In small and medium manufacturing companies, it's common to rely heavily on key individuals to keep things running smoothly. These are the people who know how to get a quote done quickly, who remember the right settings for that tricky machine, or who just “know how things are done around here.” While this kind of knowledge is valuable, when it lives only in someone’s head, it becomes a liability more than an asset.
The problem is simple: when that person isn't around—whether they’re on vacation, out sick, or have left the company — things stall. It’s common to see cases like when a client has to wait days for a quote because the only person who could handle it isn’t available, or production slows down because the knowledge needed to operate a specific piece of equipment or handle a unique customer requirement wasn’t documented anywhere. It doesn't take long for a small delay to turn into missed deadlines, frustrated customers, or overworked staff trying to catch up.
This dependency doesn't only hurt the company. From the employee's side, it might feel like a form of job security to be the only one who knows how to do something. Some even take pride in being indispensable and don’t mind being called during their vacation to answer a few questions. But over time, this can backfire. Companies often decide to restructure or replace people who hold too much undocumented knowledge because it's too risky. Even worse, when a replacement is brought in, they often discover easier or more efficient ways to do the same job — especially when not constrained by "how it's always been done."
Training new employees is another area where undocumented processes shows its limits. In many small factories, there's no formal process or handbook — just someone showing the new hire how things work. If that someone is busy or unavailable, training becomes inconsistent or delayed. In teams where multiple roles overlap, it’s also hard for people to help each other when knowledge isn't shared. Instead of jumping in to help, team members have to be trained first, which adds friction and leads to unnecessary overtime or burnout.
Quoting is one of the most knowledge-intensive tasks where this issue shows up frequently. Many times, the person doing quotes has a mix of engineering knowledge, material familiarity, and historical pricing stuck in their head. This makes the quoting process highly dependent on that individual. And the worst part? It doesn't have to be that way. Most of this knowledge isn’t difficult to document—it’s just that it hasn’t been built into any system.
That’s why we believe systems are key to breaking this pattern. They don’t have to be complicated or bureaucratic. Even something as simple as documenting basic steps, formulas, or workflows can make a big difference. When the way to do a task is captured in a shared space — whether that’s on paper, a spreadsheet, or software — it becomes easier for others to learn and contribute.
A simple ERP system like Nengatu helps companies reduce the reliance on undocumented processes by embedding everyday operations directly into the platform. When quoting, for example, instead of relying on someone’s memory or personal spreadsheet, companies can define their own formulas and build them into the system. This allows other team members to step in more easily and keeps the process running, even when the main person isn’t available.
By building routines and standards into a system, companies can become more resilient without adding unnecessary overhead. Workflows become easier to follow, new employees can get up to speed faster, and knowledge stops living in just one person’s head. With the right tools in place, manufacturing teams can spend less time worrying about who knows what and more time focused on doing good work.