Manufacturing Execution System

	NAADI	ARDIS
User interface	In cloud, simpler than Ardis but still crowded; all options appear at once.	Legacy-style UI based on Windows applications; crowded, with very little breathing space.
Scale	Only into woodworking	They are into other domains like plastic work, glass work, etc.
Supporting workflows	They support from board-layout to shipment	They support from design to shipment
Designing capabilities	No. Naadi has no design capabilities; its flow starts with design files	Yes, its own in-house product for designing cabinets, the 'Ardis platform'
Quick edits in cabinets	Not possible	Can be done, but requires opening another Ardis product.
Portability	They support mobile and tablet for quick operations in the factory	No portability option
Other related hardware	Label printers, Naadi-specific barcode and QR scanner	No hardware provided; factories procure standard hardware
Board layout	Cannot optimise the board layout; can use a standard file. For viewing only, and to print labels	They provide good customisation of panel in the boards, using drag and drop, including across boards.
Assisted sawing	No assisted sawing, only view the board layout	No assisted sawing, only view the board layout
Machine files	Cannot generate machine files	Can generate wide range of machine files like .MPR, .TCN .CIX etc.
Machine scheduling	No machine scheduling feature	Provides detailed insight into managing machine runtime to optimise the workflow
Panel label designs	Yes, they have their own fixed labels	Yes, they have their own label customiser
Packaging option	Yes, they provide fixed box labels and scan features.	label customiser for packaging
Shipping	Tracking of shipping status and transport docs.	Shipping tracking is not provided
Tracking system	We can track in each stage, and get reports on the overall progress	We can track in each stage, and get reports on the overall progress

Production designer

Sanjay

Age 35 · Delhi, India

I make sure any designed cabinet can be manufactured easily

Pain points

Units are scattered in design, hard to check 1 by 1
Remembering verified units; editing means juggling clicks
Handling frequent interior design changes

Needs

Creating & managing multiple work orders
Verify, edit & give sign off to production
Easy coordination with manufacturing & interior designer

Tools

Cut List optimiserSaw / CNCGoogle sheetsCAD

Qualities

Detail-orientedTech savvyManufacturing-awareCollaborative

Production manager

Ramesh

Age 40 · Delhi, India

I focus on quality and timely delivery of modular furniture to my clients

Pain points

No big picture or real-time feedback of factory operations
Giving frequent inputs to the operators
Errors going unnoticed

Needs

Track order progress end to end
Track each operator’s efficiency
Managing rejections & breakdowns
Plan and schedule work to operators

Tools

Google sheetsAccounting softwareProject planners

Qualities

LeadershipBusiness orientedRelationship-drivenHandles volume

Floor workers

Ajay

Age 40 · Delhi, India

I bring life to cabinets — from wooden sheets to furniture in your house

Pain points

Hard to handle paper documents on the factory floor
Time and effort to calculate dimensions & cutting order
Getting the right information at the right time

Needs

A guide to speed up work
Aid to prevent mishandling
Streamlined process to reduce time
Get recognised for good work

Tools

Factory machinesHand toolsDrawingsWalkie-talkie

Qualities

Quick at tasksHands-onLow-tech comfortHandles volume

UJM of Production Designer	Getting kitchen design and converting to work order	Looks for the modular unit’s construction and panel details	Edits modular units as per requirement	Confirms and generates all required files
Goals	Collaboration with kitchen designer and getting the right design once finalised	Carefully go through details of cabinet and find manufacturability based on experience	Edit cabinets to make manufacturable based on the facility available	Get the list of manufacturing panels and generate all production files for them
Feelings	Excited 😊	Curious 🤔 Judging 🧐	Focused 😐	Accomplished 😌
Pain points	Currently it’s done manually in most of the factories in excel sheets · Time-consuming · Human errors are possible	A lot of back and forth from design to Excel sheets · very time-consuming process	Manual calculations · Hectic and requires more focus · Needs skilled labour · Need for better organising of files	User has to juggle between multiple software tools to produce all outputs · Machine outputs require expensive licences
Data points required	Design file, Delivery date, Descriptions, client info, Kitchen designer sign off	No. of units, position of units and type of units. All details of units and all the panels.	Design portal to edit the unit, with a lot of construction parameters.	Panel listing, Board layouts, Machine files, Cut lists, panel labels.
User Needs	Easily identify the design to create a work order · In case of small firms, the kitchen designer is also the production designer, so they create the work orders · Delivery date is important to keep things on track	Understand the unit at a glance · Easily able to see full details of a unit · Navigate between different panels easily · Mark validated units for better management	Full screen and detailed view of cabinets · Some kind of styles or template for frequent edits · Option to save edits now and then.	Ease of creating all the files · Reliable files · One place to manage them all · Easily transfer files to different station/party

Business impact

Adoption & Net promoter score

At a glance

Why

What

Whom

How

Product brief

Product glimpse

1. Business goals: quick revenue

2. Easy to acquire new user base

3. Manufacturing outputs were already built

4. Addressing different personas

5. Completing full suite in interiors

6. Faster time to market

Choose your path

Inside the factory floor

Who uses this system

Current workflow in the factory

Overall workflow

Ecosystem map

Detailed flow

Three solutions, one production floor

Solution 1: for The Production Designer

Pain points

Needs

Qualities

User flow

Needs solved

Needs solved

Multiple iterations, incorporating user feedback

Needs solved

Needs solved

Needs solved

Solution 2: for The Production Manager

Pain points

Needs

Qualities

User flow

Needs solved

Needs solved

Solution 3: for The Board Cutting Operator

Pain points

Needs

Qualities

User flow

Needs solved

Needs solved

Designing for everyone

Alt text for SKU images

How it looks for low vision & color blind users

Keyboard navigation

Text readability & contrast ratios

Other accessibility elements

How I got there

Getting into the factory

Factory visits

User Interviews & affinity

Insights of production designer

Learning from what exists

Meet the users

Sanjay

Pain points

Needs

Tools

Qualities

Ramesh

Pain points

Needs

Tools

Qualities

Ajay

Pain points

Needs

Tools

Qualities

User journey

Detailed user journey map of product designer

Prioritising user needs