One Quarter to Production
How we scope and deploy manufacturing data infrastructure in 90 days.
When we tell manufacturers we can have their data infrastructure live in 90 days, the usual response is skepticism. The last integration project took 18 months and didn't finish. How is this different?
The answer is scope discipline.
What we don't do in the first quarter
We don't try to connect every system. We don't build a data warehouse. We don't create a universal schema. All of those things may come later, but they are not the wedge.
The wedge is a single, high-value data join that produces a daily or weekly output someone in the business actually uses. Usually it's one of three things: a WIP reconciliation report, a yield variance dashboard, or a procurement exception queue.
The 90-day shape
Days 1–20 are read-only connector work. We map the source systems, identify the join keys, and build extraction pipelines that touch nothing in production.
Days 21–50 are transformation and validation. We build the logic, run it against historical data, and compare the output to what the business team already knows to be true.
Days 51–75 are the live run. We switch to real-time extraction and let the output sit beside the existing process. The business team uses both. We fix what's wrong.
Days 76–90 are handoff. We document the pipeline, train whoever owns it, and establish a support cadence.
Why it works
The constraint isn't technical. It's organizational. By scoping to a single output, we have one stakeholder, one definition of done, and one set of systems to touch. That's what makes 90 days possible.
The second and third quarters are where we expand. But only after the first one has proven to the organization that this kind of infrastructure can actually be delivered.