For Independent CNC, weld, sheet metal, and make-to-order job shops
Flag a repeat order before you accept it at a price that lost money last time
A customer sends a repeat PO at last year's price. Everyone is glad for the work, so it goes straight onto the schedule. Nobody checks that the last two runs of that part lost money on actual hours and material.
What it can cost you
Example: a repeat part that loses $14 a piece on actual cost, ordered in runs of 500 = $7,000 lost per run.An illustration, not a promise. Your Opportunity Scan puts a real number on it.
What the system checks overnight
- Matches each new order to past jobs for the same part number and revision.
- Compares the PO price to actual cost per piece on past runs.
- Flags parts whose actual margin was below your target on recent runs.
- Checks material cost now versus when the part was last quoted.
- Flags quantity changes that move setup cost per piece.
Where it reads from
- JobBOSS², ProShop ERP, Global Shop Solutions, ECI M1, or Epicor
- Outlook (customer POs)
What happens when it fires
You decide to requote, accept, or ask for a quantity change. The system drafts a requote with the cost breakdown and a short note to the buyer.
Autonomy level: Draft for approval. The system prepares the message or task, and you approve it before anything goes out.
What we guarantee
Every new order matched to its part history within a day of entry, before it is released to the floor. We agree on the metric before the Sprint starts and measure it over the first 20 business days after go-live. If we miss it, you get half your Sprint fee back. Dollar savings are tracked in your monthly saves log, reported rather than promised.
Questions
Customers do not like price increases. Will this push us to raise prices?
It only shows you the real cost history. Sometimes you keep the price for the relationship, and sometimes a better routing fixes the margin. The point is deciding with the numbers.
What if part numbers change between revisions?
It matches on part number and revision, and asks you to confirm when it finds a close match with a new revision.
Do I need new software for this?
No. The system reads from the tools you already use, with read-only access by default. A guardrail layer controls exactly which data the AI can see.
What does it cost?
A 3-week Sprint is $6,000 fixed and includes the morning brief plus one automation tied to an agreed metric. Ongoing support is $1,500 a month, or $500 a month to keep it running without new automations. If the agreed metric is missed over the first 20 business days after go-live, half the Sprint fee is refunded.
How is this different from a dashboard app or a free AI kit?
A dashboard app shows numbers when you go look. A free AI kit gives you the parts, and you do the setup, the upkeep, and the checking. Here the alarms are built for your kind of business, they watch outside data like market rates and rule changes alongside yours, and on Run or Keep-Running, the person who built them keeps them working and logs what they caught.
More alarms for machine and fabrication job shops
Seven more things worth watching.
- Jobs running over estimated hoursCompare hours clocked to estimated hours on every open job, operation by operation, so you can step in before the whole job's margin is gone.
- RFQs sitting unquotedTrack every RFQ from inbox to quote by estimator and due date, so good opportunities from your best customers do not age out unanswered.
- Orders about to ship lateCompare remaining routing hours, work center load, material, and outside processing to each promise date, so late orders are caught early.
- Material and outside process cost creepCompare vendor invoices for metal, plating, heat treat, and coating to PO prices and quoted costs, so supplier increases get caught early.
- Machines idle or stuck in long setupsCompare run hours to available hours per machine and track setup time per job, so your most expensive machines spend more time making parts.
- Paid hours not landing on jobsCompare paid hours to hours clocked on work orders by employee and shift, so indirect time and clocking gaps stop hiding in your shop rate.
- Shipped but not invoicedMatch every packing slip to an invoice and every invoice to its PO price, so shipped work does not sit unbilled or go out at the wrong amount.
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