Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for paper product manufacturers.
A checklist built from how paper product 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.
- Reel and sheet intake
- Conversion planning
- Machine runs and waste
- Partial reel stock
- Bill of materials per product
- Packing by ream, bundle and carton
- Orders, delivery notes and invoices
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For production planners
- For machine operators
- For the paper store
- For packing and dispatch
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Reels received and issued by mill, grammage and width, with core weights
- Trim strips and set-up waste by machine and by order, split from run waste
- Expected yield against actual notebooks or envelopes per reel after slitting
- Part-used reels on the rack with weighed core and remaining width
- Orders waiting on paper, on a ruling machine or on a cover board delivery
- Cartons packed against customer orders, with dozens short by line
- Paper, wire and glue cost per thousand pieces by product and ply
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Weighing scale entries
- Barcode label printing
- SMS
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can it follow a reel through several machines?
- How does it treat a part-used reel?
- Can we cost a notebook from real paper used?
- Does it handle envelopes and bags as well as books?
- How are cartons matched to orders?
- Can the store check weights from a scale?
- Do operators need a computer at the machine?
- Can we import our stock list?
- Who owns the data?
- What does it cost and is there a trial?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Reel weight and sheet count disagree
- Grammage is assumed, not recorded
- Set-up waste is not tracked
- Partial reels return to the wrong place
- Carton counts and order counts do not meet
Prefer to talk it through? See the paper product manufacturers page.