No two jobs are the same in the metal fabrication world.
Be it a unique part specification, a single niche prototype, or a small batch custom run, your metal fabrication business thrives on utmost precision and flexibility.
Being a custom metal fabricator provides a sense of satisfaction, but it also introduces its own set of challenges. These include quotations, design, engineering, production, and delivery. For each custom product, workflows must be adjusted and tailored at every stage of manufacturing.
But, things get even more complex and painfully stretched when metal fabricators have to meet custom orders using manual methods, spreadsheets and siloed tools. This is where a modern Enterprise Resource Planning system, specifically designed for metal fabrication, can make all the difference.
Let’s explore how ERP streamlines the entire quote-to-delivery process, turning chaos into absolute control.
Challenges of Custom Metal Fabrication Orders
Custom metal fabrication jobs involve,
- Unique product specs and part numbers
- Custom BOMs and routing requirements
- Constant design and engineering changes during production
- Custom pricing and delivery timelines
- Frequent communication and feedback with customers
Without an integrated ERP system, metal fabricators often encounter duplicate data entry, missed updates, miscommunication, production delays and missed deadlines.
How does an ERP streamline Metal Fabrication Workflows?
Swift, Accurate Quoting
With an ERP’s in-built quoting and estimation module, metal fabricators can swiftly build accurate quotes and share them with prospects.
They can,
- Pull real-time material costs, labor rates, supplier costs, and machine availability directly into the quote.
- Build detailed cost estimates that include operational, material and outside services costs.
- Pull historical data of similar jobs in the past and use it to create estimates.
- Generate accurate, professional and itemized quotes quickly.
Automated Job Creation & BOM Management
Custom products require metal fabricators to create custom BOMs and routings. A capable ERP enables them to;
- Create, manage and modify custom BOMs.
- Create jobs with custom BOMs and routings.
- Manage complex product assemblies, revisions, and alternate materials.
- Track BOM revisions in real-time.
- Collaborate with the design and engineering department for changes and approvals.
Smart Scheduling & Capacity Planning
An ERP provides a real-time view of machine, materials, and labor availability, helping metal fabricators create an effective production schedule with minimal disruption. This allows them to maintain optimal inventory levels, improve resource utilization and product quality, reduce costs, and deliver on time to customers.
With an ERP, metal fabricators can,
- Analyze existing and future workload on work centres.
- Schedule jobs based on machine, labor and inventory availability, tool and part requirements and deadlines.
- Prioritize hot custom orders without disrupting standard jobs.
- Track work order progress and job status in real-time on the shop floor.
Real-Time Material & Inventory Tracking
Optimum inventory levels enable metal fabricators to manufacture custom products within production lead times and retain their tight margins. With an ERP-enabled inventory management, they can maintain just the right quantity of materials and avoid overstocking or understocking.
- Ensure raw material availability at the right time and avoid stock-outs or overstocking.
- Track inventory and its movement in real-time from procurement till consumption.
- Track heat numbers, batch numbers, serial numbers and compliance documentation for each order.
- Set reorder points, safety stock levels and lead times to ensure optimum inventory levels and prevent inventory stockouts.
Seamless Delivery & Billing
For metal fabrication, product delivery and billing are the final, but crucial stages in the workflow, and they’re often where costly mistakes and inefficiencies surface. A modern ERP system designed for metal fabricators helps close this loop seamlessly by connecting production, logistics, and finance in real time.
- Generate packing slips, labels, and invoices automatically upon job completion.
- Integrate with shipping applications for shipment tracking and logistics.
- Capture actual job costs to compare against the quote, enabling better pricing in the future.
Benefits that Matter
With an ERP, custom orders no longer slow you down. Rather, they become a competitive advantage.
- Faster turnaround times
- Improved quoting accuracy
- Less rework and fewer errors
- Better communication between departments
- Higher customer satisfaction
- Improved repeat orders and word of mouth marketing
Real-World Impact
With our flagship product, OmegaCube ERP, one of our customers, Power Brace Manufacturing, an Iowa-based steel component manufacturer connected their quoting, scheduling and production to achieve the below results.
- 15% increase in Scheduling Efficiency
- 67% reduction in emergency inventory purchases
- 10% increase in on-time delivery
- 100% increase in capacity utilization
- Inventory carrying costs reduced from $3 mn to $1mn
Conclusion
In today’s make-to-order and engineer-to-order landscape, your ERP system needs to do more than just manage inventory—it should orchestrate the entire custom fabrication lifecycle from quote to cash.
By automating and integrating every manufacturing touchpoint, ERP allows you to handle complex jobs with confidence, agility, and accuracy—no matter how custom the order.
Thinking of upgrading your custom job management?
Start with an ERP system that understands the metal fabrication business. OmegaCube ERP is specifically designed for metal fabricators and helps them automate workflows and achieve growth and efficiency.
Contact us for an in depth demo of OmegaCube ERP.
