In this guide 6 sections
Make each vendor run your jobs. Test the mould master, press scheduling, resin traceability, machine signals and part approvals with a real tool, a real resin and a real customer order. Weak answers on any of these five usually mean you are looking at a generic ERP with a plastics label stuck on the front.
Ask to see the mould master first
A moulding shop runs on tools. Have the vendor pull up one mould record and show you cavity count, cycle time, tonnage, hot runner details, shot counter and maintenance history in one place. Nothing should sit in a side file.
Then ask how a mould moves. It leaves for a customer repair, comes back, and is fitted to a different press, so does the system keep ownership, location and shot count through that whole trip? Customer owned tools need their own flag.
Family moulds make a good trap. Ask what happens to planned output when two of eight cavities are shut off, because the number of parts per shot should drop on its own.
- Cavity count and cavities currently blocked
- Shot counter against the service interval
- Customer owned or shop owned status
- Approved press list for each tool
- Location when the tool is out
Press scheduling must understand tools, not just machines
Many ERPs book jobs onto machines. Moulding needs far more than that. Each slot needs a job, a tool, a press with enough tonnage, a dryer and a resin at once, so ask the vendor to build one live week.
Watch changeover time closely. A mould change on a large press takes hours and a colour change needs a purge, so a plan that treats both as zero will fail every Monday.
Now break a press. Ask how the planner reacts when a press goes down at night, because moving a job to another press should recheck tonnage, shot size and the mould’s press list.
Resin lots and traceability need a real test
Hand the vendor a bad part. Ask for the trace, and expect the resin lot, the dryer log, the regrind ratio, the press and the shift in a few clicks. Next month does not count.
Ask how masterbatch and regrind are booked. Regrind is easy to lose. A system that cannot record virgin resin, regrind and colour on one batch leaves a gap exactly where a customer audit looks.
Check the receiving screen too. It should capture the supplier lot, certificate of analysis, melt flow value and moisture check, because each one answers a question that comes up during a complaint.
- Supplier lot and certificate of analysis on receipt
- Dryer hopper and drying time per job
- Regrind percentage recorded per batch
- Colour masterbatch lot on the job card
Machine signals: what the MES really reads
Ask which controllers are already connected. Names matter here, such as Euromap 63 or OPC UA, plus the make of your own press controls, because vague talk of IoT is no answer at all.
Ask what happens to each signal. Cycle count, cycle time drift, alarm codes and downtime events should land on the job without anyone keying them in, and the operator only tags the stop reason.
Old presses may lack a network port. Ask how they get counted, because a cycle counter on the clamp is often enough and an honest vendor will say so without selling you a gateway.
Customer part approvals and the contract itself
Automotive and appliance buyers ask for first article reports, PPAP packs and control plans, and they expect the right revision every time. Ask where those documents live, and whether a revision change on the drawing stops production until someone attaches the new approval and the updated control plan.
Finally, ask about the contract. Who owns the data, what does a custom report cost later, and what happens to your mould, resin and job records if you leave? Get it in writing.
Take this list to every shortlisted vendor and score each question from zero to two on the day, then compare the totals before you ever look at the quote. Price comes last, not first.
Moulding ERP vendor scorecard
One printed scorecard, one question per line. Columns hold the topic, what to ask, what a good answer shows, the vendor’s answer and a score, and rows run from mould master through to the contract. Totals per vendor close the sheet. Any answer promised for later is flagged.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How many vendors should I shortlist?
Three vendors is plenty. Give each one the same set of your own jobs and the same list of questions, because comparing like with like shows gaps faster than any feature table can.
Is a generic ERP ever enough for a moulding shop?
Sometimes, in a small shop. Once you run family moulds, customer owned tools and regrind, a generic system needs heavy customising, so test that with your own jobs before you sign anything.
What should a reference call cover?
Ask another moulder how long the press connection took, what broke after go live, who fixed it and whether planners went back to a whiteboard. Listen closely to the pauses.
Should machine monitoring come before the ERP?
Many shops start with cycle counts on the busiest presses and add the rest later, so the ERP must accept those signals without a rebuild.