Manufacturing and processing: Customer portal for plastic fabricators
A customer portal for plastic fabricators where clients find their drawings, correction rounds and approved revisions and follow the status of their orders.
What customers of plastic fabricators want to see.
A drawing for a plastic part often goes back and forth a few times at plastic fabricators. Engineering suggests relaxing a tolerance, adding a radius or choosing another material, and the customer sends back a revised drawing. Those rounds run by email, sometimes with several people on the customer side: the design engineer, the buyer and a project lead. After three rounds nobody is sure which revision was approved and which comment went with it. On a repeat order a year later, the buyer searches for the latest drawing again, and on a complaint it is hard to prove which version was produced.
Customer portal for plastic fabricators
Example- 1
Access by project and role
DoneFor each customer we decide who sees which parts and what they may do: a design engineer may upload drawings and comment, a buyer sees orders and delivery dates, a project lead may approve a revision.
- 2
Show drawing and correction round
In progressFor each part the portal shows the current drawing with revision, earlier versions and the comments per round.
- 3
Approval back to engineering
NextAn approved revision is recorded with name and date and reaches engineering as a release.
From invitation to approval.
Access by project and role
For each customer we decide who sees which parts and what they may do: a design engineer may upload drawings and comment, a buyer sees orders and delivery dates, a project lead may approve a revision. People from different departments only see the parts for their own project.
Show drawing and correction round
For each part the portal shows the current drawing with revision, earlier versions and the comments per round. A suggestion from engineering appears as a clear question, such as relaxing a tolerance. The customer can accept or decline it, or upload a new drawing.
Approval back to engineering
An approved revision is recorded with name and date and reaches engineering as a release. The job then appears in the portal with a status, such as in production or ready to ship. On a repeat order the buyer selects the part and sees which revision will be made.
Less email, the same records.
Customer drawings at plastic fabricators are usually kept on a server, linked to a job number or customer folder. Programs sit in the CAM environment, orders in the order system. The portal shows each customer the drawings and order status that belong to them, without replacing those systems. The customer owns their drawings, engineering owns its suggestions and the sales office owns delivery dates.
Show every round or only the latest
Showing all rounds gives full traceability but can confuse a buyer who just wants to order. Showing only the latest approved revision is tidy but makes it hard to see why something changed. A common solution is the approved revision at the top, with the history collapsible underneath.
Customer uploads or the sales office does
When customers upload drawings themselves, a new revision arrives faster and nobody has to transfer it. The risk is a drawing being replaced unnoticed. So an upload always becomes a proposal that engineering reviews before it becomes the valid revision. The customer sees when their upload has been accepted, so both sides know which drawing counts.
Portal for everyone or regular customers
For a one-off job a portal is often too much to ask; email will do. Regular customers with recurring parts and several revisions benefit most. Many fabricators therefore start with their largest regular accounts and open the portal more widely later, once engineering has learned with a small group how it is used.
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Read the storyWhat customers find in the portal.
In the portal, regular customers see their parts with drawings, revisions and correction rounds, and give their approval there. Before going live, we try it together with a part approved in one round and a part where engineering proposes a material change that the customer's designer wants to discuss first. Order status and repeat orders from the portal can be switched on when customers ask, so every next order rests on the right drawing.
View pricingSupport and updatesGood to know.
Explore pricing and optionsCan the customer's design engineers talk to our engineering directly?
Yes, through comments on the drawing. A question or proposal then sits with the right revision and part, rather than in an email nobody can find later. For a longer discussion the phone is still useful, but the outcome is recorded with the part.
What if a customer wants to withdraw a drawing?
As long as the revision is not in production, the customer can withdraw a proposal or approval. Engineering gets an alert. If production has started, a conversation is needed, and the portal shows which revision the running job is based on.
Are drawings in the portal safe from other customers?
Yes. Each customer sees only their own parts, and within a customer access can be limited by project. Drawings are often confidential, so we also record who on your side has access and log who viewed or downloaded a file.
Can a buyer place a repeat order from the portal?
Yes. They select the part, see the latest approved revision and enter quantities and the desired delivery date. That request reaches the sales office complete. If anything changes on the drawing, it becomes a new correction round instead of a plain repeat.
What often connects to this.
- Digital job cards for plastic fabricatorsDigital job cards for plastic fabricators that bring the released machining file, the material specification and the measurements for each job together, so an operator never cuts from an outdated program.
- Website for plastic fabricatorsA website for plastic fabricators that explains sheet materials and processes such as routing, laser cutting, line bending and bonding through applications, so a customer knows what is feasible.
- Enquiry form for plastic fabricatorsAn enquiry form for plastic fabricators that asks for drawing, tolerances, material choice and application, so engineering can judge whether a part can actually be made.
One place for your customers.
Start with a short intake. Then we schedule a call to show the software with your services, team and way of working.
WhatsAppinfo@vorlyo.com Customer portal for plastic fabricators: drawings, correction rounds and approved revisions per part, with order status alongside.
- Access by project and role
- Show drawing and correction round
- Approval back to engineering