Custom applications across Canada · Manufacturers
Custom software for manufacturers.
At a manufacturer, an order travels from sales to the customer, then to the shop floor. When those steps live in Excel, in email and in the memory of a few people, every handoff can create a mistake. We build a web application that connects proposals, orders and production around your products and your rules. You own the code and the data.
Let’s talk about your ordersSee what we build- Information entered only once
- Every order tracked all the way to the shop floor
- You own your code and your data
Where information gets lost
Between sales and the shop floor, every handoff costs.
Accounting software or an ERP handles invoices, inventory and purchasing well. It knows your rules less well: which options go together, prices by quantity, the details a customer has to confirm before the first piece is cut. Those rules often end up in an Excel file kept by one or two people.
The trouble shows up at the handoffs. Sales prepares a proposal, the customer replies by email, someone retypes their choices into the work order. A colour copied wrong is discovered at delivery, when fixing it costs the most.
A custom application doesn’t necessarily replace your software. It takes over the steps your software doesn’t cover and connects to it. Information is entered once, then follows the order all the way to production.
An order’s path through the application
- 1ProposalBuilt from your products, their options and your prices.
- 2ApprovalThe customer reviews it, requests a change or approves online.
- 3SpecificationsThey specify fabrics, finishes and quantities, tied to the right product.
- 4ProductionThe order becomes a project the shop floor can follow.
What we build
The screens missing between your teams.
We start from your real work: your files, your forms, the path an order takes. Every project is different; here is what we most often build for a manufacturer.
Your catalogue and your pricing rules.
Your products, their options and the allowed combinations in a single database. Prices are calculated according to your rules, with no formula hidden in a cell.
Products · Options · PricesProposals approved online.
Your team prepares the proposal from the catalogue. The customer opens it from a link, requests a change or approves it.
Proposal · Customer link · ApprovalComplete specifications for the shop floor.
Every choice is tied to the right product: fabric, finish, dimensions, quantities. The shop floor reads the order without having to interpret it.
Spec sheets · Attachments · ValidationTracking for every order.
Every order has a status, an owner and a next step. Sales knows where an order stands without calling the plant.
Statuses · Steps · DeadlinesConnections to your tools.
Accounting, CRM, email: the application connects to them through an API, an import or an export, depending on what each system allows.
Integrations · SyncOnce delivered and paid for, the application belongs to you: the code, the data and the access. Documentation and hosting are planned in the engagement, so it can keep evolving with or without us.
Case study · Pavar
Hundreds of choices.
One complete order for the shop floor.
Pavar builds chairs and banquettes for restaurants across North America. Its proposals were prepared in Excel, with hundreds of possible choices. The application we built now connects the catalogue, the customer’s decisions and the team’s work, from the proposal all the way to production.
Follow a Pavar order all the way to production
Preparing a proposal used to mean working in Excel. Now our products, the client’s choices and the details of their order all live in the application. We save time, and we move forward with far less risk of error.
Maria IermieriVP Sales and Marketing · Co-owner · PavarBefore you start
When custom is worth the investment.
If off-the-shelf software does the job, we will tell you from the start: it is often faster and cheaper. To find new buyers, also see our Google Ads campaigns for industrial B2B companies.
But most manufacturers we meet have built themselves an edge: a way of working their competitors don’t have. Off-the-shelf software imposes the same method on all its customers. To adopt it, you pour your way of working into its mould, and that edge fades. A custom application follows your method: it adapts to you, not the other way around.
It often replaces an Excel file or an Access database, and, where needed, the paper documents printed at the office for the shop floor.
- Your products are configured: options, dimensions, finishes, combinations to validate.
- The same order is retyped between sales, the customer and the shop floor.
- An order’s progress depends on one or two people who know where everything is.
- The software you have tried forces you to change a way of working that works.
Frequently asked questions
Your questions about an application for manufacturers.
How much does an application for a manufacturer cost?
The price depends on the number of screens, the rules to program and the integrations with your tools. We first define a useful first version; the proposal sets its scope and price before work begins. Also check whether government support for digital transformation is available to your business: programs change often. Our guide to the cost of a custom application explains what makes the price vary.
How long before we can use it?
A first working version is usually ready in about eight weeks. Your users try it before launch, then the application evolves with your priorities. The exact timeline is set in the proposal.
Do we have to replace our ERP or our accounting software?
No, not necessarily. The application connects to your systems through an API, an import or an export and handles the steps they don’t cover. What works stays in place. Our guide custom application or SaaS software helps you decide.
Will the shop floor have to learn a new tool?
Yes, but a tool built for them. Shop floor staff try the application at key stages of the project, and their screens show what they need to build the product. We train the team at launch and support the rollout.
Who owns the code and the data?
You do. Once delivered and paid for, the application belongs to you, with its code, its data and its access, with no licence to renew. Documentation and hosting are planned in the engagement.
Let’s talk about your shop floor
Show us how an order moves through your business.
An Excel file, a work order, a step that gets stuck: that is enough for a first conversation with François. Together, we will see what is worth building and what can stay as it is. The first conversation comes with no commitment.
