Choosing an ERP for a manufacturer: checklist
You choose an ERP for years. With this checklist you assess every vendor, Digital WorkMate included, on the same questions and keep a demo by the best salesperson from deciding the choice.
Choose an ERP for a manufacturer in this order: first document your own processes (from quote to invoice), then test per vendor whether those processes fit as standard, with configuration, with an integration or not at all, ask for a demo with your own product and BOM, and calculate the total cost, including integrations and upgrades. Digital WorkMate fits best with SMB manufacturers with customer-specific products, complex BOMs and changing schedules; with the ERP Fit Scan you get an honest first indication in two minutes.
The checklist
- Processes: are sales, work preparation, scheduling, production, purchasing and logistics mapped?
- Product fit: does the package support your BOMs, revisions, routings and costing without detours?
- Scheduling: is it scheduled with finite capacity and is the shop floor connected?
- Traceability and quality: lots, serial numbers, quality checks and blocks
- Integrations: API, accounting and financial systems, machines, e-invoicing and any other systems
- Total cost: licences, configuration, custom work, integrations, upgrades and your own time
- Implementation: approach, data migration, the role of your own people and what happens after go-live
- Future: new features without an upgrade project, cloud, security and rights
- Honesty: does the vendor also say what does not fit, and can you get that in writing?
Ask for a fit/gap per process
Per process: does it fit as standard, with configuration, with an integration, or not. Honest and in writing. That is also how we set up the ERP Migration Scan.
Ask for a demo with your own product
A generic demo says little. Ask for a demo with your own BOM, routing and order, so you see scheduling and the shop floor with your own data.
Compare on the same items
On our comparison pages you put Digital WorkMate next to other ERP systems, with a source for each item. Use the calculator to set the cost of your current situation side by side.
What Digital WorkMate offers for this today
For each part you can see whether it is fully or partially available.
- Multi-level bills of materialsAvailable
Multi-level BOMs with phantom assemblies, dimensions (length, width, height) and material-loss rules for saw and cutting loss.
- Finite-capacity schedulingAvailable
Automatic priority-driven scheduler with ASAP and JIT scheduling, dependencies, critical path and a drag-to-reschedule Gantt chart. Per department you set a priority per production order, the Gantt shows department colours and filters on workplace, department and user, and a planner work list shows the operations of a user's workplaces. An operation without planned time does not block scheduling.
- Lots and traceabilityAvailable
Immutable lot ledger, tracing from supplier batch to customer and back, repacking with lot genealogy and production postings per lot.
- REST API with OAuth 2.0 and API keysAvailable
Typed API with a generated client, OAuth 2.0 (authorization code and client credentials) and API keys per feature.
- Cloud SaaS, browser and mobileAvailable
Fully web based: desktop, mobile app, terminal and Outlook from one platform; nothing to install except the optional Monitor.
- Continuous deliveryAvailable
Automated build and test pipeline and quarterly release notes; new features without an upgrade project.
Choosing an ERP: checklist: frequently asked questions
Where do I start when choosing an ERP?
Start with your own processes, not with a vendor feature list. Document how sales, work preparation, scheduling, production, purchasing and logistics run today and where it pinches.
Which companies is Digital WorkMate suited for?
Digital WorkMate fits best with SMB manufacturers with customer-specific products, complex BOMs and changing schedules, such as machine building, make-to-order, engineer-to-order, high-mix/low-volume, metalworking and contract manufacturers.
Can Digital WorkMate run alongside my existing ERP?
Yes. You can use Digital WorkMate as a full ERP, but also alongside an existing ERP or accounting system when you mainly want to support production and the shop floor. The REST API and integrations make that possible.
How do I know whether Digital WorkMate fits my company?
Take the ERP Fit Scan: twelve questions, two minutes, an honest first indication without a score and without having to leave any details. After that you can book a demo or take the Onboarding Scan.
See Digital WorkMate in action
In a no-obligation demo we show how Digital WorkMate supports your processes from sales to invoicing, with honest advice on what does and does not fit.