Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for automotive fastener manufacturers.
A checklist built from how automotive fastener 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.
- Wire coil receipt and heat number records
- Part master with drawing revision
- Heading and rolling work orders
- Heat treatment batch log
- Outside coating and job work
- Lot inspection and customer certificates
- Tooling and die life
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For plant managers
- For header and roller operators
- For heat treatment staff
- For quality engineers
- For stores and the dock
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Open lots at each header, roller and furnace step
- Wire coil stock by grade, diameter and heat number
- Hardness and torque results by lot and customer
- Lots out at coating vendors, with days away
- Scrap by part, machine and die set
- Tooling cost per thousand parts
- Customer releases against deliveries made
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Barcode and label printers
- Weighing scales
- Accounting export
- Customer data exchange
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it follow a lot from coil to customer?
- Can furnace settings be saved with the lot?
- How are coating vendors handled?
- Can one part have different test plans for two customers?
- Does it count tooling life?
- Does the software certify our quality system?
- Can customer releases arrive electronically?
- How would existing lots and orders move over?
- How can we see a price?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Coil heat numbers lose the trail at the pallet
- Furnace loads are logged on a separate sheet
- Outside coating comes back unchecked
- Die and tooling life is guessed
- Customer requirements live in emails
Prefer to talk it through? See the automotive fastener manufacturers page.