Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for forged automotive parts manufacturers.
A checklist built from how forged automotive parts 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.
- Customer releases and forecasts
- Part masters and control plans
- Bar heat and billet traceability
- Press line and marking log
- Control plan inspection
- Packing, labels and shipping notices
- Returnable pack tracking
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For planners
- For press and marking staff
- For inspectors
- For dispatch
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Releases against stock and press plan, by part
- Lots traced from date code to heat and die
- Checks done and missed against the plan, by shift
- Die strikes since repair and repairs due
- Rack balance by customer
- Complaints by part and cause
- Approval packs outstanding by part
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Spreadsheet import
- Barcode labels
- Customer portal export
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- How do customer releases reach the plan?
- What does the date code link to?
- Can control plan frequencies be enforced?
- Can approval documents be stored with a part?
- How are returnable racks counted?
- What if a customer revises a drawing?
- Does it cover machining as well as forging?
- Can the shipping notice be sent from here?
- How much does it cost?
- Who owns the records?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Schedules change weekly
- Part marks do not match records
- Control plan checks are not evidenced
- Approval samples are scattered
- Returnable packaging goes missing
Prefer to talk it through? See the forged automotive parts manufacturers page.