FabKanban

Visual drag-and-drop kanban for real-time custom order inventory collaboration.

Score: 7.6/10IndiaMedium BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Small manufacturing businesses struggle with scalable inventory tracking for custom orders, causing frequent stockouts and wasteful overproduction.

Solution

FabKanban turns inventory into an interactive kanban board where teams drag parts from 'stock' to 'in use' for custom orders, preventing double-booking and stockouts. Shared real-time views ensure shop floor and office stay synced. Custom order templates auto-populate part needs.

Target Audience

Small manufacturing businesses managing custom orders

Differentiator

Drag-drop kanban interface optimized for shop floor tablets, zero learning curve vs complex ERPs.

Brand Voice

friendly

Features

Kanban Dashboard

must-have20h

Visual board for inventory status (stock, in-use, low).

Drag-Drop Assignment

must-have15h

Assign parts to orders by dragging cards.

Real-Time Sync

must-have12h

Multi-user live updates across devices.

Order Templates

must-have10h

Pre-build common custom order part lists.

Low Stock Warnings

must-have8h

Color-coded alerts on board.

Part Search/Filter

must-have8h

Quick find parts by SKU or name.

Team Invites

nice-to-have10h

Add shop workers to shared boards.

Barcode Scanner

nice-to-have15h

Mobile scan to update stock.

Analytics Overview

future12h

Weekly usage reports.

Total Build Time: 110 hours

Database Schema

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
roletextYes

boards

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
nametextNo

Relationships:

  • user_id references users(id)

parts

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
board_iduuidNo
skutextNo
statustextNo
quantityintNo

Relationships:

  • board_id references boards(id)

orders

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
board_iduuidNo
parts_assignedtextYes

Relationships:

  • board_id references boards(id)

API Endpoints

POST
/api/boards

Create new kanban board

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/parts

Add/update part card

🔒 Auth Required
PUT
/api/assign

Drag-drop assignment

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/board/:id

Realtime board data

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/templates

Fetch order templates

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/invites

Invite team member

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/analytics

Weekly reports

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + Tailwind + React DnD
Backend
Next.js API + Supabase realtime
Database
Supabase Postgres
Auth
Supabase Auth
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
Supabase RealtimeZustand

Build Timeline

Week 1: Auth and board setup

25h
  • Auth
  • Basic kanban UI
  • DB

Week 2: Core kanban interactions

35h
  • Drag-drop
  • Realtime sync
  • Parts CRUD

Week 3: Orders and alerts

30h
  • Templates
  • Warnings
  • Invites

Week 4: Polish and payments

25h
  • Mobile opt
  • Stripe
  • Testing

Week 5: Nice-to-haves

15h
  • Barcode MVP
  • Flows

Week 6: Launch prep

10h
  • Landing
  • SEO
Total Timeline: 6 weeks • 140 hours

Pricing Tiers

Free

$0/mo

No realtime

  • 1 board
  • 5 parts
  • Solo use

Pro

$20/mo
  • Unlimited boards/parts
  • Realtime
  • Teams up to 5

Enterprise

$99/mo
  • All Pro
  • Unlimited teams
  • Custom templates
  • Support

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 11204%$96$1,152
Month 69007%$1,260$15,120

Unit Economics

$28
CAC
$840
LTV
3.5%
Churn
93%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 30.0xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Drag Your Inventory into the Future

FabKanban's visual boards keep custom orders stocked without spreadsheets or fights.

Feature Highlights

Live team collaboration
Drag-drop simple
Shop floor ready
Auto low-stock flags
Custom templates

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'Team loves the board!' - WeldCo"
"'No more stock mixups.' - ProtoFab"

First Three Customers

Share demo video in Facebook groups for small fabricators, offer free Pro for 3 months to first referrers. Cold email shops from Google Maps 'metal fabrication near me'. Run $50 FB ad targeting 'custom manufacturing owner'.

Launch Channels

Product Huntr/kanbanr/manufacturingTwitter #SaaSHacker News

SEO Keywords

kanban inventory for manufacturingvisual custom order trackingreal-time shop floor inventorydrag drop stock management

Competitive Analysis

Trello (custom use)

trello.com
$5/user
Strength

Familiar UI

Weakness

No inventory logic or quantities

Our Advantage

Built-in stock tracking + warnings

$4k+ one-time
Strength

Robust

Weakness

Desktop heavy, expensive

Our Advantage

Web/mobile kanban at fraction cost

🏰 Moat Strategy

Network effects from team-shared boards locking in users.

⏰ Why Now?

Remote/hybrid shop management rising, need for visual tools over spreadsheets.

Risks & Mitigation

technicallow severity

Realtime sync lag

Mitigation

Supabase realtime + optimistic updates

marketmedium severity

Shops prefer physical boards

Mitigation

Tablet demos at trade shows

Validation Roadmap

pre-build5 days

Mockup tests with 5 shops

Success: 90% prefer over Excel

mvp10 days

Closed beta 5 teams

Success: Daily active use

Pivot Options

  • General kanban for makers
  • Production workflow tool
  • Ecom fulfillment board

Quick Stats

Build Time
140h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$1,200
Market Size
$450.0M
Features
9
Database Tables
4
API Endpoints
7