Is a manufacturing ERP right for your company?

Is a manufacturing ERP right for your company

?

When a company expands, it often outgrows its IT systems. The processes that worked before suddenly become unmanageable, errors start to occur and the quality of the business starts to suffer. One solution is to integrate enterprise resource planning (ERP) software into the business, a single software solution designed for streamlining data management and manufacturing processes.

Whether it's discreet or process manufacturing, for the food, distribution or industrial verticals and anything and everything in between, an ERP solution is flexible and customisable enough to raise efficiency while lowering costs. ERP software will also grow with your business, effectively integrating new sites and data sources.

Any business considering an ERP solution should consider the following; the cost. First and foremost, an ERP system can be costly. Like any large scale change to a company's IT systems, ERP takes a good deal of time, effort and expertise. Whilst many non-integrated IT systems can be installed by a company's own technical team, ERP software generally requires installation from ERP specialists. Costs are also incurred from down time created whilst training employees how to use the new system to its full potential.

But do the costs outweigh the benefits? ERP software is specifically designed to streamline your administrative and data management processes. When using multiple software systems to control various data sources, resources are wasted at every level. Three separate systems would require three separate data entries, whereas ERP requires one. Collating data into a report from various systems also requires a lot more time, whereas ERP can create full reports from a single source.

The integration of data across the whole business means that various departments work in sync. Multiple systems can create silos, and disconnect between departments, with delays in reporting and sharing of data between one another, those delays can then be directly related to costs in many industries such as food industries where stocks may spoil. An ERP system means real time updates to stock inventory, ordering, sales, manufacture and distribution, allowing for smoother and more efficient organisation of all departments.

Scheduling and planning is simplified. By tracking products in and out of the business, a distribution ERP is updated in real time, allowing you to keep on top of inventory. Over- or under-stocking should therefore be minimised, and materials with short shelf lives can be properly organised and implemented to reduce waste. The tractability can work both ways too, by tracking all products out, it can become easier to determine sources in case of a recall and help mitigate costs typically associated with recalls by ensuring affected products are removed quickly and efficiently.

ERP software also improves customer service across the board. With deeper understanding of the location of the product within the supply chain or materials picked and packed and ready to ship, both the business and the customer can know the status of the order at the touch of a button. Returns and complaints can also be tracked and solved with better response times.

The benefits of integrating an ERP system are many and the disadvantages few, if you're considering an ERP for your business, it would be valuable to consider the above when deciding if ERP is right for you.

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