Wireframes in Figma confirmed the screens and functions needed. The estimation piece required complex calculations, so rules were documented early and tackled iteratively to ensure the system met all requirements.
Customer Management/Estimating
These two were closely linked since customer management was minimal. When an estimate was created, it was either for an existing customer, or a new customer record would be added. Salespeople could search for customers by name, phone number, business, or address, and all past estimates and orders could be easily retrieved.
We also developed a template management system to standardize the more complex pieces they regularly needed to manufacture. A template could be uploaded and annotated with the required dimensions. When creating an estimate, a template could be selected, and specific measurements added.
The most complex part of the system was the semi-intelligent measurement completion. Certain properties and dimensions of components could be entered, and the system would infer the remaining dimensions, greatly reducing the risk of data entry errors.
Scheduling & Production Planning
A scheduling interface was designed to display all approved and unscheduled jobs on one side of the screen, and scheduled jobs for the selected date on the other. Jobs could be easily moved between the two, with the total production effort summarized at the bottom, making it simple to see when the production queue was full for the day.
Scheduling deliveries worked similarly, with multiple trucks having their cargo sequenced and scheduled for each day. As jobs were delivered, drivers could take a picture of the delivery, and an SMS message was sent to the customer to notify them.
Production planning, which previously involved aggregating tasks and parts across jobs, was reduced from a 3+ hour daily process to the click of a button. Thanks to the template system, all this data could be calculated on the fly and recalculated if the production schedule changed. This not only saved the client a lot of time but also made their product scheduling more flexible.
Production
Previously, order sheets were passed through the shop as each station prepared and manufactured its part. With our system, each station received a ruggedized touchscreen monitor, allowing jobs to be worked on in parallel to some extent.
As each station completed its portion of the work, they could flag it as done on the screen, providing full transparency into production status. Jobs could be easily identified as completed and ready for loading. Production bottlenecks also became apparent, offering valuable management oversight.
The Results
All of the previously identified problems were resolved. With a fully digitized workflow, it became trivial to look up a customer’s order, even years later. Orders could be duplicated and edited, allowing quick estimates for repeat customers with slightly changing needs. The ability to add and manage templates allows the system to grow with their business needs.
An unexpected benefit of the cloud-hosted system, especially timely during the pandemic, was the ability for salespeople to continue taking orders and developing estimates remotely.
Flexible scheduling, automated production planning, and real-time visibility into the production process were equally valuable. The time saved and increased data accuracy from eliminating manual entry were a boon to the team, enabling them to focus on higher-value tasks within the company.
Conclusion
This project transformed a manual, paper-based workflow into a streamlined, fully digital system that saved hours of manual labor every single day, increased accuracy, and provided the flexibility needed to adapt to changing business conditions. The client not only saw improvements in production and scheduling but also experienced enhanced customer management and remote work capabilities.
Looking to Streamline Your Workflow?
If your business is still relying on manual processes or outdated systems, we can help. Contact us today to learn how we help you deploy technology to improve efficiency, reduce errors, and give you the insights you need to scale your operations. Let’s start a conversation about how we can support your business goals!