Automation

Business Process Automation for Manufacturing

Manufacturing businesses deal with tracking production orders and schedules. Business Process Automation fixes that. We build custom automation solutions for manufacturing professionals - fixed-price quotes, no hourly billing. We take the processes your team does by hand - enquiries, quoting, invoicing, reporting, data entry between systems - and make them run themselves. Built for teams of 2 to 200, owned by you, with no ongoing retainer required.

30%

of hours worked globally could be automated with current technology

McKinsey Global Institute

$260,000

average annual cost of unplanned downtime for Australian manufacturers

PwC 2024

A manufacturing floor running without real-time monitoring is flying blind. The data is there. You just need a system to see it.

Callum Holt, Founder, 13Labs

Last updated: 2026-03-19

Manufacturing Challenges That Automation Solves

Manufacturers, fabricators, and production facilities. These are the specific problems we see manufacturing businesses bring to us:

1. Tracking production orders and schedules. Our approach: reclaim 10 to 20 hours per week of repetitive manual work. This directly addresses the way manufacturing professionals actually work.

2. Managing quality control and inspections. Our approach: no mandatory retainer - own it, or have us train your team to run it. This directly addresses the way manufacturing professionals actually work.

3. Coordinating inventory and raw materials. Our approach: everything runs under your accounts with full documentation. This directly addresses the way manufacturing professionals actually work.

4. Maintaining equipment and reducing downtime. Our approach: reclaim 10 to 20 hours per week of repetitive manual work. This directly addresses the way manufacturing professionals actually work.

Business Process Automation Solutions for Manufacturing

Based on the challenges above, here are the applications we recommend for manufacturing businesses:

Project Management: Order tracking through production stages. Learn how to build a project management.

Task Manager: Inspection checklists and defect logging. Learn how to build a task manager.

Inventory Management: Raw materials and finished goods tracking. Learn how to build a inventory management.

Each of these can be customised to your specific manufacturing workflows. We scope the exact features you need during a free consultation.

What Manufacturing Businesses Can Expect

We measure success by real business outcomes, not feature lists. For manufacturing businesses, the key metrics are:

Production output: We set up tracking from day one so you can see the impact in real numbers.

Defect rate: We set up tracking from day one so you can see the impact in real numbers.

On-time delivery: We set up tracking from day one so you can see the impact in real numbers.

Tech adoption in manufacturing is at the medium level. About half of manufacturing businesses now use some form of digital tools. But most are using off-the-shelf products that only partially fit. Custom software built around your actual workflows is the next step.

Typical investment: $1500-4000. Most manufacturing clients see measurable ROI within the first month.

How We Work with Manufacturing Clients

Discovery. You tell us about your manufacturing business: what is working, what is not, and what you wish you had. We ask about your current tools, team size, and daily workflows.

Scoping and quote. We define exactly what we will build and send you a fixed-price quote. No hourly rates. For manufacturing projects, this usually falls within $1500-4000.

Build. We build your solution, typically within 2-4 weeks. You talk directly to our founder and lead engineer. No project managers or middlemen.

Launch and handover. We deploy, walk your team through everything, and provide ongoing support. You own all the code and data.

Manufacturing in Melbourne

Manufacturing hub with many facilities in outer suburbs like Dandenong, Campbellfield, and Laverton

We have worked with manufacturing businesses across Melbourne's inner suburbs, outer suburbs, and regional Victoria. Whether you are based in the CBD, Fitzroy, or Geelong, we can meet in person or work remotely.

At a Glance

ChallengeSolutionExpected Outcome
Tracking production orders and schedulesProject Management: Order tracking through production stagesProduction output
Managing quality control and inspectionsTask Manager: Inspection checklists and defect loggingDefect rate
Coordinating inventory and raw materialsInventory Management: Raw materials and finished goods trackingOn-time delivery
Maintaining equipment and reducing downtimeProject Management: Order tracking through production stagesProduction output

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ROI of Business Process Automation for Manufacturing?

Most Manufacturing businesses see returns within the first few months through time savings, fewer errors, and better customer experiences. The exact ROI depends on what you are automating, but we help you identify the highest-impact areas first.

What features should a Automation have for Manufacturing?

The features depend on your specific needs, but for Manufacturing businesses we typically recommend starting with the essentials and adding from there. We will help you prioritise what matters most during the scoping process.

What is the process for getting Automation built for my Manufacturing business?

It starts with a free consultation where we learn about your Manufacturing business and what you need. From there, we scope the project, agree on a price, and start building. You will see progress throughout and can give feedback at every stage.

Do you have experience building Automation for Manufacturing?

Yes. We have worked with Manufacturing businesses to build Automation solutions that fit their specific workflows. Every industry has its quirks, and we take time to understand yours before we start building.

How long does Business Process Automation take for a Manufacturing business?

Most Business Process Automation projects for Manufacturing businesses take 2-4 weeks. Simpler builds can be faster. We will give you an honest timeline in your free consultation based on exactly what you need.

What happens if an automation breaks?

Every workflow we ship includes error handling and monitoring, so failures alert someone rather than silently dropping work. During the support period we fix issues directly. After handover, your documentation covers the common failure modes - or your team can be trained to maintain workflows themselves through buildAutomation.

Will automation work with our existing software?

Almost certainly. We build on platforms with hundreds of native integrations covering the common Australian business stack - Xero, MYOB, HubSpot, Shopify, Google Workspace, ServiceM8, simPRO and more - plus API connections for anything else. We connect your existing tools rather than replacing them.

Related Pages

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