When you encounter a customer with high-level requirements yet lacking detailed specifications, you’re likely manufacturing in the engineer-to-order (ETO) space. Differing from their make-to-order counterparts, ETO manufacturers face a unique set of challenges.

As an ETO manufacturer, do you find yourself asking the following questions:

• How can I stay organized with so many customer-supplied design documents?
• How can I accurately capture costs and analytics to prevent overruns?
• What happens if design changes or disruptions affect production and deadlines?
• What’s the best way to make the customer feel properly informed throughout the entire ETO lifecycle?

The best way to handle these questions and challenges is through your ERP software. You can reduce production times while boosting profitability with the 10 Essentials for Optimizing the Engineer-to-Order Lifecyle whitepaper. You might even see more satisfaction from your customers when you follow these tips.

Like many ETO manufacturers, Western University’s University Machine Services (UMS) builds one-of-a-kind products for a variety of customers. By utilizing their ERP software, UMS was better equipped to create prototype products from scratch at competitive prices while covering operational expenses.

“Global Shop Solutions ERP software made it easy to separate the costs of the contractors from in-house labor and also helped segregate our design time from assembly time in order to get a true picture of the project’s costs.”

Clayton Cook, University Machine Services Manager

If you’re interested, you can read the UMS case study here.

Propel your ETO process forward by downloading the 10 Essentials for Optimizing the Engineer-to-Order Lifecyle whitepaper and prepare to delight your customers, meet and exceed deadlines, and maintain profit margins.