Nobody trusts the schedule
It was right on Monday. By Wednesday the real plan lives in a scheduler's head and on a whiteboard by the break room.
Operations software for manufacturers
One system from the front office to the spindle.
Switchback runs manufacturing, machining and production operations end to end: the floor, quality, inventory, maintenance, people and IT. Plug it into the ERP you already run, or use it on its own as your complete ERP.
A · Add-on to your ERP
B · Standalone full-suite ERP
TitleQuote to cash
MaterialAny ERP
RevA
ScaleAny shop
Job shops
High-mix · low-volumeAerospace & Defense
AS9100 · ITAR · CMMCSpace
Serialized · traceableMedical
Lot & cert controlProduction & OEM
Lines, cells & assembly
Why it exists
Your ERP was sold as everything. The floor still runs on whiteboards.
Most ERPs are good at quotes, orders and invoices. Everywhere else, manufacturers stitch together spreadsheets, sticky notes, separate HR and maintenance tools, and whoever is shouting loudest.
Machines sit waiting
Waiting on a program, a first article, material certs, a spare part or a gauge out for calibration. The ERP knows the job is late. It doesn't know why.
Audits mean all-nighters
Training records in one binder, cal certs in another, serial numbers in a spreadsheet and quality photos that never got taken.
Two ways to run it
Keep your ERP. Or replace it.
Every Switchback module works the same way either way, so you can start as an add-on and grow into the full suite when you're ready.
Add-on to your ERP
Switchback connects to the ERP and accounting tools you already pay for and fills the gaps they leave. Jobs, routings and orders flow in, floor activity flows back. No rip-and-replace, no double entry.
- JobBOSS
- Paperless Parts
- E2 / ProShop / Fulcrum
- QuickBooks
- Your ERP via API
Standalone full-suite ERP
Run the whole business on Switchback: quoting, sales orders, purchasing, inventory, production, quality, shipping and invoicing, with your accounting system kept in sync. One login, one source of truth.
- Quote to cash
- Purchasing & MRP
- Accounting sync
- One database
On the floor
One screen for every machine, line and person.
Operators start and stop jobs from a tablet or scanner. Leaders see what's running, what's in setup and what's stuck, without walking the floor or opening the ERP.
Work center status
Example shop · sample data5X-01Running
5-axis mill · Hinge bracket, Ti-6Al-4V
34 / 50 pcs · Op 20
5X-02FAI
5-axis mill · Bone plate, 316L
1 / 24 pcs · At CMM
VMC-03Setup
3-axis mill · Avionics housing, 6061-T6
0 / 120 pcs · Op 10
SWS-01Running
Swiss lathe · Valve stem, 17-4 PH
205 / 500 pcs · Op 10
ASSY-ARunning
Assembly cell · Pump module kit
41 / 50 units · Op 40
HMC-01Idle
Horizontal · Waiting on material certs
Next up: Pallet 3
Illustration with fictional jobs. The live demo shop uses 100% fictional customers and data.
The routing
Every suite your operation needs. Turn on what you use.
Each suite is configured to your machines, lines, routings and people instead of the other way around. Start with one and add the rest as you grow.
OP 10ERP
Business & ERPKeep yours or use ours
Quoting, sales orders, purchasing and MRP, job costing, shipping and invoicing, with QuickBooks or your accounting system kept in sync. Or connect to the ERP you already run.
- Quoting
- Sales orders
- Purchasing & MRP
- Job costing
- Invoicing
- Accounting sync
OP 20MES
Production & MESFloor, scheduling, traceability
Operator sign-in, job timers, barcode travelers, piece counts and a live machine board. A master schedule people trust: drag to reprioritize, plan programming by person, stack pallet-pool work and see what's at risk before it ships late.
- Job tracking
- Scheduling
- Machine board
- Serialization
- Labels
- Machine data capture
OP 30QMS
QualityFAI to final inspection
Plan first articles before they idle a machine, require inspection photos, and run NCRs, CAPAs and customer requirements in one place. Controlled documents carry revision approvals and full history.
- FAI planner
- AS9102 FAIR
- NCR & CAPA
- Doc control
- Supplier quality
- Material certs
OP 40WMS
Warehouse & supply chainReceiving to the dock
Bin locations, receiving against POs, WIP and finished goods, cycle counts, kanban replenishment and shipping with carrier labels and tracking.
- Bin locations
- Receiving
- Cycle counts
- Kanban
- Shipping & carriers
OP 50EAM
Maintenance & assetsKeep machines and gauges ready
Preventive maintenance schedules and work orders, metrology and calibration tracking with certs and due dates, and critical spares management so a $40 part never parks a machine for a week.
- Preventive maintenance
- Metrology & calibration
- Critical spares
- Tool crib
- Downtime tracking
OP 60HR
People & HRHRIS / HRMS · ATS
Applicant tracking from job post to offer, onboarding checklists, employee records in an encrypted vault, a team calendar for time off and call-outs, and a skills matrix with e-signed training records.
- HRIS / HRMS
- Applicant tracking
- Onboarding
- Time off
- Skills & training
- Safety & EHS
OP 70CRM
Customers & CRMPipeline to portal
Contacts, opportunities and RFQs tied to each customer's quotes, orders and quality history. A customer portal shows open orders and current completion dates, so your phone stops ringing with "where are my parts?"
- Contacts & RFQs
- Pipeline
- Customer requirements
- Customer portal
OP 80ITSM
IT & helpdeskTickets, assets, access
Help tickets with due dates and on-time tracking, IT asset and license inventory, a secure credentials vault, and an access report that shows who can see what across the whole system.
- Helpdesk tickets
- IT asset inventory
- Credentials vault
- Access reviews
OP 90Intranet
Company files & commsOne place for everything
Department folders with permissions, policies and forms, templates, and announcements that reach the whole team by email and in the app.
- Company files
- Policies & forms
- Announcements
- Photo capture
Product tour
See it on a working shop.
Real Switchback screens from our demo shop. Every customer, part, person and number in them is fictional.
Visibility
Know before you're told.
Live dashboards for every role, automated alerts that reach the right person the moment something slips, and scheduled reports that land in inboxes on their own. Track the KPIs you manage to and roll them up into company OKRs.
See the real dashboard →On-time ship · 90 days
96.4%
▲ 2.1 pts vs prior
Spindle utilization
71%
▲ 6 pts this month
First-pass yield
98.1%
Target 98%
PM on time
92%
2 overdue
Q4 OKR · Cut quote-to-ship time 20%
KR1 · FAI turnaround under 4 hrs80%
KR2 · Zero jobs waiting on certs55%
KR3 · Schedule adherence 90%68%
Alerts
Machine down · 7:42 AMHMC-01 marked down by an operator. Maintenance and production leads notified.
Calibration due · 3 daysBore gauge BG-114 is due for calibration. It's assigned to two jobs next week.
FAI ready · 9:15 AM5X-02 first piece is at the CMM. Quality notified.
Critical spare lowSpindle drawbar kit below minimum (0 on hand). Purchasing request opened.
Report sent · Mon 6:00 AMWeekly KPI summary emailed to leadership.
Audits & compliance
Audit day, minus the stress.
When every record is created as the work happens, audit prep stops being a project. Pull the evidence an auditor asks for in minutes instead of digging through binders, inboxes and shared drives.
Records made in the flow of work, not the week before the audit.
ISO 9001AS9100ISO 13485ITARCMMC 2.0NIST 800-171OSHA
Switchback helps you meet the record-keeping these frameworks require. Certification is still earned by your organization.
- Training records, e-signedSkills matrix, acknowledgments and due dates per person, with reminders.
- Calibration historyEvery gauge with its certs, due dates and the jobs it measured.
- Controlled documentsRevision letters, approvers and full change history.
- Traceability end to endSerial and lot to job, material cert, inspection, order and PO.
- NCR & CAPA trailRoot cause, actions and verification, linked to the jobs involved.
- Access & activity logsWho can see what, and who did what, for CUI and ITAR controls.
How it fits
Up and running without the rip-and-replace.
Whether Switchback sits beside your ERP or replaces it, we do the setup with you, not to you.
Step 1
Connect
We connect Switchback to your ERP and accounting system, or migrate your data in if you're running it standalone. No double entry.
Step 2
Configure
We set it up around your machines, lines, routings, people and customer requirements. Your operation, not a template.
Step 3
Run
Your team runs the operation from Switchback. We train your people, support them and keep improving it alongside you.
Beyond software
One partner for the tech behind your operation.
The same team that sets up your software can build your brand and website, run your network and cloud, and put a modern phone system on every desk.
Web design & branding
Logos, brand kits and full websites built to win manufacturing customers, with capability pages, equipment lists, cert badges and RFQ forms.
- Brand identity
- Websites
- RFQ forms
IT infrastructure
Servers, workstations, shop-floor tablets and printers, backups and endpoint security, set up and supported for a manufacturing environment.
- Managed IT
- Backups
- Endpoint security
Networking & cloud
Wired and Wi-Fi networks that reach the far corner of the floor, machine networks segmented from the office, firewalls, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and GovCloud for controlled data.
- Wi-Fi & cabling
- Firewalls
- M365 / Workspace
- GovCloud
VoIP phone systems
Cloud phone systems with desk phones, mobile apps, auto-attendants, call groups and overhead paging for a loud shop floor.
- Cloud PBX
- Auto-attendant
- Paging
- Mobile app
Security
Built for companies that handle controlled data.
Defense and aerospace work comes with rules about where data lives and who can see it. Switchback was designed around them from day one.
US-only hosting
Runs in AWS GovCloud (US), the region built for ITAR and controlled unclassified information.
Modern sign-in
Sign in with your company Google or Microsoft account, with passkeys for admins. No shared passwords.
Role-based access
Every page, folder and customer view is permissioned, with a full picture of who can access what.
Encrypted vault
Sensitive records and credentials are encrypted with managed keys and shared only with the people who need them.
Built on a working CNC floor, not in a conference room.
Switchback started as an in-house tool at an AS9100 machine shop doing aerospace, defense and medical work. It was built to fix the problems the ERP couldn't: late first articles, schedules nobody trusted, untracked serial numbers and customers calling for status.
Every feature earned its place by solving a problem operators, schedulers, quality inspectors and managers deal with every shift. That's why it works for job shops and production floors alike.
See it run on a demo shop.
We'll walk you through Switchback on a fictional 5-axis shop doing aerospace and medical work, then talk about what it would look like in your operation.
info@switchbackmes.com