Updated October 2026
Manufacturers and job shops: work orders and QC records
Buyers are asking for exactly what a job shop keeps. Nyne's ad, "Turn Old Manufacturing Data Into Six-Figure Revenue", names work orders, CAD files and inspection records. Cognor Labs runs a manufacturer version naming ERP exports, work orders and QC reports. Mercor lists work orders, QA logs and spec sheets.1,2,3
What they want
The shop records buyers name
Work orders and travelers: what was made, on which machine, by whom, with what problems. Inspection and QC records: what failed, why, and what was done. ERP exports: orders, routings, purchasing. CAD files and drawings, which Ventra also puts among records in especially high demand. Polyshares lists ERP among the data it takes.1,2,4,5
The email and notes around them matter too: the back-and-forth with a customer about a tolerance, the supplier thread about a late casting. That is the workflow micro1 describes when it says it wants work employees execute repeatedly.6
Who buys
Which buyers list manufacturing
Mercor names manufacturing among its industries, and Polyshares does too. micro1's published industry list does not include manufacturing, though its 30+ employee floor applies to any company. Nyne's floor is 20+ US W-2 staff and 3+ years; Cognor Labs, a broker, asks for 20+ employees and 3+ years.7,8,9,10,11,2
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| Industries Mercor Data names | Legal; healthcare; finance and insurance; professional services; manufacturing; retail and e-commerce; real estate; logistics and supply chain |
| Industries Polyshares names | Software, logistics, manufacturing, professional services, healthcare administration, financial services, retail, hospitality, construction and more |
| Manufacturing data Mercor names | Work orders, QA logs, spec sheets |
| Nyne manufacturing ad | "Turn Old Manufacturing Data Into Six-Figure Revenue": work orders, CAD files and inspection records |
Whose drawings
The customer-drawing problem
A job shop's CAD folder is often full of customers' parts. Those drawings may be under the customer's NDA or purchase terms. Nyne's engineering ad leans into the worry: "Your CAD files, paid for. Clients protected." Polyshares excludes data held on behalf of clients. Expect customer drawings to be the first thing a careful buyer asks about, and the first exclusion you consider.12,13
Your own process knowledge is different: setup sheets, inspection plans and work instructions you wrote. Those are closer to SOPs, which micro1 and Supersoniq both name. Separate the two before you inventory anything.14,15
What it might be worth
What a manufacturer might expect
No buyer publishes a manufacturing price. Nyne's ad says six figures, its own claim, and Nyne says its deals are $100K or more. Buyers price on headcount, years, data volume and tools, as Sunset describes. A shop with ten years in one ERP and a clean QC history is a stronger seller than one that changed systems last year.1,16,17
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
We do not answer legal questions. Ask the licensing company: their team reviews this with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Legal questions go to the licensing company
We do not answer legal questions. Ask the licensing company before you sign: their team reviews these with you.
Questions for this kind of business
- Do our customers' purchase terms give them rights in drawings and inspection data we hold?
- Do customer, vendor or platform contracts, NDAs or API terms restrict this?
- Could the data include privileged material or trade secrets?
Questions for any buyer
- Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
- Can you sublicense the data, and to whom?
- Which AI labs will receive it, and will you tell us?
- How long do you keep it, and how is it deleted?
- What is your liability cap, and who indemnifies whom?
- Will the contract ban re-identification of people in the data?
- Who removes personal data, by what method, and do we approve it first?