Software Solutions for Manufacturing — ERP, MES, WMS in One Stack
Software solutions for manufacturing cover five connected layers — ERP for finance and orders, MES for shop floor execution, WMS for warehouse and lots, MRP for material planning and OEE monitoring for machines. In a plant of 20-200 people these systems must talk to each other in real time; otherwise the warehouse writes by hand, the floor runs on yesterday's printouts, and accounting closes the month 10-15 days late. Saitami integrates proven modules and writes custom code where the standard does not fit your specific production — from line manufacturing to project-based builds.
The operational realities in manufacturing
- ✓Excel as production planning — the master plan lives in 4-5 spreadsheets on the foreman's laptop; when he is on leave, planning stops and BOM versions diverge from what is actually built.
- ✓Warehouse without lot control — raw materials are tracked by unit, not by lot/batch; on a recall you cannot trace which lot went into which finished product, and ISO 9001 / HACCP audits end with findings.
- ✓Machines with no OEE data — nobody knows exactly how many hours each machine actually runs, its downtime and scrap rate; shift reports are 60-70% accurate at best.
- ✓Cost-of-goods by feel — real product cost is recalculated once a quarter by accounting; sales quote on last year's numbers and book unprofitable deals without noticing.
- ✓Double entry between production and accounting — one supplier invoice is typed once in the accounting tool, once in the production Excel, once in the warehouse list; each error survives 9 days on average before someone catches it.
- ✓No link between online store / B2B portal and the floor — orders are copied by hand into production planning, lead times are promised on a guess and delays are explained in emails.
- ✓Quality control on paper — QC sheets are filled on paper and keyed into Excel weekly; it is impossible to trend scrap rates by machine, shift or raw-material lot.
Who these software solutions are for
Metal parts, furniture, electronics, packaging — batches of 50 to 5,000 units, multi-level BOMs and labor norms. Here an ERP development stack with an MES module cuts changeover time by 30-45% and gives real finished-goods cost on the day the order is closed.
Recipes, lots, shelf life, HACCP and ISO 22000 traceability. The stack here is ERP + WMS with lot tracking + LIMS for lab analyses. A recall on a specific lot should take minutes, not two days of digging through paper QC files.
Custom furniture, special machinery, one-off constructions — every order is a unique BOM with long lead times and milestone billing. Here custom software on top of an ERP core beats a packaged product, because project logic is too specific.
How we build the stack
We never ship everything at once. A real production company cannot stop the floor to install software. We split the work into 4-5 phases of 6-10 weeks each, so every phase delivers tangible value before the next one starts.
1. Flow audit — order to shipment
We physically walk the floor and warehouse, map the real path of one order — where it enters, who sees it, on which machine it runs, how labor is logged, when the invoice is cut. That defines which modules go first and where API integrations are needed (accounting, banks, couriers).
2. ERP core + accounting integration
Phase one is always the ERP core — customers, orders, suppliers, items, warehouse at SKU level, invoicing. We connect it to your accounting tool so sales and purchase invoices flow automatically; the accountant stops typing and double-entry errors drop to zero.
3. MES, BOM and production planning
Phase two is the shop floor. We build multi-level BOMs with routings (operation sequence, machines, labor norms), an MES touchscreen at each workstation, barcode scanners on job tickets and automatic operation start/stop logging. The same engine handles MRP — what raw materials are needed, when and in what quantity, based on real supplier lead times from the ERP.
4. WMS and lot control
Phase three is the warehouse. We introduce bin locations (zone / rack / level / position), barcodes or QR on every lot, and mobile terminals for goods-in and pick-pack. The system enforces a lot code at issue — no finished product leaves without the raw-material lot it consumed.
5. OEE monitoring, dashboards and hand-over
Final phase — IoT adapters on key machines (PLC, Modbus, OPC-UA) record real run time, downtime and scrap automatically. The management dashboard shows OEE per shift, product profitability and real capacity. We train operators, warehouse and sales with real scenarios, then run 30 days of hyper-care with an engineer on call 8-18.
Why Saitami
Prices are fixed in EUR with no per-user license. We are not reselling someone else's product — we write modules on an open-source ERP core and extend them for your specific production. See also business software and ERP development.
Frequently asked questions
Which modules are mandatory in year one?
ERP core (customers, orders, items, warehouse), accounting integration and a basic MES with BOMs for 3-5 main product groups. WMS with full lot control, OEE monitoring and a digital QC module usually arrive in year two, once the team has the habit of working inside the system. Trying to install everything at once fails in 80% of plants of 20-200 people.
Can we keep our current accounting software?
Yes — and that is the recommended path. Accounting stays where it is, the ERP runs in parallel for operations (production, warehouse, sales). Integration removes double entry. After 12-18 months you can decide whether to migrate accounting; most clients choose not to.
What will the full stack cost for a plant of 50 people on the floor?
Realistic range: €45,000-€90,000 in the first 12 months — ERP core (€18,000-€28,000), MES + BOM module (€12,000-€20,000), WMS with lot control (€8,000-€14,000), accounting and courier API integration (€4,000-€10,000), implementation and training (€6,000-€18,000). OEE monitoring and QC usually come in year 2 at €15,000-€25,000 more. Hosting is €60-€220 per month with no per-user license.
What happens to the data in our current Excel files?
Before go-live we run a migration sprint — clean the item master (deduplicate, deactivate dead SKUs), import BOMs, on-hand stock by lot and open orders. Excel stays as an archive for historical data; the new system starts with clean master data and the open work-in-progress. No clean master — no ERP works, regardless of price.
Ready for a connected manufacturing stack?
Send a short brief — what you produce, how many people work on the floor, which accounting software you use and the three most painful points today. Within 5 business days we visit the plant and deliver a phased plan with real EUR pricing.
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