Made-to-order, not a catalogue
One-off commissions and repeat lines run side by side on one board.
Furniture manufacturing software built for made-to-order.
The spec changes on a call, the cutting list is already on the bench, and the frame gets built to the old size. Bulk keeps the job, the cutting list and the fire-safety batches current, so you promise a delivery date and keep it.
- Cutting lists & routes
- Batch & fabric-lot traceability
- Fire-safety certificates
- Finishing schedule
This is your floor. These are the modules on it.
Where Bulk fits best.
Upholstered lines that need fire evidence
The foam batch and fabric roll go on the piece as it's upholstered.
A finishing bay that shifts daily
The bottleneck bay planned in the open, so delivery dates actually hold.
Estimators that stop at the quote
Keep the estimator and accounts package; Bulk runs the making in between.
From order to delivered suite, one thread.
Build the cutting list
The commission lands; Bulk turns it into a cutting list and a route across the benches.
See routingCutting list issuedRouting · Job 4417 · today 08:12
Two-seat settee · oak frame · 14 parts · spec rev B pinned
Route live on 3 benches
Draw the batches
The upholsterer logs the FR foam batch and fabric roll; stock drops the same moment.
See inventoryFoam batch drawnInventory · Job 4417 · Bench 3 · 10:05
CMHR foam batch F-2291 · fabric roll R-0834 · 3.6 m used
Shelf updated
Book through finishing
The finishing bay plans itself; a failed finish check raises the NCR before dispatch.
See qualityFinish check failedQuality · Job 4417 · Finishing bay · 14:20
Run in the lacquer on the left arm panel · re-spray after cure
Held before dispatch
Dispatch with the cert
The suite ships with foam batch, fabric lot and flammability certificate already linked.
See documentsDispatch pack readyDocuments · Job 4417 · Dispatch · 16:40
Foam F-2291 · fabric R-0834 · flammability certificate linked
Fire-cert attached
Today's reality: built on paper.
The job bag falls behind
Spec changes on a call; the frame still gets built old-size.
Fire evidence can't be found
Which foam went into that suite? A folder-by-folder hunt.
Dates are a guess
Nobody can see into the finishing bay, so dates are guesses.
The blocks that run a made-to-order shop.
Cutting lists & routes
A change on a call reaches the bench, not the bin.
RoutingBatch & fabric-lot traceability
Each piece tied to its foam batch and fabric roll, both ways.
Data threadFire-safety certificates
Certs and batch evidence assemble as you build; the label prints at dispatch.
DocumentsFinishing schedule
See the finishing bay live and give the customer a date you'll hit.
SchedulingBoard & material stock
The shelf drops as the bench consumes, so no weekly stock-take.
InventoryFinish & fit QC
A mark or a gap caught at the bench, not after it's fitted.
Quality
The suite ships with its paperwork done.
−4 daysOff made-to-order lead time at Harewood & Frame
98%First-time-right on finish and fit
<2 minFire-batch recall trace, was half a day
“Every settee leaves with its foam batch and fabric lot already on the record, no folder to dig through if the inspector asks. And I can finally see into the finishing bay, so the dates I give customers actually hold.”
HF
Workshop manager at Harewood & FrameBespoke seating & fitted joinery, Long Eaton
Questions, answered.
01
Is Bulk an ERP or a cabinet-shop estimator?
Neither, on purpose. Estimators quote and cut-optimise, then go quiet once the job hits the bench; an ERP wants your whole business re-platformed first. Bulk runs the making itself: cutting lists and routes, the finishing schedule, batch and fabric-lot traceability, NCRs, stock and the fire-safety paperwork. Shops that keep an estimator or accounts package keep them; most makers our size replace spreadsheets and job bags, not systems.
02
Does Bulk handle UK upholstered-furniture fire-safety evidence?
Yes, that's a headline use. The FR foam batch and fabric roll are logged against the piece at the bench, and the flammability certificates link to the job. When an inspector asks, or a batch is recalled, one search lists every suite that foam or fabric went into, forward and back, in seconds instead of a folder-by-folder hunt.
03
Can it work for one-off commissions as well as repeat lines?
Yes. Made-to-order is the default: a one-off commission gets its own cutting list, route and record just like a repeat line, and the two run side by side on the same board. You get the tracking without forcing bespoke work into a batch mould it doesn't fit.
04
Does Bulk do cut optimisation or nesting?
No, that's your CAD/CAM or nesting software's job, and Bulk doesn't try to replace it. Bulk takes the cutting list into production and tracks what actually happens to those parts. Where your saw or CNC exposes data, we can bring the cut list in rather than re-key it; the specialist optimiser stays.
05
How does it handle stock across board, timber, foam and fabric?
Material comes off stock the moment a job consumes it at the bench, so the shelf and the record stay in step without a weekly stock-take. Foam and fabric carry their batch and lot, so consumption and traceability are the same action. You're not tracking stock in one place and fire evidence in another.
06
What does it cost, and how long is rollout for a single workshop?
One per-site price with every module included, no per-module upsell, hosting and rollout in the figure. Rollout runs one line end to end first (order to dispatch on a job you make every week), proven on real work in weeks, then the rest follow the same pattern. Never a big-bang cutover, and early-access shops work directly with the build team.