AI and software for manufacturers

For manufacturers whose ERP knows what was ordered, while the shop floor knows where it is. We build what sits in between.

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A man at De Molen Banden pointing at a large screen with the live order overview per department, beside it a screen with a route map and above it the De Molen dashboard
The order overview in daily use at De Molen Banden.

Short answer

Elusive Innovations, an AI and software agency from Oss in Noord-Brabant, builds software and AI applications for manufacturers: ERP integrations, order overviews per department, work orders and labels that come out of the system, and reports that build themselves. For De Molen Banden we built a system in which every order can be followed live across eight production departments, from forge to transport, connected to the existing ERP. Judgement on the floor stays with the skilled people; the software removes the searching, phoning and retyping.

Company
Elusive Innovations B.V.
Office
Romeinenweg 110-E, Oss
Service area
Oss and north-east Brabant, the rest of the Netherlands remotely
First step
Free business scan, then a defined Sprint

From our own work

Every figure comes from that project's dossier or page and applies to that engagement. It is not a promise for every company.

What do we build for a manufacturer?

Usually not a new ERP. The ERP handles orders, stock and finance, and it can keep doing so. What we build sits next to it: an overview of where every order is right now, screens per department, work orders and stickers that come out of the system per step, and an integration that writes progress back. That keeps one source, and nobody enters order data twice.

We use AI where the input is messy: an order that arrives by email or as a PDF, a phone call from a customer asking where their order is. Where a fixed rule will do, we build a fixed rule. How we make that call is in when AI adds value. The trade-off between ERP, MES and custom software is covered at more length in the article on software for manufacturers.

When this makes sense, and when it does not

Makes sense when

  • Departments phone each other to find out how far along an order is.
  • Work orders, labels or stickers are made by hand or retyped from the ERP.
  • The schedule lives in a spreadsheet or on a whiteboard, separate from the ERP.
  • Your process runs slightly differently from what a standard package expects, for example your own sequence of departments.

Does not make sense when

  • Your production resembles that of many other companies and an MES or your ERP vendor's module already covers it. That is faster and cheaper.
  • Your ERP has no way to exchange data and replacing it is already planned. Make that choice first.
  • Nobody on the floor wants to think along yet. Software the floor does not use gets worked around.

From our work for manufacturers

What determines the investment?

One handover, such as production to transport, or one ERP integration can be a defined Sprint. An order overview across several departments with screens per department is more likely an MVP, and then a partnership as it grows.

  • Fixed scope

    Sprint

    One defined deliverable: an integration between two systems, a recurring step that disappears, or an internal screen that does not exist yet. Scope and price are fixed upfront.

  • Production-ready

    MVP

    A first version of your product or platform that real users can use. How long it takes depends on the scope, usually a few weeks.

  • Ongoing

    Partnership

    Fixed build capacity per period, for organisations that keep extending. New parts, integrations and automations delivered to a steady rhythm.

A Sprint starts at 999 euro. For an MVP or a Partnership it depends on scope; we share that figure during the intake.

What moves the price most

  • How many departments or steps an order passes through.
  • What integration options the ERP offers.
  • Whether work orders, labels or stickers need to come out of the system.
  • Whether people on the floor work on a screen, tablet or phone.

Explained in more depth in What does custom software cost?

How we approach it

  1. Walk the floor

    We look at where an order stalls and count for a week how often people phone, search or retype.

  2. Pick one handover

    We start at the step where the most time is lost, not with the whole company.

  3. Build next to the ERP

    The integration reads order data and writes progress back, so the ERP stays the source.

  4. Test with the floor

    The people who will use it go first. What does not work we adjust before the next department joins.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to replace our ERP?

Almost never. What we build sits next to the ERP and exchanges data with it. The ERP stays the source for orders, stock and finance.

How is this different from your article on software for manufacturers?

The article explains where work gets stuck in a manufacturing business and when an MES or custom software fits. This page shows what we build there, AI included, and how an engagement with us runs.

Are you nearby?

We are at Romeinenweg in Oss. De Molen Banden is in Reek, and drive times for companies in Uden, Veghel and Den Bosch are on the region pages. We start on site.

What does software for a manufacturer cost?

A Sprint starts at 999 euros: one defined result with a fixed scope. Above that it depends on what needs to be built, and we work with an MVP through to production or an ongoing partnership. After the introduction you know which shape your question falls into.

Read next

The next step

Tell us where work gets stuck.

Bring an example from your everyday work. Together we explore what is needed and whether we are the right team to help. Prefer it on paper first? Request the free business scan.

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