Sigma Computing Consulting for Manufacturers
Stop rebuilding the plant report from ERP exports every Monday. We build Sigma workbooks on Snowflake that give operations, supply chain and finance the same numbers each morning.
The short answer
Where the Hours Go Today
- The weekly plant report is rebuilt from ERP and MES exports by one analyst.
- Each plant tracks scrap and downtime in its own spreadsheet, with its own definitions.
- Inventory on hand, on order and committed come from three different screens.
- Margin by product is only worked out at month-end, after standard costs are updated.
Sigma Workbooks We Build
- Production and OEE
- Output, run time, downtime and scrap by plant, line, shift and product, with drill paths from the plant total down to the work order.
- Inventory and Open Orders
- On-hand, on-order and committed stock by item and location, next to open sales and purchase orders, so planners see shortages before they hit the line.
- Product and Customer Margin
- Revenue, standard and actual cost by product, customer and plant, with the variance broken out so finance can explain it.
- Plant Planning Inputs
- Forecasts, targets and capacity entered by planners in input tables, stored in Snowflake and compared against actuals in the same workbook.
Why Sigma Fits
- Planners already work in Excel
- Sigma is a spreadsheet grid with over 200 functions on live warehouse data, so planners and cost accountants can build and check numbers without learning SQL.
- Plans and actuals in one place
- Input tables store forecasts, targets and adjustments in the warehouse, so plans stop living in side spreadsheets that never match the ERP.
- Large transaction tables stay fast to filter
- Queries run in Snowflake, so teams can filter and pivot years of work orders and transactions without extracts.
Data We Connect
- ERP
- Manufacturing execution system
- Quality and inspection records
- Warehouse management system
- Maintenance system
- Excel plans and targets
- Snowflake
Common questions
Is Sigma good for manufacturing reporting?
Sigma fits manufacturers whose planners and finance staff work in spreadsheets and whose ERP and plant data are in, or moving to, a cloud warehouse such as Snowflake.
Can Sigma calculate OEE?
Yes, once run time, downtime, output and scrap are loaded at the same level of detail. We agree the availability, performance and quality definitions with each plant first, so every plant reports OEE the same way.
Can Sigma connect to our ERP?
Sigma reads from a warehouse, not from the ERP directly. We load the ERP into Snowflake on a schedule, then build the Sigma workbooks on those tables.
Can planners enter forecasts in Sigma?
Yes. Input tables let planners type forecasts, targets or adjustments into a Sigma workbook, and the values are stored in Snowflake next to actuals.
How long does a Sigma build take?
It depends on your ERP, how many plants you have and how clean the plant data is. We scope it on a short call, starting with one report.
Bring the report that eats your week
We'll look at it with you and say what Sigma would save. No pitch deck.