eSignature for manufacturing: supply terms and orders signed without the fax

Paper on the production line

A small manufacturer's paperwork follows its materials. Raw materials arrive under supply agreements and purchase orders; designs go out to toolmakers under NDAs; finished goods leave against customer orders; machines are hired in for peak months. Each document needs a signature from someone outside the business, and each one that waits can stop a line or delay a shipment.

Supply that runs on standing terms

For materials bought every month, the supplier agreement sets the standing terms once: specifications, price basis, delivery, inspection and returns, payment. The supplier commits to quality and lead times; you give a forecast without committing to it. After that, each order is a purchase order with quantities and dates, approved internally and accepted by the supplier's signature, and the PO number on every invoice makes three-way matching quick.

Designs and confidentiality

New products are shared with toolmakers, packaging suppliers and contract manufacturers long before launch. A mutual NDA protects both sides when information flows both ways; a one-way NDA when only you are sharing drawings.

Equipment and contractors

Extra capacity often means renting machinery: the equipment rental agreement records the condition at handover, the rental period, the deposit and who pays for damage. Maintenance contractors work to a work order the shift supervisor signs when the job is done.

Staff

Factory staff sign contracts, handbook acknowledgements for safety rules, and confidentiality agreements. The HR page covers those, and the employee handbook acknowledgment gives you a record that each person received the safety policies.

What Salsox is and is not

Salsox does not connect to an ERP, MRP or inventory system, and it does not generate orders from stock levels. It gives a small manufacturer a fast, inexpensive way to get supply terms, orders and agreements signed by people who are rarely at a desk, with an audit trail for each. Links can be shared to WhatsApp or SMS, which is often how suppliers and drivers are reached.

Deliveries and drivers

Proof of delivery is a signature too. Drivers and receiving clerks can confirm a delivery against the purchase order on a phone, and a rejected delivery can be recorded with the reason the same way. Because links can be shared by WhatsApp or SMS, they reach drivers and warehouse staff who never open email. Each confirmation carries the time and device in its audit trail, which settles most disputes about what arrived and when, long before anyone asks for photos.

Getting started

Save your purchase order and supplier agreement as your own templates with your company details and standard terms, and an order becomes a matter of entering quantities, prices and a date. Reminders follow up with suppliers who have not yet accepted an order, so a missing acceptance shows up days before the delivery date rather than on it.