Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for yarn manufacturers.
A checklist built from how yarn 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.
- Bale intake and mixing plan
- Department production and waste
- Frame allocation by count
- Lab readings by lot
- Machine stoppage log
- Packing, labels and despatch
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the mill manager
- In planning
- In each department
- In the quality lab
- At the despatch desk
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Yield from fibre to cone by lot
- Waste by department and shift
- Ring frame running hours and stoppage causes
- Bale stock by lot and cover in days
- Lab results by count and lot
- Orders pending by count and date
- Outside process weight out against weight returned
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Accounting export
- Weighbridge and bale scale
- Spindle and machine counters
- Barcode or label printer
- SMS or messaging for despatch notices
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is this built for spinning or for any textile mill?
- Can it follow a bale to the cone?
- Does it calculate yield?
- How are spindle breaks and machine stoppages recorded?
- Can lab readings be printed for the buyer?
- What about yarn sent out for doubling or gassing?
- Can our existing orders and bale stock be loaded?
- Who owns the production data, and can it leave?
- How is it priced?
- Do we need it with only a few thousand spindles?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Bale lots blend without a trace
- Waste is weighed in pieces
- Test readings stay in the lab
- Stoppages hide in the shift book
- Count changes reach the floor late
Prefer to talk it through? See the yarn manufacturers page.