Automated production line in a factory hall

For industry, series production & suppliers

Downtime, scrap, complaints. Why do you only hear about it at the Monday meeting?

ivato digitalises production and order processing in manufacturing mid-sized companies: part costing, delivery schedules, shift handover, downtime recording, complaints and maintenance. Your ERP stays, your machines stay. You see what is happening on the shop floor while it happens, and your office keeps pace with production.

Callback from the industry consultant →View order processing ↓

Clients from this industry

Your daily work

Do you recognise these sentences from the shop floor, work preparation and sales?

In series production, cents per part and minutes per shift decide. Even so, much information still runs via slips of paper, shouted messages and Excel. Customers demand shorter quotation times, faster 8D reports and more evidence, while skilled staff are lacking. This is exactly where we start.

You recognise 0 of 8 statements

Tap the statements you recognise from your day-to-day work.

The pattern behind it: Production is trimmed for efficiency, the information around it is not yet.

Let's talk about it ↓

Order processing

At which point between enquiry and delivery do you lose time, parts or margin?

Click on a stage. You see how it works in many manufacturing companies today, what ivato implements there and what changes as a result. Usually two to four stages offer the greatest leverage. Which ones they are for you, we clarify in the initial conversation.

Today

Enquiries pile up at the estimator

Drawings arrive by email or portal. Material, blank and machining times are estimated by hand, experience values are in the estimator's head.

With ivato

AI part costing

  • Drawing and enquiry read automatically
  • Comparable parts with actual times from the ERP
  • Costing prepared, estimator checks and approves

What changes

More quotations, safer prices

You answer more enquiries faster and cost on the basis of real post-calculation instead of gut feeling.

Descriptions show typical processes. We calculate concrete effects in hours, parts and euros for your plant in the business case.

Practical examples

What does this look like in a manufacturing company like yours?

Four examples from machining, plastics, surface technology and electronics production, each with starting point, solution, result and calculation. What they all have in common: ERP and machine park stayed in place, and after 8 to 12 weeks the solution was running in daily operations.

  • MachiningSaxony120 staffSupplier to automotive & hydraulics

    Part costing from the drawing in one day instead of one week

    Starting point
    Two estimators for all enquiries. Every drawing was evaluated by hand, material and machining times estimated, many enquiries remained unanswered.
    Solution
    AI reads drawing and enquiry, suggests material, blank and operations and finds similar, already manufactured parts with their actual times from the ERP. The estimator checks and decides.
    Result
    More enquiries answered, faster quotations, costing based on real post-calculation.
    Investment
    €36,000
    Payback
    7 months

  • Plastic injection mouldingThuringia80 staff3-shift operation, 28 machines

    Downtime reasons recorded, shift handover digital, OEE visible

    Starting point
    Downtime and scrap were noted on paper, nobody analysed them. Shift handover by slip of paper, recurring problems went unnoticed.
    Solution
    Tablet at the machine for downtime and scrap reasons in a few clicks, machine signals where available, digital shift log and OEE analysis per machine and tool.
    Result
    The biggest sources of loss are known and are tackled in a targeted way. Handover between shifts works without loss of information.
    Investment
    €32,000
    Funding
    €12,800
    Own contribution
    €19,200
    Payback
    6 months

  • Surface technologyBaden-Württemberg45 staffContract coating

    8D report in three instead of ten days, customers see the status

    Starting point
    Complaints arrived by email and via customer portals. Information on batch, equipment and test result had to be gathered, 8D reports became tight.
    Solution
    Complaint is created automatically, batch, equipment parameters and test data are linked, AI creates drafts for the individual disciplines, status visible to the customer.
    Result
    Faster response, complete documentation, better supplier rating at the customer.
    Investment
    €62,000
    Funding
    €31,500
    Own contribution
    €30,500
    Payback
    7 months

  • Electronics productionBavaria150 staffAssemblies for industrial customers

    Delivery schedules automatically in the ERP, delivery dates confirmed faster

    Starting point
    Schedules and changes from several customer portals, via EDI and by email. The sales office transferred them by hand daily and checked material availability one by one.
    Solution
    Schedules are read from all channels and taken into the ERP, changes flagged, material availability checked and a date confirmation prepared.
    Result
    The sales office only checks deviations. Customers get reliable dates faster.
    Investment
    €42,000
    Payback
    8 months

More case studies from Mechanical & plant engineering · Funding programmes

Solutions

Which tools does ivato use in production?

Proven building blocks, adapted to your plant, your customers and your ERP. No large project with new production software, but targeted solutions at the points where time and money are lost today.

  • AI part costing

    Drawing and enquiry are read, comparable parts with actual times found, costing prepared. Your estimator checks and approves.

    To Sales & CRM Automation →

  • Delivery schedule automation

    Schedules from customer portals, EDI and email are taken into the ERP, changes flagged and date confirmations prepared.

    To Scaling with AI →

  • Shop floor tablet & shift log

    Record downtime, scrap and setup in a few clicks at the machine, digital shift log for the handover, even without a machine interface.

    To Reducing cost pressure →

  • OEE & plant cockpit

    Availability, performance and quality per line, machine and tool. The biggest sources of loss at a glance, not only at the Monday meeting.

    To Strategy →

  • Complaints & 8D with AI

    Complaints created automatically, batch and test data linked, drafts for the 8D disciplines, status for the customer.

    To Implementation →

  • Maintenance & setter knowledge

    Maintenance plans with reminders, fault reports by tablet, solutions to earlier faults and setting values retrievable by asking a question.

    To Securing succession →

ERP, MES & machines

Do we have to replace the ERP or MES for this?

No. Your ERP remains the leading system for orders, items and stock. Where an MES is running, we build on it. Where not, we close the gap with simple solutions at the machine. We connect older machines without an interface via tablet recording or retrofittable signals.

Your systems stay

  • Connection to common mid-market ERP systems via existing interfaces
  • Machine signals via existing control interfaces or retrofitting
  • Production network stays protected, data flows in a controlled way
  • Data stays on servers in Germany
CO2Scope 3 · Audit

Can you deliver when the customer asks for CO2 values, evidence and audits?

Large customers increasingly demand CO2 and sustainability data from their suppliers, plus quality evidence and self-disclosures. The data for this is usually already in the company: energy consumption, material, machine times. Recorded digitally, enquiries can be answered without searching for weeks each time.

As of: 10/2026 · simplified presentation, not legal advice

Clarify in a conversation ↓

Process & prices

How do we start without production coming to a standstill?

With a 30-minute conversation. After that you decide step by step. Your effort is a few appointments with management, production management, quality and the sales office. We plan implementation and tests around your shifts and delivery dates.

  1. Step 1

    Initial conversation

    30 minutes with a consultant who knows manufacturing companies. We discuss where things get stuck and tell you honestly whether and where digitalisation pays off.

    free of charge

    Request a callback ↓

  2. Step 2

    Strategy

    We walk through the shop floor and office, look at order processing and data, calculate the business case in euros and set a roadmap.

    Fixed price by scope · eligible for funding

    To Strategy →

  3. Step 3

    Implementation

    We implement the most effective building blocks, connect ERP and machines and train the office and shift leaders until it runs.

    from €20,000 net · 8–12 weeks

    To Implementation →

Estimate your funding

Funding rate
Funding
€12,000
Your contribution
€18,000

Simplified calculation. Rate and maximum amounts depend on the programme, federal state and company size. Consulting can additionally receive a grant of up to €5,600.

projects successfully supported
1,000+
projects successfully supported
years of experience with mid-sized companies
25+
years of experience with mid-sized companies
funding for implementation
up to 60%
funding for implementation
dedicated contact person in the project
1
dedicated contact person in the project

Frequently asked questions

What managing directors and plant managers want to know beforehand

Your question is not here? In the initial conversation we take 30 minutes for your specific topic.

Yes. Where there is no interface, employees record downtime and scrap by tablet in a few clicks, or we retrofit simple signals, for example whether the machine is running. That alone provides the data that is missing today.

If it is easier than the slip of paper, yes. We involve shift leaders and setters from the start, keep the recording to a few clicks and show what happens with the data. It is about the causes of downtime, not about monitoring individuals.

The production network stays protected, data flows in a controlled way and only in the agreed direction. Access is assigned by role, and AI services do not use your data to train third-party models. We agree the details with your IT.

In most cases yes, via existing interfaces or data exports. We check this in the initial conversation, before you commit.

Typically companies with 30 to 250 employees. If a building block avoids a few hours of downtime per week, relieves an estimator or closes a complaint faster, it pays off quickly. The business case shows this before the investment.

For consulting, grants of up to €5,600 are possible, for implementation up to 60% depending on federal state and programme. We check the suitable programmes in the initial conversation and take care of the application documents. As of: 10/2026, programmes change regularly.

Read on

Contact

Exchange ideas with one of our specialists from your industry.

30 minutes, free of charge. You describe where things get stuck, and we tell you openly which two or three points are worthwhile in your plant and roughly what that costs.

  • Callback within one working day
  • On request, an appointment on site at the plant

Request a callback

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