Notice customers going quiet
Compare recent orders with a customer's usual buying pattern. A gap might reflect a project finishing, a delayed programme or work moving elsewhere. Use the evidence to start a conversation rather than assume the reason.
Manufacturing Sales Analytics
Understand order intake, quote conversion and customer sales trends, with manufacturing sales KPIs that put your order book in context.
A busy sales team and a full order book are only part of the picture. Sales analytics helps manufacturers ask better questions about demand, conversion and customer performance before deciding what to do next.
In development: Fraction ERP Sales Analytics
We are building Sales Analytics for Fraction ERP, listed under the Pro plan. This guide explains useful manufacturing sales measures and the decisions they can inform. Talk to us about your reporting needs, planned scope and availability.
What is manufacturing sales analytics?
Manufacturing sales analytics brings enquiries, quotations, accepted orders and invoiced sales into a commercial review. The aim is to understand where demand comes from, how it changes and which actions deserve attention.
For a manufacturer, winning work also creates commitments for materials, people and machines. An increase in sales may be welcome, but the mix of work and the promised delivery dates determine what the factory needs to do.
Sales analysis gives owners, sales managers and operations managers a shared starting point. It can highlight a quiet customer, a change in ordering patterns or a growing order book that needs a closer capacity review.
Fraction ERP already connects customer relationships and sales activity with quotations and sales orders. Sales Analytics is being developed around that manufacturing context.
Manufacturing sales KPIs worth reviewing
Choose measures that answer a business question. These are useful starting points for a sales review; the final scope of Fraction ERP Sales Analytics is still being developed.
| Sales measure | What it tells you | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Order intake | The value of work accepted during a period. | Use the order date and agree how cancellations and changes are treated. |
| Open order book | The value of accepted work still outstanding. | Use the remaining value after partial deliveries and review the expected delivery dates. |
| Invoiced sales | The value invoiced in a period. | Use invoice dates and a consistent treatment of credit notes, tax and currency. |
| Quote conversion | How much quoted work becomes accepted work. | Distinguish conversion by quote count from conversion by value; exclude superseded revisions and allow time for decisions. |
| Customer sales trends | How individual customer demand changes over time. | Compare equivalent periods and consider large one-off orders or seasonal patterns. |
| Customer concentration | How much business depends on your largest customers. | Use a consistent sales basis and period when calculating each customer's share. |
Order intake and invoiced sales answer different questions
An order accepted in October might be manufactured in November and invoiced in December. Counting it as October order intake and December invoiced sales is useful, provided the two measures stay distinct. A fall in invoicing does not automatically mean the sales team has stopped winning work, and a rise in orders does not mean the cash has arrived.
How to calculate quote-to-order conversion
For a defined group of quotations with a won or lost outcome, calculate quotes won ÷ (quotes won + quotes lost) × 100. For example, 12 wins and 8 losses give a 60% conversion rate by count. Track undecided quotes separately and count each opportunity once, rather than treating revised quotations as new opportunities. Conversion by value answers a different question: it compares the value won with the total value of won and lost quotations in the same group.
Turn customer sales analysis into useful follow-up
A customer ranking is a starting point. The next step is to understand the change and agree an action.
Understand growth and dependence
Identify customers placing more work, then review whether that growth is repeatable. Consider how a change in one large account would affect the order book and the factory's workload.
Review quotes that need attention
Look at open quotations alongside their age and customer context. Agree who should follow up, which opportunities remain active and which outcomes need recording in your CRM.
Consider the value of the work
Sales value alone does not establish profitability. Review the work alongside reliable costing evidence, production effort and delivery demands before deciding which business to pursue.
Connect sales performance to production decisions
More orders help when the business can fulfil them. Bring the sales conversation together with material availability, factory capacity and delivery commitments.
Check capacity before promising dates
Order value is not a measure of machine hours or operator availability. Use production scheduling and capacity planning to review the operational effect of accepted work and proposed delivery dates.
Keep order review part of the process
Confirm the requirements, engineering questions and supply constraints before acknowledging an order. A manufacturing contract review gives the team a deliberate opportunity to resolve issues early.
Read more: How production managers can see capacity before accepting an order.
Build a repeatable manufacturing sales review
Use a small set of agreed measures and turn the findings into decisions your team can follow through.
- Agree the definitions. Decide which order and quote statuses count, how dates are selected and how currencies and revisions are handled.
- Compare like with like. Review equivalent periods and separate repeat demand from large one-off projects.
- Investigate the records. Check the customers, quotes and orders behind a change before drawing conclusions.
- Bring in operations. Discuss capacity, materials and promised dates alongside the sales position.
- Assign the next action. Give customer follow-ups and internal checks an owner, then review progress at the next meeting.
Accurate customer records and up-to-date quote and order statuses make the review more useful. Existing manufacturing reports help teams investigate their ERP records. Use ERP dashboards for day-to-day exceptions and manufacturing KPIs for the wider operational review.
What to look for in manufacturing sales analytics software
The useful starting point is the decision you need to make. When reviewing software, ask how each figure is defined and how you can investigate the records behind it.
Clear measures and traceable records
Check the reporting period, included statuses, currency treatment and handling of revised or cancelled orders. A chart should lead to an explanation that can be checked against customer, quotation and order records.
A connection to the manufacturing workflow
Review commercial demand alongside delivery commitments and capacity. CRM supports customer conversations, sales order management controls accepted work, and analytics helps the team interpret patterns across those records.
For the wider workflow, explore manufacturing ERP software. Read why CRM works best as part of ERP for the customer relationship context.
Manufacturing sales analytics FAQs
What is manufacturing sales analytics?
Manufacturing sales analytics is the analysis of enquiries, quotations, accepted orders and invoiced sales to understand commercial performance. It helps manufacturers review demand, customer trends and the work entering production.
How is sales analytics different from sales order management?
Sales order management controls individual quotes and orders through fulfilment. Sales analytics looks across those records to identify patterns, compare periods and decide where the team should focus.
Which sales KPIs should a manufacturer review?
Useful starting points include order intake, open order book value, invoiced sales, quote conversion and customer concentration. Agree the date basis, included statuses and currency treatment before comparing results.
Are orders received the same as invoiced sales?
No. Order intake measures accepted work by order date, while invoiced sales measures amounts invoiced by invoice date. An order can enter the business in one month and be delivered and invoiced in another.
How do you calculate manufacturing quote conversion?
For a defined group of quotations with a recorded won or lost outcome, divide the number won by the total number won plus lost, then multiply by 100. Track open quotations separately, count each opportunity once and distinguish conversion by count from conversion by value.
What should manufacturers look for in sales analytics software?
Look for clear KPI definitions, consistent reporting periods and a way to investigate the customer, quotation and order records behind each result. Keep order intake, outstanding orders and invoiced sales separate, and consider demand alongside production capacity.
Is Fraction ERP Sales Analytics available now?
Fraction ERP Sales Analytics is in development and is listed under the Pro plan. Contact the team to discuss your reporting needs, planned availability and which measures will be included. This guide describes useful manufacturing sales analysis rather than a confirmed list of released features.
What should your sales analysis help you see?
Tell us which sales questions take the most time to answer. We can discuss your requirements and the development of Sales Analytics in Fraction ERP.