Fabrication ERP Software for Sheet Metal and Steel Fabricators
Quote by weight, buy by the tonne, cut, weld, coat and dispatch by the job — and know what each job really cost.
In short
Fabrication ERP software handles make-to-order steel and sheet metal work: estimating by weight, job-wise BOMs, material and sheet consumption, job cards for cutting, bending and welding, galvanising and coating at job workers, quality NCRs, and job costing against the estimate — so the real margin of each job is known.
| Estimating | By weight of plates and sections |
|---|---|
| Shop floor | Job cards for cut, bend, weld, finish |
| Outside work | Galvanising, plating, coating as job work |
| Runs on | Cloud — browser and phone, nothing to install |
Fabrication is make-to-order manufacturing at its most variable. Every job has its own drawing, material is bought by weight and consumed by the piece, processes like galvanising, plating and powder coating go out to vendors, and the margin is decided by how much steel was actually used and how many hours the job took.
Spreadsheets cope with one job at a time. They break when twenty jobs share the same stock of plates and sections, when a drawing revision arrives after cutting, or when nobody can say which job the steel at the coater belongs to.
What you get
Job-wise BOM
Plates, sections, pipes, fasteners and consumables per job, with revisions when the drawing changes.
Sheet and material consumption
Record material issued and consumed per job to see wastage and offcuts by job.
Job cards and routing
Cutting, bending, welding, fit-up and finishing as operations with work centres and progress.
Job work out
Galvanising, plating and powder coating tracked at each vendor on returnable challans.
Quality and NCR
Inspection checkpoints, non-conformance reports and CAPA when a weld or dimension fails.
Job costing
Material, job work and labour collected against the job as it happens, compared with the quote.
A fabrication job through the system
- 1Estimating works out plate and section weights for the drawing and prices the job by weight.
- 2The order is approved; the BOM is released and MRP shows which plates and sections must be bought.
- 3Stores issues material to job cards for cutting and bending; consumption and offcuts are recorded.
- 4Welded assemblies go to a galvaniser on a job work challan and come back against it.
- 5Quality inspects; a dimensional failure raises an NCR and rework is logged.
- 6Dispatch ships with a challan and e-way bill, and the job cost is compared with the estimate.
Estimating fabrication by weight
Most fabrication is quoted on weight — kilograms of steel plus a rate for fabrication and finishing. Getting the weight right is the first step to a quote that makes money; the metal weight calculator and cost sheet help on single jobs, and the ERP keeps the estimate with the job so it can be compared with actuals later.
Job work: where fabricators lose material
Material sent out for galvanising or coating is still your stock, and under GST it must come back within the allowed time. Tracking each job work challan — what went out, what came back, what is still at the vendor — protects both the material and the input tax credit.
Knowing the real cost of each job
Two jobs of the same weight can have very different margins — one needed rework, the other used offcuts. Job costing that collects actual material, job work and hours by job shows which kinds of work pay and which only keep the shop busy.
Questions people ask.
What is fabrication ERP software?
ERP built for make-to-order metal fabrication: job-wise BOMs, material consumption, job cards, job work for coating and plating, quality and job costing in one system.
Can it track sheet and plate wastage?
Yes. Material issued and consumed are recorded per job, so wastage and offcuts are visible job by job.
Does it handle galvanising and powder coating at outside vendors?
Yes — material sent out on job work challans is tracked at each vendor until it is received back.
Can I see profit per fabrication job?
Yes. Material, job work and labour are collected against each job and compared with the estimate.
Is it suitable for small fabrication shops?
Yes. Start with orders, purchase, stores and job work, and add production planning and quality when you are ready.
Related parts of the system
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