One of our manufacturing clients — a mid-sized unit in Vadodara producing industrial components — came to us with a recurring problem: they were constantly running out of critical raw materials mid-production, causing delays, rush purchases at higher rates, and missed delivery deadlines.
The Root Cause
Their inventory was tracked on a combination of Excel files and physical registers maintained by different team members. There was no single source of truth for stock levels. The purchase team didn't always know what the production team had consumed. Stock counts were done manually once a week, which meant problems were discovered too late.
What We Implemented
We set up Zoho Inventory with a configuration specifically suited to their manufacturing workflow:
1. Real-Time Stock Tracking
Every raw material inward (purchase receipt) and outward (issued to production) was recorded in Zoho Inventory in real time. Stock levels were now always accurate to the day — not to the last weekly count.
2. Reorder Points
For each raw material, we set a reorder point based on their average consumption rate and supplier lead time. When stock fell below this level, Zoho automatically generated a purchase order draft and notified the purchase manager.
3. Bill of Materials
We configured Bills of Materials (BOM) for their top-selling products. Now, when a production order is raised, Zoho automatically checks whether sufficient raw materials are available and flags any shortages before production begins — not during.
4. Vendor Management
All vendors were set up in the system with their lead times and pricing. Purchase orders now go directly to vendors from Zoho, with automatic follow-up reminders for overdue deliveries.
Results After 8 Weeks
- Zero unplanned production stoppages due to stock shortages in the two months following implementation
- Emergency/rush purchases reduced by over 70%, saving significant procurement cost
- Purchase manager's time on manual stock monitoring reduced from 2 hours daily to 30 minutes
- On-time delivery rate improved from 78% to 94%
"We used to find out we were short on material when production already stopped. Now the system tells us 10 days in advance. It's completely changed how we plan." — Operations Head, client company
If your manufacturing or trading business is facing similar challenges with stock visibility and procurement timing, we'd be happy to show you how Zoho Inventory can be configured for your specific workflow.