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Zoho for manufacturing businesses
Manufacturers need sales, stores, production and finance to share one set of numbers. We connect them on Zoho, with custom production modules where your process is specific.
What usually goes wrong
Raw material shortages surprise you
Purchase is triggered late because stock isn't visible.
Production tracked on paper
Work orders, wastage and output recorded by hand.
Costing is approximate
True cost per unit is unknown until month-end, if then.
Quality records scattered
Inspection results kept in files nobody can search.
Dispatch disconnected from sales
Customers chase order status by phone.
Dealer orders by phone
Distributor and dealer orders taken manually.
The process, step by step in Zoho
Each step is a stage in Zoho, with automation and visibility at every handover.
How Zoho fits manufacturing
A manufacturer's numbers depend on what happens between the purchase order and the dispatch note. Zoho links purchase, stores, production, quality and accounts, so cost and stock are known while work is in progress, not after month-end.
What you track in Zoho
- Items and bills of materials
- Raw materials, components and the recipe for each finished product.
- Work orders
- Planned and actual quantities, consumption, wastage and output.
- Batches and serial numbers
- Traceability from raw material lot to finished product.
- Quality checks
- Inspection results and holds before release.
- Dealers and orders
- Dealer and distributor orders, schemes and outstanding.
Compliance and local rules
- GST invoices, e-invoicing and e-way bills for dispatches
- Job work records when material goes to outside processors
- Batch records for audits and customer traceability requests
Decide before you start
- Make-to-stock, make-to-order, or both
- Standard cost or actual cost per batch
- Which stages need shop-floor entry, and on what device
- Whether machines or weighbridges should send data directly
A typical Zoho setup
Zoho Inventory for materials and finished goods, a Zoho Creator production module where your process needs it, Zoho CRM for dealer sales, Zoho Books for costing and accounts, and Zoho People for the workforce.
Automation
- Reorder alerts for raw materials
- Work-order status updates to sales
- Quality hold before dispatch
- Dealer order acknowledgements
Integration
- Weighbridges and machines where available
- Biometric attendance devices
- Transport partners
Reporting
- Production output and wastage
- Cost per unit and margin
- Dealer sales and outstanding
Related work
Transformer manufacturer connects sales, design, production and dispatch on Zoho Creator and Zoho Books
- Problem
- Leads, tenders, designs, quotations, purchase, production and billing were tracked in separate registers, so nobody could see where an order stood, and credit and advance payments were checked late.
- What we built
- A 25-module Zoho Creator application covering lead to invoice, including bills of materials, work orders with 11 production stages and quality testing, integrated with Zoho Books for items, stock and accounts.
- Result
- Every order has one trail from lead or tender to invoice. Approvals, credit checks and advance payments are enforced by the system, and stock, serial numbers and pricing are visible across all branches.
Kerala turnkey interiors company tracks leads, deals and payments in Zoho CRM
- Problem
- Leads from campaigns, the website, walk-ins and calls were stored in different places, deal stages were informal, and balances needed manual sums.
- What we built
- Zoho CRM with duplicate checks, round-robin and branch assignment, defined deal stages, and a custom Payment Collection module that recalculates balances.
- Result
- Leads are tracked in one system, deals are visible by branch, and advances and balances are accurate at the deal level.
Has OHO Solutions worked with manufacturers?
Yes. Clients include Nitta Gelatin, Metcon TMT Bars, Paragon TMT, Malabar Extrusions and Dolphin Rubber Industries.
Does Zoho support bills of materials?
Zoho Inventory supports composite items and assemblies; multi-stage production is usually built on Zoho Creator, connected to Inventory and Books.
Can we see cost per unit?
Yes. When material, labour and overheads are recorded against work orders, Zoho can report cost per unit and margin by product.
Can we trace a finished product back to its raw material batch?
Yes. With batch tracking in Zoho Inventory and production records in Zoho Creator, each finished batch links to the material lots used.
Have a similar business challenge?
Talk to us about your processes. We'll show you how they could run on Zoho.