Supply Chain Digital Transformation
Contract Manufacturing Visibility.
Manufacturing visibility across company boundaries.
Metrotechs connects OEMs and contract manufacturers through authorized production, inventory, quality, and delivery updates.
For U.S. mid-market manufacturers.
Who this is for
Two sides. One need for reliable information.
For OEMs & brand owners
See outsourced production clearly and make customer commitments with better information.
For contract manufacturers
Give each customer consistent, authorized updates on their own orders.
Either organization can engage Metrotechs
The paying client owns the engagement and agrees the scope. Other organizations participate only with appropriate authorization; participation does not make them paying clients. Each customer sees only the information it is authorized to access.
Partners participate with authorization. Each customer sees only the information they are allowed to access.
Information flow
Connect the information in both directions.
brand owner
Requirements & approvals
Production, inventory & delivery
manufacturer
Visibility that supports decisions
See production progress, quality holds, and shipment readiness.
Production
Milestones, work in progress, and completion estimates.
Materials & inventory
Receipts, consumption, shortages and reconciliation.
Quality
Holds, inspection status and release decisions.
Engineering changes
Revisions, effective dates and acknowledgments.
Shipments
Quantities, dispatch status and delivery commitments.
Exceptions
Owners, escalation, decisions and resolution.
Records, timing and common handoff failures
Share the signals required for the decision. Agree source records, identifiers, update authority, freshness, reconciliation and who acts when partner evidence differs from the plan. Forecasts, release priorities, approvals and response workflows travel back to the manufacturing partner.
- PO acknowledgments remain in email instead of a shared operating record.
- Production status arrives during scheduled calls after decisions are due.
- ERP inventory still includes supplied material that has been consumed or scrapped.
- Quality holds reach planners after delivery commitments have been made.
- Engineering changes lack reliable acknowledgment and effective-date control.
- Spreadsheets use different status definitions and shipment notices are rekeyed manually.
- Exceptions circulate without an owner, approval path or audit history.
How we work
Start with one manufacturing relationship.
- 01
Assessment
Understand the handoffs, evidence, and decisions.
- 02
Roadmap
Agree records, access, responsibilities, and pilot scope.
- 03
Engineering
Connect approved systems, records, and workflows.
- 04
Adoption
Train teams, verify updates, and confirm acceptance.
Agree each stage’s scope before proceeding.
Scope and Roadmap requirements
Metrotechs assesses the manufacturing relationship, develops its CMV Roadmap, and engineers the approved connections and workflows. We agree deliverables, responsibilities, testing, adoption, and support ownership before work begins. Client leaders approve business decisions and accept results; selected providers own their assigned work and resources.
- Map the OEM-to-contract-manufacturer information flow: forecasts, releases, priorities, purchase-order acknowledgments and accepted promise dates.
- Identify systems of record, data owners, shared identifiers, definitions and reconciliation rules. Examine ERP, MES, QMS, WMS and PLM responsibilities.
- Agree OEM-owned or consigned stock, receipts, consumption, scrap, shortages and inventory reconciliation.
- Define capacity, queue depth, lead-time changes and alternate-source evidence where these affect the decisions in scope.
- Design authorized partner identities, role-based permissions and auditable access. Each customer receives only the information it is allowed to see.
- Set integration cadence by decision: event-driven, near-real-time, scheduled or structured manual confirmation. Make missing and stale evidence visible.
- Define exception types, ownership, escalation, approval thresholds and audit history. Partner updates do not automatically change accepted commitments.
- Compare EDI, APIs, files, existing portals, shared workspaces, dashboards and scorecards against the agreed information need.
- Plan one manufacturing relationship first, including partner participation, role-specific training, practice, operating acceptance and support ownership.
The Roadmap records current information flow, gaps, architecture, dependencies, exchange methods, identity and data-sharing controls, exception workflows, pilot sequence and acceptance evidence. Training, adoption and acceptance are part of the agreed operating change.
Related foundations: Supplier & Partner Collaboration and ERP integration architecture.
Pilot evidence and acceptance
A partner reports progress against a superseded assembly revision.
Illustrative scenario: WIP appears on schedule, but the customer’s accepted order requires a newer revision and confirmed quality release.
- 01
Reconcile the evidence
We trace approved requirements, partner revision records, material status, WIP quantities, and the evidence behind the reported shipment date.
- 02
Define the accepted update
The Roadmap sets revision references, quality evidence, and escalation ownership. You approve which partner changes may alter the internal commitment.
- 03
Prove the coordination
Providers demonstrate partner submissions, disputed evidence, and changed dates. Metrotechs reviews the findings before you accept the process and responsibilities.
Evidence for acceptance
Partner quantities, WIP, materials, and quality evidence match the correct work and approved revision.
An illustrative delivery sequence, not a reported client result. Agreed tests, employee practice, and operating evidence determine whether the change is accepted.
Require traceable evidence across the manufacturing boundary.
Agree requirements with your operating owners and participating partners.
- Partner quantities, WIP, materials, and quality evidence match the correct work and approved revision.
- Source records and accepted internal commitments remain distinguishable and accountable.
- Partner and internal owners demonstrate how to handle missing updates, holds, and changed dates before unsupported promises are made.
Questions about contract manufacturing visibility
Is this a replacement for the partner’s production system?
No. The Roadmap establishes the evidence and coordination your business needs. Partners retain responsibility for their production operations and source records.
Who implements the required connections?
Metrotechs leads the approved work and can develop or integrate alongside appropriate providers. We coordinate technical tests and practice with both companies; your leaders approve decisions and accept results. Providers manage their assigned work and resources.
Works with your environment
Work with the systems you have.
Use APIs, EDI, structured files, or permissioned portals to fit the operating need.
- ERP
- MES
- QMS
- WMS
- PLM
- Agreed source records and identifiers
- Customer-specific access and permissions
- Visible exceptions and accountable owners
Technology follows the operating requirement.
Launchpad for ongoing progress
Your CMV Roadmap.
Supported by Launchpad.
Use Launchpad to assess, plan, and govern your CMV project, from partner evidence and access rules to approved connections and adoption.
Free intake provides a preliminary Readiness Snapshot. A project-specific Roadmap and ongoing governance are part of a paid engagement led by Metrotechs.
- Promise
- Orchestrate
- Deliver
- Sustain
Four phases. Ten operating stages.
From the Guide library
CMV Guides
Practical guidance for dependable information across manufacturing relationships.
Guide8 min
Contract Manufacturing Visibility: The Real-Time Portal Strategy
Contract manufacturing delays often begin in the coordination layer between an OEM and its external manufacturing partners. This article explains the records, integrations, permissions, and exception workflows that create trustworthy visibility without treating a portal as the source of truth.
Guide5 min
When OEM and Partner Records Disagree: Timing Gaps vs. Real Exceptions
Some disagreement between OEM and manufacturing-partner records is legitimate. A practical way to separate timing gaps from real exceptions, and to assign who resolves what and on what evidence.
Guide4 min
Architecture Options for Cross-Company Production Visibility
When production status travels by email and spreadsheet, the problem is an operating architecture gap, not a missing software category. This explainer covers where data lives, how it can cross company boundaries, and which patterns to assess.
Discuss your visibility challenge.
Start with a focused conversation about one manufacturing relationship.