Production orders and AI: a real-world manufacturing case study
Picture this: a mid-sized manufacturing company — let's call them MetalWorks Jansen — with 45 employees, three production lines and hundreds of shop orders per month in Exact Online. The production manager spends over an hour each day looking up work order statuses, checking material availability and processing completion reports. Since implementing Ledger Botje, that has changed dramatically.
The daily production workflow before Ledger Botje
Every morning, the production manager would open Exact Online, navigate to the shop order list, filter by status and check progress one by one. When material shortages occurred, he had to switch between multiple screens: checking stock levels, reviewing purchase orders and informing colleagues. Completion reports were entered manually at the end of the day, often with delays.
This was not only time-consuming but also error-prone. Material issues were sometimes forgotten, completion reports came in late and the inventory administration lagged behind reality.
Production orders with AI: the new workflow with Ledger Botje
With Ledger Botje, the production manager now opens his AI assistant and asks: "Which production orders are scheduled for today?" The AI uses the production.orders.search tool and displays an overview of all planned shop orders within seconds, including status and planned quantities.
Next, he checks material availability: "Is there enough material in stock for shop order WO-2026-0187?" The AI consults the bill of materials and compares it with current stock levels. If there is a shortage, the AI reports it immediately — including which material is missing and how much needs to be ordered.
Material issues and shop order receipts via AI
When a production worker picks material for a shop order, the production manager reports it via his AI assistant: "Issue 200 units of item RM-450 to shop order WO-2026-0187." The production.materials.issue tool processes the issue directly in Exact Online. No manual navigation, no screens to open — just type or speak a sentence.
At the end of the production run: "Report 150 units as finished on shop order WO-2026-0187." The production.orders.receipt tool books the completion and the produced items are immediately added to inventory. The entire action takes less than ten seconds.
Results: before and after AI implementation
After three months of use, MetalWorks Jansen sees clear improvements:
- Time savings: the production manager saves an average of 50 minutes per day on administrative tasks around production orders.
- Fewer errors: material issues are booked immediately, keeping the inventory administration always up to date.
- Faster completion reports: shop orders are now reported in real time instead of at the end of the day.
- Better overview: the production manager always has instant insight into the status of all shop orders without clicking through Exact Online.
Want to learn more about managing production orders with AI? Read our complete guide to production orders with AI. Ready to get started? Follow the MCP setup guide and view the plans to start today.