Made-to-order production — every order at its own size
A t-shirt in a size and colour, a banner at a size that needs trimming, a sofa in the customer's own fabric. The first problem is not production — it is that you cannot create an item for every size. Zemam lets you define the product once with its inputs and formulas, computes materials, waste and price per order, and raises the work order from the quote.
Stop creating a new item for every size
The biggest problem in made-to-order work is not production — it is the catalogue. Nobody sane creates a stock item for every size and colour a customer might ask for. In Zemam you define the product once with its inputs, and each order computes itself without you touching the catalogue.
Three ways to model a product
A product in one fixed size. Or a known, limited set of options you define (sizes and colours) where the system generates every combination at once, each a real item with its own stock and barcode. Or “made to order”, when the size comes from the customer. You pick what describes your work.
Materials compute by formula from the size
Every material carries a formula over the inputs: fabric by the metre from the size, timber by the running metre from the perimeter, ink and substrate by area. So an order comes out with its materials already worked out — not an experienced guess that differs from person to person.
Waste computed from the size, not one flat rate
In printing and trimming, waste changes with the size — one flat percentage costs you on some sizes and flatters you on others. You can set a fixed waste percentage or an expression that changes with the inputs, so the cost lands closer to reality.
An open material slot the salesperson fills
Not every material is decided at design time. You can leave “the main fabric” or “the substrate” an open slot the salesperson fills at order time, restricted to one category so nothing wrong gets picked. Each slot is named for the role it plays, so they are not all just called “item”.
Price from a formula or a table
Price is either arithmetic over the inputs (area × rate + assembly), or a cross table when your pricing is literally a printed sheet saying this size in this material costs that. Both give a consistent price — not each salesperson's own judgement.
The work order comes from the quote
The customer accepted? You press start production on the quote itself, and the system raises the work order together with the bill of materials computed from that customer's inputs — with nothing retyped and no second screen.
No invoice for a product that was never made
A made-to-order product that has not been produced does not exist in any warehouse — so invoicing it puts a receivable on the customer for goods that are not there. Zemam blocks converting the quote to an invoice until every made-to-order line has finished production, and tells you why on screen instead of hiding the button.
And for measured materials: fabric by the roll
If your material is bought as a roll or sheet and gets cut, you can track it by size: every roll has a number and a size, a cut records the remainder, and the remainder stays stock with value that you sell from before opening a fresh one.
Do you also make fixed products in batches?
This page is about work where every order has its own size. If you also make fixed products in batches, that is the factory floor: bills of materials, work orders, material issue, returns and scrap, and a real cost per unit — the same system.
See the manufacturing & costing solution →Frequently asked questions
How is this different from the manufacturing page?
The manufacturing page is about the factory floor: bills of materials, work orders, issuing and returning materials, scrap, work-in-process value, cost per unit. This page is about the problem that comes before it: every order is a different size, so it cannot be a catalogue item. If you make fixed products in batches, start from the manufacturing page. If every order differs, start here — they are the same system.
What exactly can the formulas do?
Ordinary arithmetic: plus, minus, times and divide over the inputs you defined (width, height, count, a choice). No complex conditionals and no programming. The cross table works on an exact matching cell — size × material → price. That covers most real pricing, and we state the limit plainly so you can measure your own case against it before you start.
Is the cost shown while quoting the final one?
No — that is an estimate to help you price. The real cost comes from the work order itself: the materials actually issued, what came back, the real waste, and labour. The gap between the estimate and the reality is precisely what shows you where your formula needs adjusting.
Does it schedule production and tell me when an order will be ready?
Honestly: no. There is no capacity planning, no machine scheduling and no load balancing across workshops. Zemam defines the product, computes its materials and price, raises the work order and works out its real cost — but you estimate the delivery dates yourself. We say so plainly so you choose knowing.
We have known sizes and colours, not made-to-order — what is best?
Then the second option suits you better: build a template with its axes (size, colour) and generate the combinations you actually carry — you can pick from them rather than generating everything. Each variant becomes a real item with its own stock, barcode and price, inheriting the template's settings. That fits a clothing shop selling from stock, while “made to order” fits tailoring.
Is VAT right on a product generated at sale time?
Yes, and it was designed for. The tax setting is stamped onto every item generated from the product, so a quote priced one day and the invoice raised from it later cannot disagree about VAT.
Ready to take the reins?
Free trial, no credit card — and our team helps you set up step by step.