5 Ways GoCast Helps Precast Manufacturers Cut Estimating Time | SoftLabs
James McDougall
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PRECAST · GOCAST + EPICOR KINETIC
5 Ways GoCast Helps Precast Manufacturers Cut Estimating Time
Estimating is where precast jobs are won or lost on margin. Here's how a purpose-built system changes the process.
IN THIS ARTICLE
1. Structure Entry · 2. Smart Planner · 3. APS · 4. Structure Tracker · 5. Integrated financials
Estimating is where precast jobs are won or lost on margin — get it wrong, and the cost shows up months later on the production floor. Here are five specific ways GoCast, paired with Epicor Kinetic, changes how that estimating work gets done.
1. Structure Entry removes manual re-keying
Mass uploading structures — with attributes like station, mark, location and casting method — automatically generates job orders in Epicor Kinetic. That's one less manual step between the estimate and the production floor, and one less chance for a transcription error.
2. Smart Planner shows the real impact of a change before you commit
A visual, drag-and-drop planner lets you test “what-if” scenarios — moving structures in or out of the schedule — before locking in a quote's delivery timeline. That means fewer promises made on a schedule that turns out not to hold.
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THE CHALLENGE Without visibility into mould availability and labour capacity, an estimate is a guess dressed up as a number — and the gap between the two shows up as lost margin later. |
3. APS factors in real production constraints, automatically
Advanced Planning & Scheduling accounts for labour, material and machine capacity as part of the plan — so an estimate reflects what your yard can actually deliver, not just what looks good on paper.
4. Structure Tracker keeps everyone working from the same numbers
A single source of truth for every element's status — cast, curing, or ready for dispatch — means estimating, production and delivery teams aren't relying on different versions of the same job.
5. Integrated financials close the loop
Estimating data flows straight into production and invoicing, so the numbers a job was quoted on are the same numbers it's tracked and billed against — no reconciliation required at the end.
The tools behind these five changes
| ✓ | Structure Entry — mass uploads with automated job orders, removing manual re-keying |
| ✓ | Smart Planner — visual, drag-and-drop scheduling for what-if planning |
| ✓ | Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) — factors in labour, material and machine capacity |
| ✓ | Structure Tracker — one shared view from casting through to dispatch |
| ✓ | Integrated financials — estimating data flows straight into production and invoicing |
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Authorised Epicor Partner delivering Kinetic + GoCast across ANZ |
35+ Years SoftLabs delivering ERP across ANZ, since 1991 |
Purpose-Built estimating and scheduling tools for precast |
Partner status and product details verified via SoftLabs and Epicor/Index Infotech materials. Actual time savings vary by operation and are best assessed in a scoping conversation.
Written by the SoftLabs Team
SoftLabs is an Authorised Epicor Partner and Australian-owned, women-led enterprise software company delivering ERP across Australia and New Zealand since 1991.
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