What-If Scenario Secures Largest Customer Order

The owner of Turner Suspension Bicycles came back from a trade show in Japan with the biggest order in company history. He had one question for his production manager: When can we deliver?

In the past, that question would have taken days to answer — if it could be answered confidently at all. But Mike Votaw, Production Manager, had recently implemented Resource Manager for Excel. He entered the demand, scheduled it, and printed a Gantt chart showing exactly when they could deliver and what the manufacturing costs would be. In minutes.

The owner was ecstatic. The customer got their answer. Turner won the order.

Read the full Turner Bicycles success story.

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The Challenge: Too Small for Big Systems, Too Complex for Manual

Turner Suspension Bicycles of Murrieta, California manufactures top-of-the-line, world-class mountain bikes. From the first BURNER All Terrain Bike in 1992, Turner has built refined machines using only the best materials and the highest quality manufacturing.

Their success created a problem: demand outpaced their ability to plan production.

Mike Votaw described the situation: "While our production numbers are small compared to many companies, we still suffer from many of the production scheduling pitfalls of much larger operations. Demand for our product has not been a problem. Trying to plan and schedule all the customer orders in an efficient way is a huge challenge. Just trying to get a basic handle on Shop Capacity, Material Lead-times, Customer Due Dates is too much for a manual scheduling board and a fist-full of post-it notes."

Too Small for Enterprise Software

Turner was using QuickBooks Pro for accounting. Enterprise scheduling systems were too costly, too complex, and would require replacing the progress they had made with their existing tools. They needed something affordable that would complement — not replace — their current setup.

The Discovery

Under the advice of a business consultant, Mike downloaded a free trial of Resource Manager for Excel and evaluated it using Turner's own operational data. The Excel-based approach was immediately appealing: "I was already familiar with Excel — so the idea of adding a planning, scheduling, and tracking component to QuickBooks was very appealing, especially since it could be done so affordably."

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The Solution: Scheduling Confidence in Minutes

After a successful trial, Mike implemented the system in just a few days — entering shop constraints, machines, laborers, shop calendar, materials, vendors, customers, and Bills-of-Resources.

The Order That Changed Everything

Mike reports: "After only having the program a few weeks, the owner came back from a trade show in Japan with the biggest order in our history. When he asked me when we could deliver — I simply entered in the demand, scheduled it, and printed out a Gantt Chart schedule showing exactly when we could deliver the product and what our manufacturing costs would be."

This is what-if scenario analysis in action. The ability to:

1. Enter a hypothetical order into the existing schedule
2. See the impact on capacity, resources, and existing commitments
3. Generate a realistic delivery date backed by data
4. Provide cost information for accurate quoting
5. Respond to the customer with confidence

All within minutes. Without scheduling software, this analysis would have taken days of manual calculation — by which time the customer might have placed the order with a competitor.

Beyond Just Winning Orders

The value extended far beyond that single order. Mike continued: "Resource Manager for Excel is helping us achieve our goals of increased sales of more profitable products — custom and special order — without increasing our overhead. Using the various reports and what-if capabilities, I can look at options of adding more direct labor and purchasing more equipment or outsourcing."

The software became Turner's complete production management system, handling supply chain management, job tracking, and inventory control alongside scheduling. While originally brought in to complement QuickBooks, it turned out to be easier to do more in Resource Manager than to integrate daily between the two products.

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Why What-If Scenarios Win Business

The Turner Bicycles story illustrates a truth that many manufacturers overlook: scheduling software does not just save money — it wins business.

Speed of Response Is Competitive Advantage

When a customer asks "when can you deliver?" the manufacturer who answers first — and accurately — usually wins the order. Manual scheduling cannot provide same-day answers to complex delivery questions. Scheduling software can.

Confidence Closes Deals

Customers can tell the difference between "we think we can deliver by..." and "our schedule shows we can deliver on [date] at [cost]." The second response, backed by a Gantt chart and capacity data, inspires the confidence that closes deals.

The Orders You Never Know You Lost

For every order like Turner's Japan deal — where the scheduling software clearly won the business — there are countless orders lost because the manufacturer could not answer the delivery question quickly or confidently. These invisible losses are the biggest cost of not having production scheduling software.

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Lessons for Small Manufacturers

Try before you buy. Mike evaluated Resource Manager for Excel with Turner's own data during a free trial. This is the right approach — see how the software works with your actual production before committing.

Start complementing, not replacing. Turner kept QuickBooks for invoicing and added Resource Manager for everything production-related. You do not need to rip and replace your existing tools.

Expect to find more uses than planned. Turner originally wanted scheduling and ended up using the system for supply chain management, inventory control, and make-vs-buy analysis. Good scheduling software grows with your needs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How did Turner Bicycles win their largest order using scheduling software?

When the owner returned from a trade show in Japan with the biggest order in company history, the production manager used Resource Manager for Excel to enter the demand, schedule it, and print a Gantt chart showing exactly when they could deliver and at what cost — all within minutes.

What is what-if scenario analysis in production scheduling?

What-if scenario analysis lets you simulate adding a new order to your existing schedule to see when you can deliver, which resources need overtime, and how the new order affects existing commitments — all before committing to the order.

Can small manufacturers benefit from production scheduling software?

Yes. Turner Suspension Bicycles had small production numbers compared to large manufacturers but suffered the same scheduling challenges. Resource Manager for Excel gave them capacity visibility, delivery date confidence, and supply chain management that previously required much larger investments.

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Win Your Next Big Order

The next time a customer asks "when can you deliver?" will you have the answer in minutes — or will you need days? Resource Manager for Excel and Resource Manager DB give you the what-if analysis to answer with confidence.

Ready to schedule with confidence? Request a free demo and see what-if analysis in action with your data.

Read the full Turner Bicycles success story and explore all scheduling success stories.