For a sheet metal factory, have you ever thought about this question

For a sheet metal factory, have you ever thought about this question:

A customer gives you an order with specifications, quantity, material, thickness, surface treatment, delivery date, and even drawings – why can't it go straight to production?

Take a customer order, for example:

Product model, quantity, and delivery date are all provided;

3D models and 2D drawings are included;

Material, sheet thickness, and surface treatment requirements are also specified.

From the customer's perspective,

this order already looks complete.

But when you hand it over to the workshop,

the workshop still cannot start production directly.

Why?

Because what the customer says is:

"I want this batch of products."

What the factory really needs to solve is:

"How many executable production tasks does this batch of products actually translate into?"
In between, there is a very critical step – "translation".

01From Product to Parts: The First Decomposition of an Order

Take one product, for example –

it may break down into dozens of sheet metal parts.

Each part has its own:

material, quantity, routing, and processing requirements.

Then these parts,

according to different production rhythms,

must go through different equipment and processes.

So once an order enters the factory, it actually undergoes a very important transformation:

from "what the customer wants" to "what the factory must specifically do".

This is precisely what many sheet metal companies tend to overlook.

02Three Layers of Data – Are They Talking About the Same Thing?

Because what we normally see is:

orders in the ERP,

work orders in the MES,

and tasks on the shop floor.

It looks like each layer has data.

But the real question is:
Are these three layers actually referring to the same thing?

The boss sees:

"When will this order be delivered?"

The planner sees:

"What are the current tasks?"

The workshop sees:

"Which parts are we making today?"

The warehouse sees:

"Do we have the materials?"

Everyone sees their own piece correctly.

But if this information is not truly connected,

a very familiar scenario emerges:

Although the order is not yet due, the boss starts to worry.

Because they notice:

some parts are finished,

some haven't even started;

some materials have arrived,

some are still being purchased;

some processes are complete,

but the subsequent processes haven't picked up.

In the end, you will find thatwhat truly makes factory management difficult is not "whether we have order data", but whether the order can be fully "translated" once it enters the factory.

03The First Step in Digitalisation: Translating Between Two Languages

What the customer gives you is product language.

What the factory needs is:

part language, process language, and production task language.

From one order,

decompose into products;

from products,

decompose into parts;

then turn parts into executable production tasks.

This process

is exactly how a sheet metal factory transforms "customer demand" into "production action".

Therefore, the first step in sheet metal digitalisation is not discussing ERP, MES, or APS.

It is to first understand clearly:

what actually happens after an order enters the factory?

Because if this step is not clarified,

everything that follows – planning, production, logistics, and even AI –

will struggle to build upon a consistent logical foundation.

And this is exactly what Chapter 2 of The Digital Backbone of a Sheet Metal Factory aims to make clear:Orders are the customer's language; production tasks are the factory's language.What digitalisation must do first is to translate between these two languages.

But here comes the question.

Now that the order has been broken down into individual parts and production tasks,

how exactly should these parts be made?

Why is it that, even among sheet metal parts,

some go to laser cutting,

some to stamping,

some require bending,

and some need welding?
Who decides this routing?

In the next chapter, we will continue breaking it down:
The second backbone of a sheet metal factory – the process route.