Software for machine builders and manufacturers Hit your delivery date.
We build the software your ERP is missing. No ERP replacement, no major project.
- Assembly sees what it can actually finish.
- Changes arrive before mistakes happen.
- Production planning plans ahead instead of fighting fires.
30-minute call · free of charge · directly with Torben
-
13 years in machine building
Founder Torben Schwanz worked as a design engineer, in technical sales and as an ERP developer at a mid-sized machine builder. With that experience, he quickly sees where things get stuck in your company. About Torben
-
No major project
Your ERP stays. We build around it and connect what you already have. No system change, no risk to day-to-day operations.
-
Clear goal, verified result
We agree upfront on what should change, and we keep improving if the goal is not reached.
From the shop floor, not from the textbook
Sound familiar?
Four situations that come up in almost every machine building company. None of them justifies a new ERP system.
01 Assembly planning
Today Start, search, stop. And start all over again.
Assembly focuses on what it can actually finish.
Your fitters see which assemblies are ready to build and where parts are still missing.
02 Change management
Today It got settled. Nobody remembers where.
Changes arrive before mistakes happen.
Questions and changes sit right at the assembly in the order, with owners, status and history.
03 Reducing setup time
Today The mill is free. The fixture is not.
The machine runs instead of waiting for the setter.
Tools, material and NC program are ready when the machine becomes free.
04 Operating manuals
Today One correction, dozens of files, mistakes anyway.
Change it once, up to date in every operating manual.
You correct a content block once, and every operating manual that uses it follows.
Recognise any of this? Then one phone call is enough to find out whether we can help.
Your alternative to a new ERP system
Keep your ERP. We build what it is missing.
Most machine builders have an ERP that does its sums properly, and next to it a dozen Excel lists the business cannot run without. That is exactly where we start: one bottleneck at a time.
Where to start?
Potential analysis: one day at your site, a clear picture.
Together we walk through your order process, from quotation to delivery. Afterwards you have it in writing:
- Where most of the time gets lost in your order process
- What a solution would deliver and roughly what it would cost
- A first prototype for the bottleneck that pays off most
- An honest verdict. Even if it is: this is not worth it.
All services: ERP extensions, interfaces, apps and dashboards
Are we a good fit?
Who we are the right fit for. And who we are not.
That saves both sides time. And if you are unsure: asking costs nothing.
Where we are the right fit
- You build or assemble machines, plants or parts as a mid-sized company, with an ERP that is meant to stay.
- Alongside the ERP, Excel lists, word of mouth and walks across the shop floor hold the order together.
- You want to get rid of a bottleneck, not introduce a new system.
Where we are not
- You want to introduce a new ERP or roll it out across several plants.
- You are looking for machine control, PLC programming or embedded software.
- Your ERP can already do what you need. Then we will tell you. You can take that to your ERP vendor yourself, or we come along.
13 years in machine building, then software
We come from machine building. Not from IT consulting.
Torben Schwanz spent 13 years in machine building before founding THDS: first in design engineering, then in technical sales, and finally in ERP development. He has seen first hand what happens when a change never reaches assembly.
We are glad to let you show us your company, because no two are alike. But we do not start from scratch: you will not have to explain to us why one missing assembly holds up the whole order, or what a FAT is.
How a project runs
First the goal. Then the software.
Machine builders understand acceptance testing. We apply the same principle to software: before we start, it is clear how success will be measured. At the end, it gets checked.
-
1
Define the goal
What should change in your company, and how will we know at the end?
-
2
Build a prototype
Before we develop anything, you see what the solution will look like and how it will be used.
-
3
Review it with every user
You go through the prototype with everyone who will work with it later. Whatever does not fit, we change before programming starts.
-
4
Develop
In stages, each of which is usable on its own. After each one, you decide again.
Step 5
Roll out and put it right
We support the rollout in your company and check together whether the agreed goal has been reached. If not, we keep improving until it is, just as you do in your own customer projects.
Sounds fair? Then let us talk about your goal before anyone writes a single line of code.
What you are probably wondering
Fair questions, honest answers.
We already have an ERP. Why would we need you?
Good. Your ERP stays, and we build on it. An ERP covers the standard. Wherever your company works differently from the standard, the gap is usually filled by Excel lists and word of mouth. Those are exactly the gaps we close: with additions that run alongside your ERP and use its data.
And if the potential analysis shows that your ERP can already do something, we will tell you. You can take that assessment to your ERP vendor yourself, or we join the conversation.
What does it cost, and is it worth it for us?
That depends on the bottleneck, which is exactly why the potential analysis comes first: afterwards you know the expected benefit and a realistic order of magnitude for the effort. We work in stages, each of which is usable on its own. You decide again after every stage and know beforehand what it will cost.
Feel free to weigh that against what an hour of searching, a round of rework or a postponed FAT date costs you today.
You are a small team. Can you handle this?
We are a small team and only take on as many projects as we can look after properly. Support for what is already running at our customers is firmly built into our planning. It does not happen on the side. For you, that means one fixed contact who knows your company, and developers who are at the table from the start.
If you want to roll out a new ERP across several plants, we are not the right people, and we will tell you so. For targeted solutions in your order processing, a small, well-practised team is exactly right.
What happens if someone at THDS drops out, or THDS no longer exists?
A fair question, and we would rather answer it with measures than with reassurance. We use widespread technology that any good developer can pick up, and we document what we build.
How you get hold of source code and documentation is settled in the contract before we start. Our principle: you should stay with us because the collaboration works, not because you cannot leave.
Our IT is already stretched. How much work will this mean for them?
Little, and it is predictable. At the start we need the necessary access from your IT and an agreement on your security requirements. Development and rollout are our job.
We still involve your IT from day one, because they should know what runs on their network. It takes work off their plate, too: every Excel list that disappears is one less query for them.
Will our staff need training?
Hardly. The user interface is developed together with the people who will use it later. Your fitters, your production planners and your purchasing team see early versions and tell us what works. Nobody needs to be taught something they helped design.
Contact
Would this pay off for us?
Tell us where things get stuck. In an initial 30-minute call, we listen, ask questions and tell you honestly whether we are the right people for it. The call is free and puts you under no obligation.
THDS GmbH · Storchsbaumstraße 109 · 46282 Dorsten, Germany
Torben Schwanz
Founder and managing director. You talk to him directly, with no sales team in between.
We reply to emails within one working day.