Sneha Kumari’s company is helping modular manufacturers ease into this technology without disrupting production.
Sneha Kumari is Co-Founder of Merlin (merlinai.co), an AI-driven ERP system for construction with headquarters in Aliso Viejo, California. The company is heavily focused on serving modular manufacturers.
Kumari says that customers need not go all in with AI at first. She suggests that they start by using it to solve one or two problems, such as improving the company’s CRM efforts or using the current production backlog to predict future cash flow. Once they have confidence in the technology, they can gradually expand its use to other parts of the business. The data the AI gathers will help it learn the factory’s operation, as well as management’s way of doing business. That will put it in a stronger position to tackle more tasks.
We asked Kumari for her advice on how factories can best get started with this technology.
Q: What types of offsite manufacturers are best positioned to benefit from AI today?
A: Modular manufacturers doing roughly $5 to $7 million, or more, in annual revenue are the best fit. At that scale, production complexity, scheduling pressure and data volume start to exceed what spreadsheets can reliably handle. Excel may still work below that level, but it quickly becomes a bottleneck as volume increases.
Q: Are modular factories in a better position to adopt AI than site builders?
A: Yes, because modular manufacturing is already systems driven. Factories think in terms of production flow, sequencing, backlogs, labor planning and shipment timing. AI fits naturally into that mindset because it strengthens existing systems rather than replacing them.
Q: What concerns do manufacturers typically have when first considering an AI implementation?
A: The biggest concern factory leaders have is that a new AI tool will temporarily disrupt their production flow and/or require major worker retraining. That’s why, when we work with modular manufacturers, we emphasize starting small and focusing on one operational pain point instead of a full-scale rollout.
Q: Where do most customers focus their AI for initial efforts?
A: It usually begins with visibility — understanding backlog, production schedules and future workload. For example, manufacturers want to know what orders are coming, which jobs are becoming urgent and how changes affect labor and cash flow.
The user can work with the AI rather than simply turning tasks over to it. For instance, if you task it with handling your CRM program, it can analyze potential leads and craft responses for you to review and approve before they’re sent out. Over time, it will learn your style of responding and may get to the point where you trust it to handle these conversations without the need for approval.
Q: How does AI interact with existing factory systems?
A: AI can pull data from wherever that data lives — ERP systems like Moducore or Offsight, scheduling tools such as Procore or Builder trend, or even spreadsheets. We clean and structure that data so it can be used without forcing the factory to abandon its current systems.
Q: How does AI improve scheduling and sequencing?
A: AI helps manufacturers evaluate scenarios that are difficult to model manually. These include questions like: Which modules should be sequenced just before shipment? How do labor demands change week to week? Or, how will a hot order impact the overall factory schedule? AI can answer these quickly, eliminating the need to manually rework spreadsheets.
Q: How do factory teams interact with the system day to day?
A: Teams can ask direct operational questions and receive clear answers. Over time, such questions help the system learn what is important to the factory.
Q: What is the real ROI for modular manufacturers?
A: The returns include fewer blind spots, better sequencing decisions, less manual rework and more predictable cash flow. Just as important, leadership gains time and clarity to focus on throughput, quality and growth.
Q: What’s the long-term vision once manufacturers see early wins?
A: Once one area is working well, manufacturers can expand into deeper production planning, labor optimization and forecasting. But the foundation is always the same: start small, prove value and build from there.
