Improving Delivery Reliability
Discover how Kuyer Metaal digitized its production process to improve delivery reliability, reduce WIP, and gain real-time visibility across its high-mix metalworking environment.
Kuyer Metaal, a Dutch manufacturer located in Nijkerk, Netherlands and specializing in complex, high-mix, low-volume metalworking, wanted to modernize its planning and shop floor processes to support growth and improve operational performance.
The goal: reduce between-stock levels, improve planning accuracy, and gain actionable insights through better time registration.
The result: controlled WIP, more predictable lead times, and a production team that operates with clarity instead of firefighting.
About Kuyer Metaal
Founded in 1971, Kuyer Metaal is a high-mix metalworking specialist with around 80 employees. Operating from an 8,000 m² facility, the company manages a wide range of custom metal products, from single-piece orders to series of up to 1,000 items.
Growing customer demand and increasingly complex production flows created the need for a connected, digital operations platform that could bring structure, visibility, and predictability to the shop floor.
Challenges
Before implementing 24Flow, Kuyer Metaal faced several operational challenges:
Immediate ERP order release
Orders were released straight from Exact Online to the shop floor, creating large WIP buffers and long, unpredictable lead times.
No production system
Planning relied on spreadsheets and manual coordination, making it difficult to prioritize work effectively.
Limited planning insights
Absence of accurate time registration meant planners lacked reliable process times for scheduling.
WIP buildup & bottlenecks
Without controlled order release, workstations became overloaded, making flow management difficult.
Lack of real-time visibility
Office teams could not monitor progress, resulting in reactive decision-making and constant follow-ups.
Solutions
To bring structure and visibility to its production environment, Kuyer Metaal implemented 24Flow’s digital shopfloor control and production scheduling platform, fully integrated with its existing systems.
- Order Release & WIP Control – 24Flow introduces controlled, capacity-based order release. Instead of flooding the shop floor with ERP orders, Kuyer now releases work in a flow-optimized way, reducing WIP and improving lead-time predictability.
- Time Registration – Operators register real process times digitally, giving planners accurate insights for costing, capacity planning, and continuous improvement.
- Shop Floor Visibility – Supervisors gain real-time insight into progress, bottlenecks, and workstation load, enabling proactive management.
- System Integrations – 24Flow connects seamlessly with
- Exact Online (ERP) for order data
- Bizzbloqs (WMS) for warehouse movements
- Oseon (Trumpf) for machine status and feedback
Together, these integrations create a unified operations platform with end-to-end visibility.
Impact
The introduction of 24Flow’s shopfloor control and production scheduling platform helped Kuyer Metaal shift from reactive firefighting to structured, predictable flow control.
- Improved delivery reliability – Better release management lowers inventory between workstations.
- Accurate time insight – Real-time registrations strengthen planning quality and cost calculations.
- More efficient operations – Teams work with clear priorities instead of constant rescheduling.
- End-to-end visibility – Both office and shop floor teams benefit from real-time progress insights.
Kuyer Metaal now operates with a scalable digital backbone, enabling higher efficiency and a more reliable production process.
Ready to optimize flow with a connected shop floor control and production scheduling platform?
Talk to our experts and find out how to get started.
ABOUT US
24Flow is a modular manufacturing platform that empowers make-to-order manufacturers to reduce lead times and increase visibility & traceability. Inspired by lean and QRM, 24Flow controls the flow of production orders which increases visibility and results in shorter lead times, improved delivery reliability and a reduction of work-in-progress and inventory.
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