Getting more out of Ridder iQ: what the package already does
For owners, ERP administrators and work planners at manufacturers using Ridder iQ (or a similar ERP).
Short answer
Many manufacturers mainly use Ridder iQ for quotes, orders and invoices. According to vendor ECI, the package also includes relationship management, bill-of-materials management, purchasing, inventory, work preparation, production planning, time tracking per project, document management and reporting, and there is a separate module to run the shop floor on a tablet. First check what your licence contains and what you use of it. Start with items and bills of materials, then hours on the order, then post-calculation. Only then integrate or buy more.
In short
- There is often more in the package than is used. That is cheaper than something new.
- Order: items → bills of materials → operations → hours on the order → post-calculation → planning.
- Which modules you have depends on version and licence. Ask.
- Ask seven questions before you buy an API or integration.
1. First this
Independent
Agentfabriek is not a partner or reseller of Ridder or ECI. This page is based on what ECI itself publishes about Ridder iQ. What you can do exactly depends on your version and licence. Check with your vendor or consultant.
2. What's in it according to the vendor
| Module | What it does |
|---|---|
| Relationship management (CRM) | Customer and marketing information in one place |
| Bills of materials | Flexible BOM management, so you see when you need which material |
| Estimating | Quotes and calculations, with insight into progress and changes |
| Purchasing | Creating orders, booking receipts and checking invoices |
| Inventory | Tracking deliveries and stock, preventing shortages |
| Work preparation | Managing purchasing, inventory and operations automatically |
| Production planning | Production planning, integrated in the ERP |
| Time tracking | Tracking how many hours were spent on each project |
| Document management | Managing drawings, reports and other documents |
| Reporting | Extensive reporting options |
| Shop Floor Control | Separate module: a digital shop floor, with order status and tasks on any device |
Summarised from ECI's product pages (see sources below). Not every licence includes every module.
3. In which order to use it
The modules depend on each other. Planning without hours is guessing. Post-calculation without a bill of materials is impossible. Hence this order:
- 1
Items
One item master with fixed numbers and descriptions. See setting up part numbering.
- 2
Bills of materials
Per product which items and made parts go into it. Start with the products you make most often.
- 3
Operations and work centres
Per product the steps with hours and an hourly rate per work centre. Then estimating uses the same cost lines as the workshop.
- 4
Hours on the order
Book hours to order and operation, on paper or on a tablet in the workshop.
- 5
Post-calculation
Estimated next to actual per order. See setting up post-calculation.
- 6
Planning
Only when hours and operations are right does planning give a reliable lead time.
4. Check: what do you already use?
Go through the modules with the people who use the package every day. The check shows where to start and what to ask first.
Check: what do you use of your ERP?
- 1.Item managementOne item master with fixed numbers and descriptions
- 2.Bills of materialsWhich items and made parts go into a product
- 3.Operations and work centresSteps per product with hours and hourly rate
- 4.Estimating and quotesQuotes built from material and operations
- 5.Time registration on orderHours booked to order, preferably per operation
- 6.Estimate versus actualsEstimated next to actual per order
- 7.PurchasingOrdering, booking receipts, checking invoices
- 8.InventoryWhat is in stock, what is reserved
- 9.Work preparationFrom sales order to production order
- 10.Production planningWhich order on which work centre when
- 11.Shop floor on tabletReport start, done and hours on the floor
- 12.Document managementDrawings and certificates linked to item or order
- 13.Relationship management (CRM)Customers, contacts and requests
- 14.ReportingRevenue, margin, work in progress, lead time
Start here
The first modules in the sequence that are not running well yet.
- 1Item management
- 2Bills of materials
- 3Operations and work centres
Ask your vendor first
Nothing on 'don't know'. Good.
5. Questions for your Ridder consultant
- Which modules are in our licence, and which don't we use?
- How do we set up number sequences per item group?
- Can we define operations and work centres with their own hourly rate?
- How do people book hours to order and operation, and what does the shop floor module cost?
- Which report shows estimated next to actual per order?
- What has to be right before planning is reliable?
- How do we import a cleaned-up item list, and in which format?
6. Before you buy the API or an integration
An integration only makes sense when the basics in the package are right. Otherwise you connect mess to mess. Ask these questions before you buy an API licence or integration:
- Which parts can you read through the API, and which can you also write? Think of items, bills of materials, orders, hours and stock.
- How is the API charged: fixed, per user or per integration?
- Is there a test environment, a copy of our administration, to build against?
- Is there a limit on the number of requests, and what happens when you hit it?
- Can you restrict an integration to read-only, or to certain parts?
- Is every change through the API logged, with who and when?
- What is on the roadmap for the API, and when?
Six agreements for every integration
Read first. The calculator does the maths, not the AI. No more often than needed, with a hard limit. A person approves everything that touches money or stock. Everything in a log, so it can be rolled back. Test environment first, never straight against the real administration.
7. When extra software does make sense
Once items, bills of materials and hours are right, automation can save a lot of work. For example reading incoming customer purchase orders and staging them as drafts in the ERP, matching purchase invoices to the order, or flagging deviations in post-calculation. That only works on a clean base, and always with a person approving the draft.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ridder iQ suitable for small manufacturers?
Besides Ridder iQ, ECI also offers Ridder iQ Essentials, aimed at smaller manufacturers. Which variant fits depends on the number of users and the modules you need. Check with the vendor.
Does Ridder iQ have an API?
Ask your vendor. What is possible through an API, how it is charged and whether there is a test environment differ per version and licence. Use the seven questions on this page.
Can people book hours on a tablet?
ECI offers Shop Floor Control for Ridder iQ: a digital shop floor with order status and tasks on any device. Whether it is in your licence and what it costs, check with the vendor.
Should I hire a consultant?
For setting up item groups, bills of materials and operations, a consultant who knows the package is often fastest. Bring the question list from this page, so the time goes to what you need.
Is Agentfabriek a Ridder partner?
No. Agentfabriek is independent and does not sell ERP licences. We build automations on top of existing systems.
Sources
Other people's figures and statements on this page come from here. Calculation examples are fictional.
- ECI: Ridder iQ, cloud ERP for manufacturers Overview of the modules according to the vendor.
- ECI: Shop Floor Control for Ridder iQ The shop floor module.
- ECI: Ridder iQ Essentials for small businesses The variant for smaller companies.
About the author
Safouan Bolbaroud · Founder of Agentfabriek
At Agentfabriek, Safouan builds automations on top of the ERP systems of manufacturers and wholesalers. He writes about what needs to be in order before automation makes sense.