Operations & scheduling
Scheduling engine with Gantt views, dispatch, scenarios, and deep ties from jobs through operations to the floor—plus MRP for demand, PO linkage, and job costing with estimated vs. actual variance.
What we’re strong at
ForgePlan is a single product that spans operations, compliance, and back office. The same job record drives scheduling, operator time, inspection, certs, inventory, and GL— so you spend less time re-keying and more time shipping good parts on time.
Quality & compliance
Six-phase QC: customer quality profiles, inspections, FAI workflow, company quality vault, NCR/CAPA, calibration with alerts, e-signatures, and audit trails suited to AS9100-minded workflows.
PLM & engineering
Part master with revisions and ECOs, multi-level BOM, routings, controlled documents with hashing, variants, and one-click job creation from released parts.
WMS & materials
Bin-level stock, receiving, picking, shipping, transfers, cycle counts, lot traceability, and purchasing with approvals, receiving dock, analytics, and reorder suggestions.
Shop-floor reality
PIN-authenticated operator flows on Windows Electron and Android, visual work instructions at operation level, tool crib with life tracking, labels, OEE views, and customer portal for order status.
Modern platform
FastAPI and PostgreSQL, HttpOnly auth, optional WebAuthn/MFA, HashiCorp Vault for secrets, REST API with hundreds of endpoints, SSE for live UI updates, and installers for Linux and Windows.
Integrations & custom modules
Any module you need—CAM links, metrology, accounting bridges, customer portals, bespoke workflows—hooks into a clean API and codebase competitors can’t match for speed or price. You get working integrations sooner, for less money, and without six-month professional-services marathons.
How we sit in the market
Job-shop software clusters into three familiar camps: premium all-in-one (e.g. ProShop), affordable quote-to-cash (e.g. JobBoss2), and enterprise ERP (e.g. Epicor). ForgePlan deliberately targets precision shops that need compliance depth and a modern stack without drowning in enterprise implementation or per-seat premiums.
| Dimension | Premium incumbent | Affordable job shop | Enterprise ERP | ForgePlan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic model | High per-user/month; long implementation | Flat annual; lighter quality depth | Enterprise licensing & services | Self-hosted control; modular licensing |
| AS9100 / QMS depth | Strong native | Often needs paid quality add-ons | Strong with extra modules | Native backbone—FAI, vault, NCR/CAPA, certs |
| Tooling & floor UX | Mature | Weaker crib; dated tablet UX (typical) | Rich MES options | Tool crib + terminals; visual work instructions |
| Architecture | Proprietary stacks | Often desktop-first legacy | Heavy integration surface | Open API-first (FastAPI + React + PostgreSQL) |
| New modules & integrations | Partner roadmaps, long PS engagements | Limited API; custom work is slow | Costly SI projects, upgrade risk | Faster delivery, lower TCO, minimal vendor friction |
Competitor summaries reflect public positioning and analyst-style reviews; your mileage varies by implementation partner and modules purchased.
Vs. premium “digital manufacturing” suites
You keep deep QMS and scheduling intent without the ~hundreds per user per month posture and year-long rollouts. Our stack is easier to extend and integrate for in-house IT or a lean partner.
Vs. entry job-shop ERPs
You don’t buy a separate quality suite to compete on aerospace and medical paperwork. Procedures, calibration, FAI, and job-level quality history stay first-class—not an afterthought.
Vs. enterprise ERP
Purpose-built for quote-to-ship job shops—not every manufacturing mode on Earth. Unlike typical enterprise suites, ForgePlan includes a true backward, forward, and hybrid scheduling engine out of the box. You get PLM, WMS, accounting, and operations in one product without Epic-scale footprint.
Extensions without the enterprise invoice
Whether it’s a new licensed feature, a partner system, or a one-off shop workflow, ForgePlan is built so integrations and modules land faster, cost less, and skip the usual vendor runaround—no mandatory integrator, no opaque SKU maze, no waiting on someone else’s product roadmap.
What makes us better—for the right shop
“Better” is contextual. ForgePlan wins where teams want one coherent system, defensible audits, and a stack they can own. If you only need light job tracking, lighter tools win on price; if you need global multi-plant MES, enterprise vendors still own that lane.
Compliance without the add-on bill
FAI, controlled procedures linked to operations, calibration discipline, cert packages, and NCR/CAPA are in the product—not a surprise line item after you’ve already bought core ERP.
Information loop, not islands
Quote → job → route → floor time → inspection → inventory → PO → GL lives in one model so amendments propagate to travelers, CoC, and costing without retyping.
Operators get real tools
Dedicated Electron and Android clients with PIN security, media at the operation, and tool crib workflows beat “open a PDF on a shared drive” patterns common in lighter systems.
Ops-grade engineering
PostgreSQL with Alembic migrations, Vault for secrets, HTTPS defaults, audit logging, backups, and a large automated test footprint—the kind of foundation auditors and IT both notice.
Breadth that matches growth
When you outgrow spreadsheets, ForgePlan already covers PLM, warehouse, full PO lifecycle, payroll-capable accounting, and accounting bridges such as QuickBooks—with room to wire whatever else you need through the same REST surface.
Integrate anything—without the competitor headache
Competitors bury you in modules, middleware, and billable hours. ForgePlan’s stack means you can add or integrate any capability more quickly, for less money, and with less hassle—direct API access, coherent data model, and no gatekeeping between your shop and the code.
You control deployment
On-prem and air-gapped friendly licensing story, hardware-bound keys, and single-command installers—built for shops that treat data sovereignty as non-negotiable.
Pre-launch
ForgePlan is in active production use on customer infrastructure. Public launch packaging and positioning are tightening. For early access, pilots, or partner conversations, email us using the button below.