Deliver each client order on time, to spec and on record
Put approved work instructions at each station, track each order and trace every lot.
A new contract can mean new specs, new revisions and a fixed ship date, often on the same lines as last month's work. Margins rarely leave room for rework or extra hires, so each changeover has to go right.
Tulip is a composable frontline operations platform used to implement a composable MES. Working alongside your ERP and equipment, it gives each program its own guided steps, checks and genealogy, and lets engineers carry a proven setup into the next one.
Step-by-step instructions for each client, part number and revision put the approved version in front of operators at the station. Changes go through your approvals, then reach the floor without anyone reprinting a traveler.
New hires and operators moving between programs learn at the station from guided, visual steps, so they rely less on whoever ran the job last. Experienced operators can refresh a procedure or pick up a new responsibility the same way.
When a client asks where their order is, the answer is on screen: each work order's status and station as production runs. Supervisors get an andon alert when a job stalls, so a delay surfaces during the shift.
Gated inspections, including first-piece checks, sit inside the workflow, so a job can't move on until it passes the checks set for that client's spec. Defects and nonconformances are logged at the station and routed for disposition.
Each lot or serial carries the materials, tools, operators and inspection results behind it, captured by scan as work happens. If a client flags a problem, pull the parts built from that material lot and hold only those.
Capture data from molding machines, CNCs and other equipment, and send alerts to the right people when critical events occur. Scrap gets tracked by machine, shift and operator, so teams can see where a job is losing parts.
Contract manufacturers use Tulip to get new programs running, hand customers the record behind each order and reuse what worked on the last job, as an alternative to a legacy MES, separate point tools, homegrown apps, or travelers and spreadsheets.
Your engineers author the workflows for a new program themselves, starting from proven templates, and in the standard cloud AI Composer can turn the client's SOPs and PDFs into a first working version. Each change goes through your approvals before it reaches the floor, with no vendor ticket in the way.
Work instructions, inspections and genealogy share one data model, so each lot or serial carries its operators, materials, results and photos, and a customer's question about an order starts from that one record. For work done for regulated clients, Tulip provides ER/ES functionality that is 21 CFR Part 11 and Annex 11 compliant.
What's proven on one program becomes the start of the next, adapted to the new part, spec and revision. A central team sets the standard and shares it across lines and sites, with permissions, version history and approvals carried along. When a customer reviews your production systems, Tulip is SOC 2 certified (Type II report).
Contract manufacturers generally need software that adapts as client specs and revisions change, ties traceability to each lot or serial, and connects to the ERP and machines already in place. Tulip is a composable frontline operations platform used to implement a composable MES, and teams can start with one use case on one line, then expand to more programs and sites.
Look for workflows that branch by client, part and revision, quality checks and genealogy built into each step, connections to ERP and machines, and change control that keeps updates off the floor until they're approved. It also helps to be able to start small and expand without an all-or-nothing rollout. On Tulip these run on one shared data model, so the second use case starts with the data the first one captured.
Speed usually comes down to how fast a team can turn a client's specs and procedures into instructions, checks and records operators can follow. With Tulip, engineers start from apps in the Tulip Library, or have AI Composer turn existing SOPs and PDFs into a first working version, then adapt it to the program. Each app goes through your approvals before it reaches the floor, and a first use case typically goes live in weeks.
Revision errors tend to come from paper travelers and PDFs that outlive the change that replaced them. Digital work instructions put the approved version at the station, and in Tulip, workflows branch by configuration or revision, so operators see only the steps for the job in front of them. Updates can be deployed quickly with governance, without re-implementing a monolithic MES.
Most clients want to know which materials, operators, tools and inspections went into an order. Tulip ties each step to a work order, serial or lot, with time stamps, station, operator, results and attachments such as photos and measurements, so you can trace forward or backward: everything that happened to serial X, or every unit affected by lot Y. Specific production datasets can be shared with a client through the API without exposing your full production environment.
Scrap tends to fall when machine problems reach the right person quickly and scrap is logged by machine, shift and operator, so the worst sources are easy to see. Tulip captures data from machines and devices, with 700+ supported devices, and sends alerts when critical events occur. Protolabs, for example, connected its injection molding machines, added real-time alerts and tracked scrap on dashboards.
Guided, step-by-step instructions at the station let operators switch between programs without relying on memory or on a colleague who ran the job before. In Tulip, instructions branch by revision, and on the Enterprise plan and above one app can carry translations in over 20 supported languages, so each site and shift works from the same approved steps in its own language.
Tulip is SOC 2 certified (Type II report), with SAML SSO, role-based access and audit logging, and data is encrypted in transit and at rest. On the Enterprise plan and above, Workspaces enable data segregation between sites, departments or environments, and a user can hold different roles in different workspaces. Tulip captures operational data such as process steps, inspection results and machine outputs, and you decide what stays in Tulip and what passes through to your ERP.
Yes. Tulip provides ER/ES functionality that is 21 CFR Part 11 and Annex 11 compliant, is delivered as a qualified platform with validation documentation for each long-term support (LTS) release, and helps customers comply with standards such as ISO 13485 and AS9100. You validate your apps for their intended use, and each one goes through your approvals before it reaches the floor.
Yes. Tulip connects through its connector library and standard interfaces, including REST APIs, database connectors, and OPC UA, MQTT and Modbus for machines, with library connectors that include SAP S/4HANA, NetSuite, PTC Arena and Aras. Your ERP stays the system of record, and Tulip puts the order and material data operators need in front of them as they work.
Start your next program with guided work instructions, lot and serial genealogy, and downtime and scrap alerts in place from the first run.