Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for material handling equipment manufacturers.
A checklist built from how material handling equipment 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.
- Capacity-based quotations
- Structural steel and component records
- Assembly stages
- Load test and proof records
- Nameplate and dispatch
- Installation and inspection contracts
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For sales engineers
- For the drawing office
- For workshop and assembly leads
- For test and safety engineers
- For service coordinators
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Units in build, split by stage and model
- Steel, chain and hook issues by serial
- Load tests done, passed and awaiting
- Quotations won, lost and still open, by duty class
- Sold units with inspections due or overdue
- Spares quotes by model, with unit age
- Deliveries and installations scheduled
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- SMS
- Accounting export
- Payment gateway
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can one screen quote standard and special units?
- How is a load test tied to a hoist?
- Can steel and chain certificates be attached?
- What if a buyer wants more capacity?
- Does it remind customers about yearly inspections?
- Can we use it for installation crews?
- Can existing serials be loaded?
- What will it cost us?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Capacity is quoted but never confirmed at build
- Proof tests live in notebooks
- Mill and chain certificates are filed by purchase order
- Nameplate data is typed twice
- Yearly examinations are chased by memory
Prefer to talk it through? See the material handling equipment manufacturers page.