How we built a factory management tool to help small manufacturers ditch Excel and WhatsApp
Hey Indie Hackers,
After working with a few small-to-medium manufacturers, we noticed something wild:
Most of them still manage production and inventory using Excel sheets, WhatsApp messages, or whiteboards 😳
That’s why we built iProduction — a self-hosted, one-time-payment software that helps factories:
Manage raw materials
Track production stages
Maintain stock levels
Handle customer orders
Generate production and inventory reports
We designed it to be easy for non-technical factory staff to use, and there’s no subscription — just a single payment and done.
🔍 Live demo included
💻 PHP + MySQL-based
📦 Full source code + documentation
Our goal was to help local manufacturers get digital without needing a huge ERP system or monthly SaaS fees.
If you’ve worked with factories or industrial businesses, I would love to hear about how they manage their operations and whether this kind of tool would be helpful to them.
This is such a relatable problem — I’ve seen firsthand how many small factories rely on a messy mix of Excel, paper, and WhatsApp. Building something specifically tailored to their workflow is a smart move, especially with a one-time payment model. Curious: how did you handle user on boarding for non-tech-savvy teams? That’s often a huge challenge in this space. Great work!
This is a great initiative! Many small and mid-sized manufacturers are still relying on spreadsheets, paper, and WhatsApp to manage operations — it's chaotic and inefficient.
iProduction seems like a game-changer by focusing on real needs: order tracking, raw material management, timelines, and clean reporting — without the bloat. The one-time payment model is another smart move. It’s perfect for factories that can’t commit to high recurring costs.
A few questions:
Any plans for barcode/RFID support?
Can it handle made-to-order/custom workflows?
What’s the feedback been like from early adopters?
Really excited to see where you take this. It’s tools like this that help traditional industries make the leap to digital in a practical, affordable way. Keep building!
This looks like a real game-changer for small manufacturers. Love how you're replacing messy Excel sheets and scattered WhatsApp messages with a single, streamlined tool. Curious — how easy is it for a non-technical factory manager to get started with iProduction?