Every shop owner knows the feeling.
You’ve got work coming in, machines humming, and people moving – but you’re still behind. Something always seems to get in the way of finishing on time.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And you’re not doing anything wrong.
You just might be missing a core operational concept: capacity planning .
What Is Capacity Planning, Really?
Capacity planning is the process of making sure your resources – machines, people, time—can meet the demand of your production schedule. It’s not about over-optimizing or micro-managing. It’s about seeing the big picture before things go wrong.
It helps you answer questions like:
Bottlenecks: The Hidden Profit Killer
If you’ve read The Goal by Eli Goldratt, you know the heart of the Theory of Constraints: your system is only as fast as its slowest part.
In a custom shop, that “slowest part” might be:
When your bottleneck gets overloaded, your entire workflow backs up. Orders get delayed. Teams get frustrated. Customers get anxious. It’s not about working harder – it’s about working smarter .
How to Start Capacity Planning in a Custom Shop
New Tool: Machine Scheduling in shopVOX PRO
To make all this easier, we’ve released a new Machine Scheduling tool inside shopVOX PRO.
It helps you:
No more guessing. No more overbooking. Just clear, confident scheduling.
Is This Just for Big Shops?
Not at all.
Even if you only have two presses or a couple of printers, knowing how full they are – and where the bottlenecks form – can help you:
Capacity Planning = Competitive Advantage
You don’t need to be a Six Sigma expert. You just need visibility, clarity, and a system that helps you stay ahead of problems.
If you’re tired of being reactive, and ready to take control of your production flow – capacity planning is your next step.
Book a demo and see how Machine Scheduling in shopVOX PRO makes it possible.