What is the difference between Make-to-Stock and Make-to-Order?

Make-to-Stock builds products to a forecast and ships from finished goods inventory the moment an order arrives. Make-to-Order waits for the order, then assembles or finishes the product from existing designs and components. MTS prioritises availability and short customer lead times, while MTO prioritises lower finished goods inventory and built-to-spec configurations. Many custom steel shops actually run a hybrid model with MTS stock items running alongside ETO project work, which is where the planning challenge starts.

Can a custom steel fabricator run Make-to-Stock alongside ETO work?

Yes, and most successful 50 to 150 person fab shops do. Custom (ETO) work pays the bills but is bursty, while MTS items absorb the slack when welding or assembly capacity is free. The trick is to schedule MTS as filler rather than priority, cost it on standard cost rather than project actuals, and track its inventory KPIs separately from ETO WIP. EZIIL is built to run both side by side in one system rather than forcing a spreadsheet workaround for stock items.

Why should custom steel fabricators add Make-to-Stock items to their mix?

Three reasons. First, stock work fills the gaps in a bursty custom schedule and pushes shop utilization up. Second, margins on MTS items are usually higher than on custom one-offs (often 35 to 45% versus 20 to 25%) because setup is amortised, routings are reused, and first-pass yield climbs. Third, pure-ETO shops are fragile when order intake slows. A small MTS line of even one or two SKUs gives the shop a baseload. EZIIL surfaces capacity gaps automatically, so MTS filler work can be slotted in on the spot.

How do you identify Make-to-Stock candidates in a custom fab shop?

Look at the last 12 months of jobs. Any item fabricated more than 6 times in identical or near-identical form is an MTS candidate. Typical winners in steel shops are stair pans, handrail brackets, baseplates, kickplates, and common gusset shapes. Resist the temptation to stock everything that has ever repeated, because each new SKU adds rack space, tracking overhead, and obsolescence risk. EZIIL can flag repeat patterns across past projects so the candidate list is data-driven rather than guessed.

What is a min-max inventory strategy and when should fab shops use it?

Min-max is the simplest reorder rule: when stock falls below a minimum level, the shop builds back up to a maximum. It works well for the first 12 to 18 months of any new MTS programme because it requires no forecasting and adapts naturally to demand swings. Once 18 months of demand history exists, more sophisticated MRP or reorder-point logic becomes worthwhile. EZIIL supports min-max alerts directly in the same dashboard used for project status, so stock and projects share a single planning view.

How do you schedule MTS work without disrupting custom (ETO) jobs?

Tag MTS work orders so the scheduler treats them as filler, not priority. ETO jobs pay the bills and take precedence on the welding, CNC, paint, and assembly resources. MTS work orders fill weeks where capacity is slack and can be paused when an urgent custom job lands. EZIIL's drag-and-drop capacity view makes this explicit, showing gaps in welding or assembly next week so an MTS batch can be dropped in without a separate planning meeting.

What is the difference between MTS stock turns and ETO WIP?

MTS stock turns measure how fast finished goods inventory moves through the shop, with stock aging as a secondary KPI. ETO WIP measures the dollar value of half-built jobs on the floor, with inventory dollar-days (IDD) as the key risk metric. Two different inventory dynamics, two different KPIs. EZIIL reports both separately in the same system, so hybrid shops do not have to choose between project visibility and stock visibility.

How many MTS SKUs should a custom steel shop stock?

Far fewer than most shops assume. 10 well-chosen SKUs will outperform 80 random ones, because every additional SKU adds rack space, tracking overhead, and obsolescence risk. The right starting point is the top handful of items that already repeat across customers, built in pre-planned batches large enough to amortise setup (for example, 60 brackets per run rather than 6). EZIIL's inventory module surfaces aging and turn rates so the SKU list can be trimmed every quarter rather than allowed to drift.

What is inventory dollar-days (IDD) and why does it matter for hybrid shops?

Inventory dollar-days (IDD) is the dollar value of inventory multiplied by the number of days it has been sitting. It is the single best signal of cash trapped in WIP or finished stock. For custom shops, IDD spikes when ETO jobs sit half-built waiting for material or engineering input. For hybrid MTS plus ETO shops, IDD also spikes when stock SKUs age past 9 months. EZIIL tracks aging on both sides so dead stock and stalled WIP surface before they kill the cash position.

Should custom steel fabricators publish list prices for stock items?

Yes, for MTS stock items. This is one of the few cases where a custom shop should run a published price list rather than quoting every order. List pricing speeds up reorders, reduces quoting time, and changes the sales motion from project-based negotiation to catalog-based ordering. Standard cost makes this confident pricing possible. EZIIL ties standard cost, stock level, and list price together on the same SKU record.

How does EZIIL handle hybrid Make-to-Stock and ETO operations?

EZIIL runs project-based ETO work and SKU-based MTS work side by side in one system rather than splitting them across a project tracker and a stock spreadsheet. Stock items are first-class objects with their own BOM, routing, standard cost, and inventory record. Capacity-aware scheduling slots MTS work as filler when welding or assembly slack appears. Min-max alerts, location tracking, and age reporting live in the same dashboard used for project status, so the office and the foreman work from one source of truth.

How much does EZIIL cost for a hybrid MTS plus ETO fab shop?

EZIIL uses modular pricing that starts at €120 per month for the Starter base product (1 to 15 users), with a one-time €300 onboarding fee. Inventory and BOM modules are added only when the shop starts running MTS items, so small custom shops do not pay for stock features they have not switched on yet. As the team grows and MTS volume builds, modules can be added in steps rather than as a big-bang implementation, which keeps the cost shape aligned to the way hybrid shops actually scale.

Make-to-Stock (MTS)

Q: What is Make-to-Stock (MTS) in steel fabrication?

Make-to-Stock (MTS) is a manufacturing strategy where products are built before customer orders arrive. The shop produces to a forecast, holds finished goods inventory, and ships from stock when an order comes in. In a pure MTS shop, the customer never waits for fabrication, because the product is already finished, painted, packaged, and sitting on a rack. For custom steel fabricators, pure MTS is rare, but partial MTS (standard brackets, repeat connection details, stair stringer modules) is common and often invisible inside an otherwise project-based shop.

Q: How should you cost Make-to-Stock items differently from ETO jobs?

MTS items should be costed using a standard cost model with a stable, periodically reviewed cost per SKU. ETO jobs should be costed on project actuals, because every job has its own materials, labour, and engineering load. This is the one place custom fabricators should run two costing models in parallel. Most custom-shop ERPs force one or the other. EZIIL supports both on the same shop floor, so stock SKUs carry a confident list price while custom projects carry full actuals visibility.

What is Make-to-Stock (MTS) in steel fabrication?

Make-to-stock (MTS) is a manufacturing strategy where products are built before customer orders arrive. The shop builds to a forecast, holds finished goods inventory, and ships from stock when an order comes in.

In a pure MTS shop, the customer never waits for fabrication. The product is already sitting on a rack, finished, painted, packaged, ready to ship.

For custom steel fabricators, pure MTS is rare. You usually do not build a one-off architectural staircase to stock. But the moment you stock standard brackets, repeat connection details, common railing posts, stair stringer modules, or fabricated weldments you sell over and over to the same customer, you are running MTS work alongside your custom (ETO) work. Most custom shops are MTS-blind: they call everything “a job” and lose the chance to plan stock builds against actual capacity slack.

Why MTS matters for custom steel fabricators

It matters for three reasons.

Stock work fills the gaps in your custom schedule. Custom (ETO) work is bursty. Some weeks the welding bay is at 110%, the next week it is at 60%. MTS items absorb the slack. You build the stock items when capacity is free and pull from inventory when capacity is full. This is one of the highest-leverage moves a custom fabricator can make for utilization.
Margins on MTS items are usually higher than on custom one-offs. You amortize setup, you reuse the routing, the welders know it by heart, FPY climbs. A simple stock bracket might run 35 to 45% margin where a comparable custom item runs 20 to 25%.
Pure-ETO shops are fragile. When custom order intake slows, you have no shop work. Adding an MTS line (even one or two SKUs) gives you a baseload. This is exactly the pattern most successful 50 to 150 person fab shops follow.

The catch: running MTS inside an otherwise custom shop without good software is a fast way to bury cash in inventory you forgot about. This is the inventory dollar-days (IDD) problem in extreme form.

How to run MTS work inside a custom steel shop

Spot your candidates first. Look at the last 12 months of jobs. Any item you fabricated more than 6 times in identical or near-identical form is an MTS candidate. Common winners: stair pans, handrail brackets, baseplates, kickplates, common gusset shapes.

Set a reorder point and a target stock level. Use simple min-max for the first year. When stock falls below the min, the shop builds back up to max. Do not over-engineer with MRP and forecasting until you have 18 months of demand data.

Schedule MTS as filler, not as priority. Custom (ETO) work pays the bills. MTS work fills the gaps. Tag MTS work orders so the scheduler knows they can be paused when an urgent ETO job lands.

Cost MTS items by standard cost, not project actuals. This is the one place custom fabricators should switch costing methods. MTS items deserve a stable standard cost so you can price them confidently for stock customers and distributors.

Track MTS stock turns separately from ETO WIP. Two completely different inventory dynamics, two completely different KPIs. Stock turns and aging for MTS. WIP value and dollar-days for ETO.

Best practices for MTS in a fab shop

Limit MTS SKUs aggressively. 10 well-chosen SKUs will outperform 80 random ones. Each new SKU adds rack space, tracking overhead, and obsolescence risk.
Build MTS in pre-planned batches. Setup time matters. Run 60 brackets, not 6, when you do run them. Schedule the batch when welding has 4 hours of slack on a Thursday afternoon.
Use MTS work to train new hires. Repeatable jobs are excellent for new welders, helpers, or apprentices. Standardized work + standardized routing = teachable.
Sell MTS items at a published list price. This is one of the few cases where a custom shop should publish prices. It changes the sales motion (faster orders, easier reorders, less quoting time).
Review MTS aging quarterly. Anything sitting unsold for 9+ months is dead money. Discount it, scrap it, or rework it. Do not let dead stock kill your cash position.

How EZIIL helps fab shops run MTS and ETO together

Most custom fabricators that run hybrid MTS + ETO end up with two systems: project tracking for jobs, and a spreadsheet (or worse, a notebook) for stock items. EZIIL handles both in one place:

Project-based ETO work and SKU-based MTS work side by side. Stock items are first-class objects with their own BOM, routing, standard cost, and inventory record. They live in the same system as your custom projects.
Capacity-aware scheduling slots MTS as filler. When the drag-and-drop capacity view shows a gap in welding next Wednesday, you can drop in an MTS work order. The scheduler does not have to translate between two systems.
Real-time inventory of MTS finished goods. Min-max alerts, location tracking, age reporting, all in the same dashboard you already check for project status.
Standard cost for MTS, project actuals for ETO. EZIIL supports both costing models on the same shop floor. Most custom-shop ERPs force one or the other.
Add the inventory and BOM modules only when you start MTS. A small custom shop on EZIIL Starter pays €120/$140 per month, adds the inventory and BOM modules when ready, and avoids paying for stock features they do not use yet. This is the strength of the modular pricing model.