First understand the problem. Then decide what to do about it.
When a factory is struggling with late orders, changing priorities or too much work in progress, it's tempting to look for a new system, another machine or more people.
Sometimes those things help.
But sometimes they simply make an expensive problem even more expensive.
We think it's worth understanding what's really getting in the way before deciding what to change.
Start with what's actually happening.
Not what's supposed to be happening.
Tell us where things are going wrong.
Which orders are always late? Where does work pile up? Why do priorities keep changing? What information do people need but struggle to get?
We're interested in what happens on an ordinary Tuesday when three customers want their orders urgently and the production plan has already changed twice.
Not just what the process looks like on paper.
The first conversation is about your factory. Not our software.
Look at the flow, not just the activity.
A factory can have every machine running and every person busy without getting enough finished goods out the door.
That's because the performance of the whole factory isn't the sum of how busy its individual departments are.
Somewhere, something limits how much work can flow through the business. Improving everything else without addressing that limitation can simply create more queues, more work in progress and longer lead times.
This way of thinking comes from the Theory of Constraints. We believe it's a powerful foundation for understanding manufacturing problems, even when the eventual solution has nothing to do with software.
The goal is more finished work leaving the factory, not simply more work being started.
Curious about how flow-based production works? Read our introduction to Drum-Buffer-Rope.
Bring in the right expertise.
We're software people. We're not going to pretend to be production management consultants.
We do, however, have good relationships with experienced Theory of Constraints consultants who help manufacturers improve flow, increase throughput and deliver more reliably.
If your problems call for that kind of expertise, we can introduce you to people who understand it. And if software can help support the improvements, we can work alongside them.
We don't believe one company needs to have all the answers.
We'd rather involve the right people than sell you the wrong solution.
Decide whether software has a useful job to do.
Sometimes a simple change to production rules can make an enormous difference. Other times, the right software can make those rules easier to follow.
It might help your team see which orders need attention, know what should be worked on next, manage stock movements or make reliable delivery promises.
We provide software solutions for production, planning, warehousing, stock and other manufacturing operations. But we're equally interested in helping you make better use of the systems you already have.
If new software won't make the business run better, there's little point in introducing it.
Keep it practical.
We're interested in what changes on the factory floor.
Do people know what to work on? Are orders moving through production more reliably? Is there less chasing, fewer surprises and better information? Does the owner have more confidence that the business is under control?
Those are the kinds of improvements that matter. Software is useful when it helps make those improvements possible and sustainable.
The measure of success isn't how much software we've installed. It's whether the business works better.
It starts with a conversation.
You don't need to know what software you want.
You don't need to know anything about the Theory of Constraints.
You just need to tell us what's happening in your factory and what you'd like to change. We'll have a conversation about it and see whether we can help.