Sold by the metre. Costed by the copper index.
Cable is an awkward fit for a standard ERP. Stock is a length on a drum, not a countable unit. Orders are cut to size, leaving offcuts that are either inventory or scrap depending on how long they are. And the largest input cost can move overnight while your quote is still open.
We configure Business Central for length-based inventory, cut-to-order processing and scrap tracking, with costing that keeps up when the copper index moves.
The drum, the offcut, and the copper price, all in the ledger.
Reels, drums, and copper prices, measured to the metre.
What makes Cable hard
The things a generic ERP quietly gets wrong.
- Stock counted in units when it is really a length on a drum
- Offcuts written off as scrap when they are still sellable stock
- Quotes going stale because copper moved after they were sent
- Cut-to-order jobs planned on a whiteboard beside the machine
- Drum returns and deposits tracked outside the system entirely
What we configure
Business Central, set up for cable - not for a distribution template.
Length-based inventory
Stock held as a length on an identified drum, so a picker knows which drum has enough on it before they walk to the rack.
Cut-to-order processing
A cut consumes from a drum and creates a remnant, one transaction, both outcomes, and the offcut stays sellable stock rather than becoming a mystery.
Copper-indexed costing
Metal content priced against a moving index, so quotes reflect what the copper actually costs today and margin is not eaten by a two-week-old price.
Scrap and remnant control
Offcuts above a threshold return to stock; below it, they are scrapped and costed to the job that made them.
Drum and reel tracking
Returnable drums tracked with deposits and returns, so the asset does not quietly leave the business.
Built in-house
Where Business Central stops short of a cable floor, we already built the rest.
Industrial Automation
Machine data, posted while it happens.
Industrial Automation, used in Cable Manufacturing. ExplorePLC Integration for Business Central
PLCs talking straight to the ledger.
PLC Integration for Business Central, used in Cable Manufacturing. ExploreProduction Portal
The shop floor, logged in.
Production Portal, used in Cable Manufacturing. Explore
Proof
What it looks like in practice
- Inventory and costing granularity
- Per-metre
- Copper cost tracked to the market
- Indexed
- Stock identity, not just SKU
- Drum-level
“Offcuts used to vanish. Either scrapped or lost behind the rack. They are stock now, and we sell them.”
Common questions
Cable, answered.
Can Business Central handle length-based stock?
Standard BC counts units. We configure it for length-based inventory with drum-level identity, so a cut consumes from a specific drum and leaves a remnant that stays in stock.
How do you handle copper price volatility?
Metal content is costed against an index rather than a static standard cost, so a quote raised today prices the copper at today's number and the margin you expected is the margin you get.
What happens to offcuts?
Above a length threshold you set, the remnant returns to sellable stock against its drum. Below it, it is scrapped and costed to the job that created it, so scrap becomes a number someone owns.
Start here
Bring us your cable operation. We already speak the language.
A working session, not a sales call. You will leave with a straight answer on what Business Central can do for this operation, what it cannot, and what closing that gap actually costs.