Manufacturing software, order to dispatch.
Helmsman builds custom manufacturing and supply chain software that records production planning, job work, batches and quality checks on the floor and carries them straight into stock and costing. Procurement, vendors, stock and dispatch run as one chain on the same record, so what was ordered, made, received and shipped is never a matter of opinion.
From $3,000Typically $3,000 to $80,000See pricing
Last updated
Who needs manufacturing software?
You probably need it if…
- The production plan lives on a whiteboard, and purchase hears about it late.
- Material sent out for job work is tracked in a register, and nobody is sure what is still with the job worker.
- Batch and quality records are kept on paper, so tracing a complaint back means searching through files.
- Costing is an estimate made once a year rather than a figure the system knows.
- Stores, purchase and dispatch each keep their own list, and the lists disagree.
What does manufacturing software include?
- 01
Production planning
Plans that purchase can see
Production plans built from orders and stock, with the material each plan needs visible to purchase and stores before the shortage happens.
- 02
Shop floor & batches
Production recorded where it happens
Issues, output, rejects and batches recorded on the floor, so finished stock and work in progress are known without waiting for a count.
- 03
Job work
Material out, material back
Material sent to job workers and goods received back tracked against each job, so what is still outside the factory is always known.
- 04
Quality
Checks that travel with the batch
Quality checks recorded against each batch and stage, so a problem can be traced back to the material, the stage and the date.
- 05
Procurement & vendors
From requisition to payment
Requisitions, purchase orders, goods received and vendor bills linked to each other, so purchase works from what production actually needs.
- 06
Stock & dispatch
Stores that match the shelf
Stock by item, batch and location, with dispatches raised against orders, so what was shipped and what is left agree.
- 07
Costing
Costing from the floor
Material, job work and production figures carried into costing as they are recorded, so the cost of a product comes from what actually happened.
- 08
Reports & dashboards
The plant on one screen
Production, pending orders, stock and dispatch on live data, so management sees the floor without walking it.
How does Helmsman deliver manufacturing software?
The full approachEvery manufacturing project starts on the floor. Helmsman walks the process with production, stores, purchase, quality and dispatch, maps how material moves from the vendor to the customer, and finds where information is written down twice or not at all. What the system has to fix is agreed in writing before any screen is designed.
Screens are designed for the people who use them on the floor and in stores as well as in the office, and the system is built in stages that you review as they come together. Master data and opening stock are migrated, users are trained, and the system goes live department by department. Adding a plant, a product line or a new process later is usually a change in settings, not a rebuild.
- 01UnderstandProcess map
- 02AnalyseRequirement document
- 03ArchitectSolution structure
- 04DesignScreens and flows
- 05DevelopWorking software
- 06ImplementLive system
- 07EvolveOngoing support
From quotation to dispatch, on one record
An industrial filter manufacturer in India: sales, production routes, stores, dispatch and accounts in one ERP, replacing an older system.
One ERP, from the greenhouse to the ledger
A flower farm in East Africa: production, grading, inventory, sales, accounts and HRMS in a single system.
Industries we build this for
Read before you decide
- Moving from Tally to a custom ERP: a step-by-step guide
- Custom ERP or ready-made software: how to decide
- When should a business stop running on Excel?
- How a custom software project runs, stage by stage
- Custom ERP or Tally? A straight comparison
- Custom ERP or Zoho? A straight comparison
- Custom ERP or Odoo? A straight comparison
- Custom ERP or SAP Business One? A straight comparison
- Custom ERP or NetSuite? A straight comparison
- Custom ERP or QuickBooks? A straight comparison
- Your ERP, your code: what you own
Manufacturing questions, answered.
What is manufacturing software?
Manufacturing software records how a factory plans, buys, produces, checks and ships, and links each step to stock and costing. A custom system follows your own production process, including make-to-order, make-to-stock and work sent out to job workers.
Can the software track job work?
Yes. Material sent to job workers and goods received back are recorded against each job, so the balance with every job worker is known and the job work cost reaches costing.
Can we trace a batch back to its raw material?
Yes, when batches are recorded at each stage. Material issues, production, quality checks and dispatch are linked by batch, so a problem found later can be traced back through the process.
Is this part of an ERP or a separate system?
Either. Manufacturing and supply chain can be built as part of a complete ERP, or as a system connected to the accounting and sales software you already use.
Does it work for more than one plant or warehouse?
Yes. Stock, production and dispatch are kept by location, and the architecture is planned so that adding a plant or a warehouse is usually a change in settings, not a rebuild.