How to Manage Your People and Production All in One Place with SMS for Manufacturing

Most people have their phones on them at all times—and that’s not just an educated guess. Back in 2015, a Pew Research Center survey found that 9 in 10 Americans carry their phones with them frequently, and the majority of smartphone owners “never” (35%) or “rarely” (47 percent) turn their phones off. In the decade that’s passed since that study, there’s no question that these percentages have steadily increased.

Companies like yours can leverage this tendency—not just to better connect with your audience (be they team members, prospects, or production partners) but also to enhance your business operations. Manufacturing is an industry with a lot of moving parts—no pun intended—and it demands diverse and dynamic communication channels to keep things running smoothly. 

Below, we look into how implementing SMS for manufacturing firms helps boost productivity and performance through streamlined internal and external business communication. 

SMS for Manufacturing: Use Cases and Applications

Plenty of manufacturing employees already use their personal phones for business tasks, many of which can be streamlined through an SMS platform. Some common examples of use cases for business texting across the manufacturing sector include:

• Delivering instant alerts
• Scheduling and coordinating teams
• Monitoring inventory and maintenance
• Tracking deliveries and shipments
• Connecting with suppliers and operators
• Sharing media and files
• Placing and managing orders

Benefits of SMS for Manufacturing Firms

If you feel like your firm is constantly dealing with missed deadlines, increased costs, and unhappy customers, your problem may lie in your approach to team communication. It may sound simple, but the right business communication solution doesn’t just make connecting more efficient—it also makes your business more productive.

Implementing an SMS platform for your manufacturing firm enables you to:

Better engage employees.

Business texting in manufacturing is particularly helpful for scheduling and coordinating various teams and projects simultaneously. It’s a quick and effective way to communicate shift changes, location changes, or other important project information that’s subject to change. 

Not only does SMS allow managers to swiftly make and communicate modifications to plans, but it also helps team members collaborate more easily with one another. Employee text messaging software is both easy to use (especially because the majority of users already text) and quick to implement.

Communicate efficiently across teams.

Unexpected changes are inevitable in every role and every industry; the key is being prepared with the tools and processes to accommodate these shifts in the most efficient way possible. 

Disruptions occur in the manufacturing sector all of the time, so leaders need an accessible and reliable way to get in touch with workers and other stakeholders in order to communicate last-minute or time-sensitive changes. Through mass texting, leaders can instantly notify employees about safety concerns, weather updates, and other urgent company announcements.

Streamline the supply chain.

In addition to using SMS for internal communication between teams, manufacturers can also leverage text messaging to communicate externally with other firms in the supply chain. 

Manufacturing firms can streamline supply chain management with SMS because it enables them to communicate directly with other key operators and send personalized updates regarding project status (e.g., shipping, tracking, and delivery). In turn, the level of support and transparency offered by SMS software improves business relationships.

Staff faster.

A powerful text recruiting platform can also help manufacturers improve placement rates when staffing projects. Boost your ability to staff warehouses, delivery drivers, and more using SMS to communicate with candidates and fill more job requisitions. By reaching workers where they already are (on their phones), you can both grow your candidate pool and increase response rates. 

Advanced features, such as multimedia messages, optimize onboarding, allowing managers to effortlessly send paperwork, schedule training sessions, and keep new hires and employees engaged. In an industry where demand for diverse talent is high, SMS for manufacturing firms can make finding the right candidate more rewarding and less demanding.

Getting Started with SMS for Manufacturers

SMS offers manufacturing firms a quick and customizable way to reach stakeholders throughout the supply chain, from the vendor to the end customer. Business texting capabilities improve collaboration between teams, enable communication of crucial information, and keep production lines flowing smoothly. Its state-of-the-art features make SMS ideal for manufacturers, providing the flexibility necessary to maintain sustainable business practices in a fast-paced industry.

For a more detailed look at the latest SMS engagement trends for 2025, join the waitlist for the SMS Engagement Report 2025: Data-Driven Insights to Take on Business Texting.