Who it is for, and how long it takes
| Who it is for | How long | What you need | What you end with |
|---|
| Production heads, operations managers and founders in companies that make what they sell. | Two weeks to set up, then a short check each morning with sales and production. | The current production plan, the sales team's open commitments, and one person who owns the plan. | A plan that includes every promised date, clashes raised before they reach the line, and a short rule for what sales may promise. |
Key takeaways
- A promise made in chat is a production order that nobody has entered yet.
- Check promises against capacity every day. Once a clash exists, a weekly check is too slow.
- Every clash gets one owner and a decision date, so it does not sit between sales and production.
In most manufacturing companies, sales and production keep separate lists. Sales promises dates in email and chat, and production plans from the orders it has been told about. The gap shows up weeks later as a late shipment. This playbook closes that gap with a daily habit. It works on a whiteboard as well as in software.
Worked example. The examples use Vaultex, a safety-footwear manufacturer in Greater Noida and GeniOS's first design partner. The buyers, orders and dates are for illustration only.
PrepBefore you start
Agree these with sales and production before the first morning.
- One plan owner with the authority to commit capacity.
- The current production plan in one place everyone can see, with a column or colour for pencil entries.
- A list of open customer commitments from sales, with dates and quantities.
- Lead times for the main raw materials, such as leather, PU soles and steel toe caps.
- The tests each product must pass before dispatch, and how long each takes.
- A fixed 15-minute slot each morning for the plan owner and one person from sales.
- Agreement that sales requests slots and only the plan owner confirms them.
StepsThe steps
2 weeks · 7 steps
- Name one owner for the plan
One person decides what goes on which line and when. Sales may request a slot, but only the owner commits capacity. At Vaultex that is Anushka in production.
- Collect every promised date each morning
Gather every date given to a customer since yesterday, from email, chat, calls and meetings. A date said casually still counts. With GeniOS reading those sources, a promise like Harsh's chat message to Bata reaches Anushka as intelligence, with the date and the quantity.
- Add each promise to the plan in pencil
Put each promise on the plan in a separate column or colour until it is confirmed. A pencil entry is visible to everyone, so nobody can say they did not know. Confirm it when the order is in writing.
- Check capacity, materials and tests
For each new entry, check the line, the raw material and any test that must pass first. Safety shoes need leather, PU soles and steel toe caps on hand, and IS 15298 testing before dispatch. Line 2 is booked for the Reebok samples due 15 November, so the Bata order has no slot yet.
- Raise each clash with one owner and a date
When a promise does not fit, write it up as one situation: what clashes, why it matters, who decides and by when. Send it to the person who can decide. Anushka gets the Line 2 clash with a decision date before Bata's Friday review.
- Close the loop with sales the same day
Tell sales the outcome: confirmed, moved or needs a call with the buyer. If the date moves, sales tells the buyer before the buyer chases. A Reply Drafter can draft that note, and a person approves it before it goes.
- Write the promise rule
After two weeks, look at which promises clashed and why. Write one short rule for sales, such as "check Line 2 before promising any order over 5,000 pairs inside four weeks". Put it where sales and GeniOS can both read it.
TemplateCopy this clash note and promise rule
Write one note per clash, so every decision has one owner and one date.
Clash: [customer promise] conflicts with [booked order, material or test].
Why it matters: [what the customer was told, the order value and what slips if nothing changes].
Options: 1. [move, split or add a shift]. 2. [offer the customer a new date]. 3. [buy or bring forward material].
Decides: [one name]. By: [date and time].
Customer told by: [date], through [name].
Promise rule: "Before promising [order type] inside [number] weeks, check [line, material or test] with [plan owner]."
ExampleWorked example: Bata, Reebok and Line 2
How one promise in chat might reach the plan at Vaultex.
Monday morning. Harsh's chat message tells Bata that Vaultex can deliver 12,000 pairs of S3 steel-toe shoes within six weeks. With GeniOS reading chat, the promise reaches Anushka as intelligence with the date and the quantity. She adds it to the plan in pencil.
The check. Line 2 is booked for the Reebok samples due 15 November. Line 1 has room after its current order, but steel toe-cap stock covers only part of the run, and the supplier has just raised prices by 8%. Every pair also needs IS 15298 testing before dispatch.
The clash note. Anushka writes one note: the Bata promise clashes with Line 2 and with toe-cap stock. The options are a split run across both lines after the Reebok samples, or a later date. She will decide by Wednesday, ahead of Bata's Friday 11:00 vendor review. Purchasing gets its own item to confirm toe-cap supply at the new price.
Wednesday. Anushka confirms the split run: half in four weeks, the rest two weeks later. Harsh tells Bata before the review, in a note a Reply Drafter prepared and he approved. The pencil entry is confirmed once Bata's order arrives in writing.
Two weeks later. The team writes its first promise rule: check Line 2 before promising any order over 5,000 pairs inside four weeks.
MistakesCommon mistakes
Five habits that let a promise reach the line as a surprise.
- Collecting promises weekly. A clash found on Friday has often reached the line already. Collect every morning.
- Letting sales confirm slots. Two people committing capacity means double bookings. Sales requests and the plan owner confirms.
- Checking the line and forgetting materials and tests. A free line with no toe caps in stock is still a clash.
- Raising a clash with no owner. "Production and sales to discuss" can wait a week. Name one person and a date.
- Telling the buyer late. A moved date heard early is a planning detail. Heard late, it is a broken promise.
What good looks like after
- Every promised date is on the plan within a day, confirmed or in pencil.
- Clashes are raised days before they reach the line, each with one owner and a decision date.
- Buyers hear about a moved date from you, before they ask.
- Sales checks the rule before promising large or rushed orders.
- The weekly production meeting starts from open clashes, because the plan is already up to date.
If promises still arrive late, look for the channel nobody collects from. It is often one salesperson's personal chat.
How to know it worked
Check these at the end of each week for the first month. The step before this one is a quote sent on time, and the same daily habit prepares you for a brand audit. Keep buyer-facing notes inside your approval rules. For the wider picture, see AI for business operations and cross-functional execution visibility.
| What to measure | How to check it | A good sign |
|---|
| Promises on the plan within a day | Compare the morning list with the plan | Nearly all of them |
| Clashes found early | Count clashes raised a week or more before the start date | Most of them |
| Late shipments caused by an unknown promise | Check dispatch records against the plan | Falls to none |
| Buyers told about a moved date before they asked | Read the thread for each moved date | Every time |
| Promises that broke the rule | Count them at the morning check | Few, and falling |