The wardrobe was made to the wrong drawing, and nobody saw it until the site.

1. 01Orders

   The drawing the customer approved is not the drawing on the shop floor

   What it looks like

   The customer approved a wardrobe with sliding doors, then asked by phone for hinged ones. The change is in the designer’s phone notes. The cutting list is made from the older version, and the carcass is cut.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: a rebuilt carcass of ₹28,000 in material and labour, on two orders a month, is ₹56,000 a month in work done twice.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each order holds the drawing versions, the changes with who asked for them and the date, and the approval. Production can see only the latest approved version, and a change after cutting begins raises a flag with the cost.

   See the screen
2. 02Orders

   The quote is a guess that the board rate has already changed

   What it looks like

   The quote went out in the afternoon on the plywood rate from the last purchase. By the time the advance comes, the laminate price has gone up, and nobody has priced the offcuts or the hardware.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: a 4 percent fall in margin on ₹60 lakh of monthly sales is ₹2.4 lakh each month, and it shows up only in the year’s profit.

   How Verity fixes it

   Quotes are built from the cut list, board and hardware at the latest rates on record, plus labour and waste. After the order, actual material and hours are compared with the quote so the real margin of each job is known.

   See the screen
3. 03Material

   Boards are cut with too much waste, and offcuts are lost

   What it looks like

   Sheets are cut one job at a time. The cutter takes a fresh sheet when a half sheet from yesterday would do, and the offcuts pile in a corner. At the end of the month, plywood use is higher than the orders explain.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: 6 percent waste above plan on ₹15 lakh of monthly board spend is ₹90,000 a month. Offcuts that could be used on small items are sold as scrap.

   How Verity fixes it

   Boards are issued by sheet to a job with the planned cut. Offcuts above a size are returned to stock as usable pieces. Verity compares board used with board planned per job and flags the jobs and cutters with the largest gap.

   See the screen
4. 04Material

   Timber is bought on price and used before it is seasoned

   What it looks like

   A parcel of teak or sheesham arrives at a good rate. The yard is full, so it is stacked wherever there is space. Some of it goes to the shop before it has dried, and months later the doors warp at the customer’s home.

   What it costs you

   A return and rebuild, a damaged reputation and, with an exported order, a rejected container.

   How Verity fixes it

   Timber parcels are recorded with species, source, quantity, moisture reading and date in the yard. A parcel cannot be issued to a job until its moisture reading is recorded and within your limit.

   See the screen
5. 05Material

   The job waits for hinges, channels or a laminate colour

   What it looks like

   The carcass is done and the shutters are cut. The soft-close channels are not in stores, the supplier says Thursday, and the finishing slot is gone. The job waits and so does its payment.

   What it costs you

   A job that waits blocks space, ties up half-finished goods and pushes the delivery date for the customer.

   How Verity fixes it

   Each order carries its bill of materials with fittings. Verity compares the next fortnight’s orders with stock and open purchase orders and lists what must be ordered by which date, with the order it affects.

   See the screen
6. 06Shop floor

   Nobody knows which stage a job is at, or what is holding the line

   What it looks like

   Twelve jobs are in the workshop. Four are at assembly, five in the finishing room and three waiting for upholstery. The owner asks where the Mehta dining table is and four people look.

   What it costs you

   Time lost searching and re-planning each day, with the finishing room or the upholstery bench as the hidden bottleneck.

   How Verity fixes it

   Every job sits on a board by stage: cutting, edge banding, assembly, finishing, upholstery, packing. Moving it is a tap. Verity shows the queue in front of each stage, and which jobs are held and why.

   See the screen
7. 07People

   Skilled carpenters leave, take advances and work at different quality

   What it looks like

   A master carpenter takes an advance and leaves for another workshop. Piece-rate payments are written in a diary and disputed at the month end. Two carpenters build the same cabinet with different tolerances.

   What it costs you

   Output falls when a skilled hand leaves, advances are lost and the quality varies from job to job.

   How Verity fixes it

   Attendance, advances, piece-rate work by job and skill are recorded per person. Jobs are assigned by skill, advances are tracked against earnings, and the month-end statement is built from the work recorded.

   See the screen
8. 08Quality

   Finish defects and damage show up at the customer’s door

   What it looks like

   A table top has a scratch under the cover, a drawer sticks, the polish is uneven under daylight. All of this is found on site, where fixing it costs a trip and sometimes a repolish.

   What it costs you

   Every site fix costs a van trip, two workers’ time and the goodwill of a customer who already has the piece in the room.

   How Verity fixes it

   A pre-dispatch checklist with photos is a record on each order: dimensions, finish, hardware function, packing. Failures stay on the order and go back to the stage that made them, with the cause noted.

   See the screen
9. 09Delivery

   The van goes out with half an order, or to a site that is not ready

   What it looks like

   The driver loads what is ready. The apartment has not been painted, the lift is booked for another day, and the wardrobe door is still in the workshop. Two trips become three.

   What it costs you

   Example arithmetic: each wasted trip of van, driver and two installers costs ₹3,500 to ₹5,000. Five a month is up to ₹25,000 for nothing delivered.

   How Verity fixes it

   Delivery is scheduled only when all pieces are packed and the site is confirmed ready. Installation crews and vehicles are assigned from one schedule, with the checklist of items on the van.

   See the screen
10. 10Delivery

    After-sales requests are lost between phone calls

    What it looks like

    A customer calls about a drawer that is stuck three months after delivery. The call goes to whoever picked up. Nobody writes it down, and the customer calls again a week later, angrier.

    What it costs you

    An unhappy customer rarely refers anyone, and unresolved warranty claims cost far more than a quick repair.

    How Verity fixes it

    Every complaint becomes a service request tied to the original order, with the warranty status, a visit date and an owner. The outcome is recorded on the order.

    See the screen
11. 11Money

    Advances, stage payments and final balances drift

    What it looks like

    The customer paid 50 percent upfront and 30 percent after cutting. The final 20 percent is due at delivery, but the delivery was in two parts. The customer holds the balance until the last panel arrives.

    What it costs you

    Cash tied in finished jobs, and a customer who is allowed to pay late because nobody ties the final amount to a delivery event.

    How Verity fixes it

    Each order has a payment schedule tied to stages. The balance due at delivery is on the delivery checklist, and overdue stage payments are listed with an owner and the customer’s last promise.

    See the screen
12. 12Money

    Dealers and showrooms take stock on credit and pay slowly

    What it looks like

    A dealer in another city takes six sofas on a ninety-day arrangement. One is damaged in transit, two are unsold. The account sits as one unresolved figure on the ledger.

    What it costs you

    Money held at the dealer and unsold stock, with no clear sense of which dealers are worth the credit.

    How Verity fixes it

    Dealer orders, goods sent, returns and payments sit on one dealer record with age of dues. Dealers with growing overdue amounts are visible before new stock goes out.

    See the screen
13. 13Export and rules

    Export buyers ask where the wood came from

    What it looks like

    A foreign buyer asks for proof that the timber was legally sourced. The purchase invoices are in a file, the species names are inconsistent, and the log of which parcel went into which order was never kept.

    What it costs you

    Buyers in major markets are required to avoid illegally sourced wood, so an exporter who cannot show the trail risks losing the account or a shipment.

    How Verity fixes it

    Timber parcels link to the supplier, invoice and transport papers, and to the orders they were issued to. The trail from a finished piece back to its source is one search.

    See the screen
14. 14Owner

    You and the head carpenter are the only system

    What it looks like

    You know which job is stuck, which customer is awkward and which supplier is slow. The head carpenter knows which jobs are urgent. When either is out, the day drifts.

    What it costs you

    The workshop cannot take more orders than two people can hold in their heads, and a showroom opening makes it worse.

    How Verity fixes it

    A morning view lists jobs at risk, shortages, deliveries and dues, each with an owner. Showrooms and the factory are locations in one system, and the manager can run the list when you are away.

    See the screen

Illustrative screens with sample data. Layouts, fields, names and terms are set up around how your furniture workshop works.

1. Week 1

   Discovery and mapping

   What we do

   Spend a day in the workshop, the yard and stores. Trace one live order from site measurement to final payment, note every paper and file it passes through, and see how cuts, finishing and deliveries are planned today.

   What we need from you

   Two to three hours of your time and the head carpenter’s. One live order file, your latest board and hardware stock list, and a delivery list.

   What you have at the end

   A written map of your orders, stages, materials, crews and payments, with the first problems to fix, in order of cost.

2. Weeks 2 to 3

   Configuration

   What we do

   Set up your products and bills of materials, boards and fittings, stages and finishing steps, carpenters and piece rates, delivery vans and crews, payment schedules and approval limits. Build the screens above in your own words.

   What we need from you

   Check the stages and rates with the head carpenter and the designer. Correct us where a step is wrong.

   What you have at the end

   A working Verity holding your products, stages, rates and rules, ready for your data.

3. Weeks 3 to 4

   Migration and training

   What we do

   Bring in open orders with their drawings, board and fitting stock, timber in the yard, dealers and open balances from your sheets and diaries. Train designers, carpenters, stores and drivers at their own benches.

   What we need from you

   Your files as they are, even photos and notebooks. One hour per role and a supervisor who will move jobs on the board.

   What you have at the end

   Your open orders and stock inside Verity, and a team that has used it on real jobs.

4. After go-live

   Operations partnership

   What we do

   Stay on. Review the first weeks of jobs and waste with you, tune the flags, and extend to a new product line, a showroom or an export order as the business grows.

   What we need from you

   A short monthly review of margins and delays.

   What you have at the end

   A system that keeps matching how your workshop makes furniture, with someone accountable for it.

• Owner

  Which orders and customers make money?

  Jobs at risk, margin by order, board waste, dealer dues, deliveries and every location side by side.

• Designer or sales

  What did the customer ask for and where is it?

  Orders, drawing versions, approvals, quotes, stage and delivery date, payment schedule.

• Head carpenter

  What is on the floor and what is stuck?

  Jobs by stage, cut lists, material shortages, carpenters’ work and rework.

• Stores and purchase

  What must I order by when?

  Board, timber and fittings against orders, open purchase orders, supplier delays.

• Accounts and dispatch

  What ships and what is owed?

  Delivery schedule, balances due at delivery, dealer ageing, supplier bills with days left.