A connected manufacturing operation
Dependable production, consistent quality and profitable orders rely on decisions made across the business. Customer requirements, material availability, supplier performance, production capacity and costs all influence what you can deliver and what you earn from it.
Hatton Locks implements manufacturing ERP and integrated business systems in South Africa, connecting sales, purchasing, inventory, production, quality and accounting. We combine practical process design with software configuration to give your team clearer information and stronger operational control.
Whether you manufacture to stock, produce against customer orders, assemble products or outsource production steps, we work alongside you to build systems around the way your business operates.
Sales, quotations and production commitments
A quotation establishes expectations for specification, price and delivery. Those commitments need to reflect the materials, work and capacity required to fulfil the order.
Hatton Locks helps connect customer requirements with product specifications, estimated costs and production planning. We establish a clear handover from quotation and order acceptance to purchasing and production, giving teams access to the information they need.
Changes after acceptance also need control. A revised specification, quantity or delivery date can affect material purchases, work already completed and the expected margin. Connected records and clear approvals help the business assess those consequences before committing to the change.
Purchasing, materials and inventory management
Production depends on materials being available when they are needed. A missing component can delay an entire order, while excess stock ties up cash and increases exposure to damage or obsolescence.
We help coordinate purchasing and replenishment with production demand, supplier lead times and existing commitments. Receiving, material reservations, stock movements and counts become part of a consistent process.
Accurate product records support the way materials are bought, stored and consumed, including different units of measure, pack quantities and approved substitutes. Where required, batch or serial records provide traceability, while separate locations make materials held at subcontractors visible.
Production planning and capacity
A workable production plan brings together demand, materials, people and equipment. It needs to reflect the constraints that determine when work can begin and how quickly it can progress.
Hatton Locks helps establish production planning and scheduling processes that make priorities, dependencies and bottlenecks visible. Your team can follow the status of orders, identify shortages and assess the effect of changes on other commitments.
Equipment maintenance and downtime also influence capacity. We help bring those considerations into the operation so that plans and delivery promises reflect actual availability. Clear progress records support timely decisions when a job falls behind or urgent work enters the schedule.
Product definitions and production instructions
Consistent production starts with a clear definition of what is to be made. Bills of materials, operations, drawings and work instructions need to agree and be available to the people doing the work.
We help organise product and production information, including components, quantities, product variations and the sequence of operations. This gives purchasing, production and finance a shared basis for planning and costing.
Revision control is especially important when designs change. Teams need to know which specification applies to each order and how a change affects materials already purchased or work underway. We help establish responsibilities and processes for reviewing, approving and communicating those changes.
Quality, traceability and rework
Quality problems affect delivery, cost and customer confidence. Reliable control requires checks at the appropriate points and a clear process for handling goods that do not meet the required standard.
Hatton Locks helps connect incoming inspections, production checks and finished-product acceptance with the relevant material and order records. Defects, scrap and rework can be recorded with their causes, actions and outcomes.
Where traceability is required, batch, serial and production records help the team investigate a problem and identify affected goods. Clear stock status prevents rejected or uninspected items from being treated as available for use or sale, while cost records make the financial effect of quality problems more visible.
Subcontracting, completion and delivery
Outsourced operations remain part of the manufacturing process. Materials sent to a supplier, work expected back and the acceptance of completed goods all need to be coordinated with the production order.
We help establish subcontracting processes that track responsibilities, quantities, expected dates and charges. This provides visibility into work outside your premises and its effect on production progress and costs.
Completed production then needs a dependable route into finished stock and customer fulfilment. We connect completion, quality acceptance, partial deliveries and dispatch so that teams can distinguish what is underway, what is ready and what has been delivered.
Manufacturing costing, accounting and reporting
A busy factory can still produce disappointing margins. Material price changes, additional labour, waste, rework and subcontracting charges can all move actual costs away from the assumptions used in a quotation.
Hatton Locks helps connect manufacturing records with costing and accounting. We work with your operational and finance teams to define how material consumption, labour, production expenses and outsourced work are captured, and how work in progress and finished stock are valued.
Reporting can compare planned and actual costs, identify recurring variances and show performance by product or order. Alongside delivery, quality and capacity measures, this gives management a clearer basis for pricing, purchasing and improvement decisions.
How Hatton Locks works with manufacturers
We begin by understanding your products, production methods, customer commitments and the points where information or control breaks down. We then agree priorities and a practical implementation scope.
Our work can include process design, system configuration, product data preparation, bills of materials, production routes, opening stock, reporting and staff training. We test representative orders through the full process, including shortages, substitutions, rework, outsourced operations and partial completion where relevant.
Implementation can progress in stages around the needs of the operation. We support launch, help teams establish dependable records and remain involved as the business improves its planning, control and use of the systems.
Let’s discuss your manufacturing business
If you are introducing manufacturing systems, improving production planning, investigating uncertain costs or preparing for growth, Hatton Locks can help.
Talk to us about your operation, the challenges your team faces and the results you want to achieve.