Do we need to replace our ERP or the contract manufacturer's systems?

No. This connects the systems that already exist -- ERP, MES, QMS, WMS, EDI, or portals -- around shared definitions and integration boundaries. Replacement only comes up if a system genuinely cannot expose the data the relationship needs.

What if the contract manufacturer won't adopt new software?

Most of this work is integration and shared definitions, not a new system the partner has to learn. Where a portal is the right fit, we scope it around what they'll actually use -- often starting with the two or three status updates that generate the most phone calls.

How is this different from a supplier portal?

A supplier portal usually covers purchase orders and basic status. Contract manufacturing visibility goes further into production milestones, OEM-owned inventory, quality holds, and engineering change acknowledgment -- the operating detail a manufacturing relationship actually depends on.

All services

Contract Manufacturing Visibility

See What Is Happening Across Outsourced Production

Connect the ERP, production, material, quality, and shipment signals that disappear between OEMs and external manufacturing partners—then turn them into trusted status, governed exceptions, and better decisions.

Talk Through the Visibility Gap Read the Visibility Playbook

Operational overview

Outsourced production should not become a black box.

Contract manufacturing visibility is the ability for an OEM or brand owner and its external manufacturing partners to share trusted, current information about forecasts, purchase orders, materials, work in progress, capacity, quality exceptions, engineering changes, shipment status, and delivery risk.

The visibility gap usually opens after the OEM issues a forecast, purchase order, material release, or engineering change. Metrotechs connects the records and workflows needed to understand what is happening before a late order, material shortage, or quality issue reaches the customer.

OEM to manufacturing partnerForecasts, priorities, specifications, supplied-material information, engineering changes, approvals, and response workflows.

Manufacturing partner to OEMProduction status, material consumption, inventory, quality, capacity, shipment status, and delivery risk.

Information that should be visible

Share the signals required for the decision—not every field in every system.

The right scope depends on the manufacturing relationship, operating risk, customer commitment, and source-system ownership.

Demand and commitments

Forecasts, releases, priorities, acknowledgments, and promise dates

Orders and production

Purchase-order status, production milestones, work in progress, completion estimates, and constraints

Materials and inventory

OEM-owned or consigned stock, receipts, consumption, scrap, shortages, and reconciliation

Capacity

Available capacity, queue depth, lead-time changes, and alternate-source readiness

Quality

Holds, nonconformance, inspection status, corrective actions, and release decisions

Engineering

Specifications, revisions, approvals, effective dates, and change acknowledgment

Shipping

Advance ship notices, carrier handoff, shipment status, quantities, and delivery commitments

Exceptions

Ownership, severity, escalation, approvals, resolution status, and audit history

Common failure modes

The handoff breaks long before a shipment is officially late.

These are operating-control problems, not merely reporting problems.

PO acknowledgments are stored in email instead of a shared operating record.
Production status appears only during scheduled calls, after decisions are already due.
ERP inventory still includes OEM-owned material the contract manufacturer has consumed or scrapped.
Quality holds reach planners after customer delivery commitments have been made.
Engineering changes are distributed without reliable acknowledgment or effective-date control.
Spreadsheets use different status definitions and advance ship notices are rekeyed manually.
Exceptions go to distribution lists without a clear owner, approval path, or audit history.
Customer-facing delivery dates rely on stale partner information.

How Metrotechs helps

Use the Launchpad Roadmap to design the shared model and implement a controlled path forward.

Metrotechs works around the client’s existing ERP, MES, QMS, WMS, PLM, EDI, and partner systems. Replacement is a decision to prove, not a prerequisite.

01
Map the current OEM-to-contract-manufacturer information flow and the decisions it supports.
02
Identify systems of record, data owners, shared definitions, and reconciliation rules.
03
Document ERP, MES, QMS, WMS, PLM, EDI, API, and portal boundaries without assuming one platform owns every record.
04
Design secure partner identities, role-based permissions, and auditable access.
05
Set integration cadence by decision: event-driven, near-real-time, scheduled, or structured manual confirmation.
06
Define exception types, ownership, escalation, approval thresholds, and auditability.
07
Design portal, shared-workspace, dashboard, and scorecard requirements where they add value.
08
Evaluate where AI can safely classify, summarize, predict, or recommend after the records and governance are ready.
09
Plan a controlled pilot with one manufacturing relationship before a broader rollout.

ERP, Cloud, Data, and AI

One use case across four established service lanes.

AI does not substitute for clean records, defined ownership, controlled workflows, or human approval where cost, quality, compliance, or customer commitments are at risk.

ERP

Establish the authoritative order, material, inventory, commitment, costing, and fulfillment records.

Explore ERP integration architecture

Cloud

Connect partners securely through APIs, integration services, EDI, events, or a permissioned portal.

Explore API and integration services

Data

Reconcile definitions and history so both sides can trust status, inventory, quality, and performance reporting.

Explore operational data services

AI

Add exception classification, document extraction, risk signals, and guided recommendations only when data and governance are ready.

Explore governed AI workflows

Engagement deliverables

A practical definition of what needs to change.

Depending on scope, an engagement may include the following outputs.

Current-state OEM-to-CM process and data-flow map

Systems-of-record inventory and visibility-gap analysis

Shared signal model and data dictionary

Integration architecture and cadence recommendations

Role and permission model

Exception, escalation, and approval matrix

Portal or collaboration requirements

Dashboard and scorecard requirements

AI-readiness findings

Pilot scope and phased implementation roadmap

Who the service is for

Both sides of the manufacturing relationship need trustworthy operating context.

Companies that outsource manufacturing

For OEMs and brands that need current order, material, production, quality, capacity, and shipment information across external manufacturing partners.

Contract manufacturers serving demanding customers

For manufacturers that want to replace repetitive status emails and spreadsheets with trusted, permissioned customer visibility.

Next step

Find Where the Manufacturing Handoff Goes Dark

Metrotechs can map the systems, records, and workflow gaps between your operation and external manufacturing partners, then define a practical path from manual status chasing to governed visibility.

Talk Through the Visibility Gap Read the Visibility Playbook

Start with one relationship, clear ownership, and controlled approvals before broader rollout.