Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for adhesive manufacturers.
A checklist built from how adhesive manufacturers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Formulations and recipes
- Raw material lots
- Kettle batch records
- Viscosity, solids and bond tests
- Filling and lot coding
- Shelf life and expiry watch
- Data sheets and customer approvals
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the technical manager
- For kettle operators
- For laboratory staff
- For filling and packing staff
- For sales and stores
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Brookfield viscosity and solids by kettle batch and grade
- Peel and lap shear results against customer limits
- Resin and polymer lots used in a chosen batch
- Pails, drums and cartridges filled by batch code
- Grades by remaining shelf life
- Changeovers and purge steps logged on filling lines
- Orders open by customer and grade
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- Label printer
- Laboratory instrument import
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- How is a batch linked to the pails it filled?
- Can bond tests record the substrate used?
- Can slow grades be watched for expiry?
- Do filling lines need their own set-up?
- Can the same recipe have a water-based and a solvent version?
- Can a batch be reworked after a failed test?
- Can customers receive the data sheet automatically?
- What does a first meeting involve?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Viscosity drifts between batches
- Bond tests are not tied to the batch
- Pot life and open time are guesses
- Shelf life runs out in the warehouse
- Filling lines change over without a record
Prefer to talk it through? See the adhesive manufacturers page.