What's useful
The most useful manufacturing records tie what happened on the line to what came out of it:
- Production records: batch and job records, MES or ERP production data, cycle times and scrap.
- Maintenance histories: work orders from your CMMS, breakdowns, root causes and the fixes made.
- Quality and inspection records: inspection results, SPC data, non-conformance reports and corrective actions.
- Process documents: work instructions, routings and changeover procedures.
- Machine data: sensor and PLC logs, where you've kept them.
A breakdown linked to its work order, the parts used and the downtime it caused is worth far more than any one of those on its own.
What qualifies
The manufacturing listing is for companies of roughly 20 to 2,000 employees with several years of records still in their systems. Paper-only archives are harder to use; anything in a database, spreadsheet or document system is a good start.
What to check first
- Customers' designs. If you make parts to customers' drawings and specifications, those designs usually belong to the customer, and your supply contracts may treat them as confidential. Your own production and maintenance data is usually clearer.
- Export controls. Defence, aerospace and some dual-use work can be covered by UK export controls, which apply to technical data as well as goods. US-origin technology may also bring US rules. Leave controlled work out unless your export compliance lead clears it.
- Customer audits and quality agreements. Quality agreements with automotive, aerospace or medical customers often restrict sharing quality data.
- Personal data. Operator names, clock numbers and shift records are personal data and need removing or protecting.
What it's worth
Value depends mainly on volume, how many years you hold and how well records link together. Mercor lists potential company earnings of $100kâ$1.5M for manufacturing and industrial companies, depending on what's in scope. That is Mercor's own figure, not a promise or guarantee from us.
Our systems are old. Does that matter?
Not much. Older ERP and maintenance systems usually export to CSV or a database dump, and long histories are a strength.
Can we exclude particular customers' work?
Yes. It's normal to leave out work for customers with strict confidentiality terms or controlled programmes.