Parts that cross benches
Mill, weld, mould or press: each operation stamps itself on one live record.
Discrete manufacturing software for teams still on spreadsheets.
The part number gets typed five times, the trace takes days, and the route quirks live in one person's head. Bulk puts the whole job on one live record, desk to despatch, without replacing the ERP you already have.
- One data thread
- Production tracking & OEE
- Quality, NCR & 8D
- Scheduling & capacity
This is your floor. These are the modules on it.
Where Bulk fits best.
Supplier lots you must answer for
Goods-in books the lot and cert; a suspect serial traces back in seconds.
Spreadsheets beside a working ERP
Keep the accounts system; Bulk runs the floor between the machines and it.
Routes that live in one head
Route quirks and workarounds go on the job, not the fifteen-year veteran.
From goods-in to genealogy, one thread.
Book the material in
OCR reads the delivery note; the supplier lot and cert land on the job, nobody re-types.
See data threadDelivery note readGoods-in · Job 2031 · today 08:12
Lot 4471-B · EN 10204 3.1 cert attached · 12 bars
Heat H77120 booked
Build to the route
Mill, weld, mould or press: each operation stamps operator, machine and time itself.
See productionOp 30: WeldProduction · Job 2031 · Bay 2
M. Okafor · Bay 2, TIG-04 · started 08:12
Running · 42 min
Check and contain
A failed inspection raises the NCR on the spot and holds the batch until 8D.
See qualityNCR-0912 raisedQuality · Batch 2031 · raised 10:47
Ø12.00 H7 out of tolerance on part 17 of 38
Batch 2031 on hold
Trace in seconds
A customer flags a serial; every lot, operation and sibling part lists in one query.
See data threadSN-2031-017Data thread · Serial lookup
Lot 4471-B · 4 operations · 3 operators · 38 siblings
Full trace in 0.4 s
Today's reality: built on paper.
The same job, re-typed five times
Every re-key is a fresh chance to fat-finger a customer's part.
Trace takes days, not seconds
Travellers, spreadsheets and a phone call to find one suspect lot.
Knowledge in people's heads
Route quirks leave with whoever has been here fifteen years.
The blocks that fit a job shop.
One data thread
Desk to despatch on one job record, not six copies drifting apart.
Data threadProduction tracking & OEE
A lost hour shows on the wall TV while you can still act.
OEE & analyticsQuality, NCR & 8D
Raise the NCR where it happens; the batch holds until root cause.
QualityScheduling & capacity
See the live backlog and give the customer a real date.
SchedulingInventory & consumables
Shortages warn before Monday: stock tracked against the job that used it.
InventoryDocuments & certs
The right drawing revision in hand; the cert pack assembles without a hunt.
Documents
Same parts. Fewer surprises.
90%Time to trace an assembly at Ferndale Engineering
99.3%First-time-right at final inspection
0Re-keys between desk and dispatch
“A customer used to mean a two-day trawl through travellers to answer a lot query. Now it is one search: the whole genealogy, every part off that lot, on screen while they are still on the phone. We got a planner's week back and stopped dreading the audit.”
FE
Operations Director at Ferndale EngineeringDiscrete manufacturing, machined & fabricated assemblies
Questions, answered.
01
Is Bulk an MES or an ERP for discrete manufacturing?
Neither, on purpose. An MES assumes an integrator and a PLC network; an ERP wants your whole business re-platformed. Bulk is the traceability, production-tracking and quality layer for the shop floor. It captures genealogy, drives the route and holds the quality record, and sits alongside whatever accounts or ERP system you already run. Most shops our size are replacing spreadsheets and whiteboards, not systems.
02
Which kinds of discrete manufacturer is this built for?
The whole discrete world: machine shops, fabricators and welders, injection moulders, composites and PCB assembly, through to furniture and joinery makers, industrial machinery builders, building products factories and medical device manufacturers, plus the materials testing labs that check their work. It is the same engine underneath, configured to your route, your paperwork and your standard. Each sibling page goes deep on its vertical; this is the floor in general.
03
Can it trace a finished assembly back to component lots?
Yes, that is the point of the data thread. Every job carries the supplier lot booked at goods-in, each operation with its operator and machine, and the inspection results. Give it a serial and it walks the full genealogy in seconds, then lists every other part made from the same lot: the containment query a recall turns on.
04
Do we have to replace our ERP or accounts system?
No. Bulk runs the floor and its records; invoicing can draw from the same job data, but your accounts or ERP platform stays. This is the layer between the machines and the back office, not a rip-and-replace project, and not a big-bang cutover.
05
How long does rollout take?
One job type, end to end first (goods-in to dispatch, proven on real work in weeks), then the rest of your routes follow on the same pattern. You are an early-access customer, so you work directly with the build team and the configuration is shaped around your floor, not a template.
06
What does it cost for a shop like ours?
One per-site price with every module included, no per-module upsell, with hosting and rollout in the figure. Early-access shops work directly with the build team, so pricing and priorities are agreed openly rather than hidden behind a quote wall.