Overcoming the ETO time trap: How can fabricators and machine shops spend less time quoting and scheduling – and make more?

For fabricators and machine shops, the ability to engineer products to a customer’s exact specifications is a huge advantage. 

While large manufacturers might have greater production power, firms using the Engineer to Order (ETO) model can build bespoke components that can’t be replicated on mass production lines. However, this asset comes with a cost – time.

In this blog, we’ll run through how integrating an ERP system lightens the bureaucratic burden of ETO production, allowing you to concentrate on what helps your business grow. 

Key summary

• Bespoke engineering involves a lot of manual administration, which often prevents fabricators and machine shops from implementing the efficiency-boosting technology they need.
• Centralising shop floor data and engineering workflows with Ridder iQ replaces disconnected spreadsheets with a single, accurate source for quoting and production.
• ECI’s phased, supported implementation strategy allows firms to integrate their ERP and align factory workflows without interrupting production. 

The ETO time trap: Why custom orders create production bottlenecks

If you’re an Engineer to Order (ETO) manufacturer, you are likely caught in a difficult bind. 

The intricate, bespoke products you craft require time, planning and constant dialogue with customers to get right. But, like all manufacturers, you must produce quickly and efficiently to satisfy clients and grow your operation.  Engineers and fabricators have to frequently move between jobs to accommodate last-minute design changes, and administrative delays often create backlogs that limit how many new jobs you can take on. 

Without a central system to track data, rework and variables from previous jobs, establishing consistent delivery times and a standardised production process might feel impossible.  When every unique order requires a new bill of materials, custom routing, and specific materials sourced from scratch, you might feel locked in place, unable to make any of these processes more efficient. 

This is the ETO time trap – the feeling that you have no time to make the changes necessary to save yourself time. 

How an ERP can help you reclaim your time

Our 2026 Manufacturing Trends Report, confirms that this time trap is exactly what stops firms from modernising. 64% of manufacturers said they simply don’t have time to automate their processes, even though nearly all of them recognise that technology could boost efficiency and reduce costs. If you’re an ETO firm, you likely feel this pressure more than most.  Firms will need to overcome this to keep the ETO model commercially viable and scalable in the long term – which means finding the time to invest in new technologies. Manufacturers are beating the time trap by integrating powerful ERP platforms like Ridder iQ. Here’s how an ERP can take your ETO production to the next level.   
 

Integrated Process Management

Ridder iQ provides a single source for all quotes, bills of materials and shop floor data – meaning no more clunky spreadsheets or siloed information. This means:

• Better quoting: Data from previous custom projects makes quoting faster and more accurate.
• Flexible bills of materials: Production staff can build and modify complex bills of materials in real time using CAD/PDM integrations to keep the shop floor in sync with design changes.
• Live resource planning: Engineering and fabrication teams can use Ridder iQ’s visual scheduling tools to manage total capacity and adjust to design changes without losing productivity.
• Accurate cost tracking: Fabricators can track actual time and material costs against initial estimates using pre- and post-calculation tools, ensuring custom builds remain profitable.
• Capacity management: Machine shops can visualise the capacity of their entire shop floor to prevent bottlenecks.
• More time to grow: By spending less time on manual quoting, scheduling and production planning, you can scale your operation and secure more projects.

A structured implementation strategy

When you choose Ridder iQ to streamline your production, ECI’s implementation team will guide you through the process to minimise disruption. This means:

• Closely aligned processes: ECI’s experts will conduct a business process analysis and blueprint phase to align the software with your specific factory workflows.
• Staged rollout: The implementation is delivered in phases to minimise disruption to daily operations while providing structured support at every step.
• No interruptions in output: Firms can maintain their existing production schedules while building a more efficient foundation for growth.

Conclusion

Amid the daily demands of manual quoting, scheduling and production planning, you might feel like you don’t have enough time to streamline your ETO processes. 

However, the ability of your firm to embrace new technology could be the difference between growth and stagnation. By integrating a powerful ERP system like Ridder iQ, you can use the time saved on administration to secure new contracts and maximise your shop floor capacity.