In this guide 6 sections
Work backwards from the buying season: convert the dealer forecast into a build plan by model, then into steel, bought-out parts, weld hours and paint line slots. Fix the constraint first, usually welding or paint. Order long lead items early. Recheck it weekly against booked orders.
Turn the dealer forecast into a build plan by model
Collect forecasts from every dealer or zone manager in one format, asking for model, variant and the month the machine must stand in the showroom. A bare total of rotavators means little, because six foot, seven foot and heavy duty versions use different blades, gearboxes and steel thickness.
Check it against dispatches, not hopes. Dealers over-order when they fear shortage, so take the gap between forecast and actual sales for each model last season and trim this year’s figure by that margin.
Freeze the first build plan as version one. Keep every later version. Someone will ask why the plan moved.
- Dealer or zone, model and variant
- Month needed at the showroom
- Last season’s actual dispatch
- Planner’s adjusted quantity
- Plan version and date
Explode the plan into steel, bought-out parts and long lead items
Use the bill of materials for each model to turn quantities into plates, flats, angles, tubes, bearings, PTO shafts, gearboxes, tyres and hydraulic fittings. Net the result against stock and open orders.
Sort the shortfall by lead time. Gearboxes, castings and tyres from outside suppliers take far longer to arrive than mild steel from the local stockist, so order those first and let steel wait. Watch steel prices weekly.
Agree delivery dates with each supplier in writing, record them against the purchase order and chase any supplier whose date slips past the weld start of that model.
Find the real constraint: cutting, welding or paint
Every plant has one station that decides output, and for implement makers it is often the weld bays or the paint line rather than the cutting saws. Count the hours each model needs at that station, such as welding hours for a seven foot rotavator, and compare them with the hours your shifts can supply.
If demand exceeds capacity, decide early by adding a shift, buying in cut and bent parts or moving low season models out of the peak weeks. Deciding in the first week of the season means overtime, rush freight and disappointed dealers, which costs more than deciding now, while the yard is still empty.
Watch the paint line. Dry time and oven batches cap the units the paint line releases each day, however many welders you hire and however fast the fabrication bays finish frames.
Check jigs, dies and maintenance before the rush
One broken weld jig can stop a line. Walk the shop floor with the maintenance head and list every jig, die, press brake tool and cutting torch that needs a repair or a spare.
Schedule servicing of the paint booth, compressor and overhead crane in the weeks before the first batch, and keep spare nozzles, welding tips and air filters on hand.
Give each item an owner and a date. Otherwise it is only a wish.
Review weekly once orders start landing
Plans break the moment real orders arrive. Hold a short review each week. Compare booked dealer orders with the build plan, shortages with the purchase list and finished units with dispatch dates, before a late gearbox idles a bay.
Mark every model as ahead, on plan or behind, and attach a named person and a dated recovery step to each model that is behind.
This week, print the model list, note the constraining station beside each model and confirm it with your foreman before the first dealer meeting of the season.
Pre season planning checklist
The one page checklist runs in five blocks, forecast, materials, capacity, tooling and weekly review, with an owner, a due date and a status box beside each task. The capacity block adds a small table with model, hours at welding, hours at paint and units per week, filled in from the bill of materials routing.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How early should planning start?
Start when the longest lead parts, such as gearboxes and castings, need ordering, which is usually well before dealers confirm anything, even if the first plan is rough. Revise it as orders arrive.
What if the dealer forecast is unreliable?
Compare past forecasts with actual dispatches by dealer and model, because the difference tells you how much each dealer’s next figure should be trimmed. Keep a small buffer for sell-out models.
Should we build stock ahead of orders?
For fast moving models the answer is often yes, within what your cash, yard space and paint line capacity in the quiet months allow. For rare variants, build only against confirmed orders.
Can software help with this plan?
Yes. A system that holds bills of materials, stock and purchase orders can explode the plan and show shortages in minutes, where a spreadsheet takes a day.