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Discrete manufacturing

Machining, furniture, plastics, packaging, components. Multi-level BOM, routings, machine time, scrap and capacity planning.

Industry specifics

Discrete manufacturing lives on master data: bills of materials, routings, standard versus actual times, setups, scrap. When these are missing or outdated, neither costing, nor planning, nor the ERP works. Pressure comes from delivery deadlines, capacity utilisation and semi-finished stock.

What we do

  • Product and order costing, with actual labour and machine time, setups, scrap and overhead allocated by cost centre.
  • Building or cleaning master data (BOM, routings, times) as the foundation for any system.
  • Independent ERP/MES selection, with planning and production tracking scenarios tested on your data.
  • Capacity and bottleneck analysis – where time is lost, which orders deserve priority.
  • In-process quality control, non-conformance handling, process capability.
  • Internal AI assistants for technical documentation, quotes and fast estimates.

Who it’s for

Make-to-order and series manufacturers with 20–400 employees, under pressure on deadlines, cost and quality.

Common challenges in this industry

Do you want software or hardware that fits your company but is also adopted and used by the team?

The best system, unused, is worth nothing. We design the implementation around people: roles, procedures, training – and we measure adoption, not just go-live.

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Do you want to implement an ERP, CRM or MES but aren't sure which one fits?

Every vendor shows you a perfect demo. We help you define what you really need, compare objectively and choose the solution that fits your processes and your people.

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You have pressure points, but want to see how they connect to other functional areas?

Costs rise, sales push on prices, stock swells – and each department sees only its own piece. We build the integrated picture, on your exact situation, so you decide where to intervene.

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Does your company's critical knowledge live in a few people's heads?

Recipes, machine settings, customer exceptions, "this is how we do it here" – all lost when the person leaves. We collect, structure and make internal know-how accessible, including with AI.

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Do you want to know what it really costs you to produce?

You know your revenue and overall margin, but not which products make money and which lose it. We build a cost model that reflects the reality of your plant.

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Do you want real control over quality and processes, not just passed audits?

Complaints appear, causes repeat and control happens after the fact. We build a QA and process control system that prevents, measures and improves – proportionate to the size of the company.

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Do you want to implement standard software but aren't sure the proposed best practices are applicable or sustainable for you?

"Everyone works this way" doesn't mean it works for you. We evaluate each standard practice against your processes and decide what to adopt, adapt or reject – with arguments.

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What's on your mind?

Describe your situation in a few sentences. Our assistant shows you within seconds which Smartbiz approaches would fit, then we talk specifics, with no commitment.