7 Ways Manufacturing ERP Solutions Supports Industries

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, particularly manufacturing ERP solutions, help businesses manage day-to-day operational activities; something especially useful to manufacturing companies.

From valuing $91 billion in 2018 to surpassing $93 billion this year and $97 billion in 2023 (according to Apps Run The World), it is obvious that the adoption of ERP systems is on the rise- and for good reason.

To stay ahead of the competition in the manufacturing industry, it is essential to be capable of handling customer demands and providing a consistently good customer experience. For that, you require a sophisticated manufacturing ERP solution, that will keep tabs on all your manufacturing processes and workflows. Some rapidly advancing manufacturing ERP solutions and technologies that are helping manufacturers cater to the increasing customer expectations are:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) - used in personal virtual assistants and applications such as Siri or Alexa, with huge business potential.
• Blockchain technology - enabling secure sharing of digital information with intended recipients.
• Cloud - allowing data storage over the internet and making networking and analytics a lot more flexible and fast. 
• Internet of Things (IoT) - transforming routine use objects into sensors.
   

Businesses across the globe are being turned upside-down by a global pandemic. Top manufacturing ERP solutions are helping modern manufacturers manage the crisis and adapt to the new challenges now inherent in moving goods and products. Manufacturing ERP solutions are proving to be essential to the modern manufacturer in 7 keyways

A very important aspect of a manufacturing ERP solution is that it centralizes important information like:

• Accounting
• Employee scheduling 
• Factory output
• Quality
• Sales Data

This means that companies can easily access the supply and demand information that they need to make a plan for their own business. As the pandemic is revealing the flaws in just-in-time inventory systems, it is more important than ever for the businesses served by manufacturers to know what is happening on the supply side of things with manufacturing ERP solutions. The right manufacturing ERP solution allows manufacturers to give consumers the service they expect by properly preparing for demand by staying connected to suppliers. 

While most manufacturers still need to have workers on site to oversee the equipment, front-office employees who work in administration or customer service can perform their jobs remotely and often need to do so as many businesses switch to remote working manufacturing ERP solutions. These employees need access to production data and customer/supplier communications in order to do their jobs.

A manufacturing ERP solution solves this issue with ease as it provides all the real-time data these employees need, making it possible for more people to work from home and reducing health risks onsite. 

Predicting demand has never been harder than during the economic crisis that the pandemic fostered. Fortunately for those using a manufacturing ERP solution, these systems analyze the current sales figures and, using that data, predict the pattern of future sales with a manufacturing ERP solution.

This demand forecasting makes it incredibly easy to adjust factory output to match the demand which means that fewer supplies go to waste and ensures that only the necessary amount of workers are onsite when using a manufacturing ERP solution.

With the demand forecasting detailed above, there can be a lot of shifts in the number of workers needed onsite, especially now. Without the help of leading manufacturing ERP solutions, rescheduling any significant number of employees could take several weeks to do manually which is simply not an option because of the delays that would cause. With the help of a manufacturing ERP solution, however, rescheduling is nearly instantaneous. It allows businesses to schedule the exact amount of personnel needed. 

When scheduling, the following are also taken into account by manufacturing ERP solutions:

• Raw materials in stock
• Machine time
• Labor hours
• Optimal output to match market demand

A manufacturing ERP solution is increasingly helpful during this pandemic because it protects the health of employees and reduces strain on administrative resources. 

Disrupted supply chains don’t just affect retailers; manufacturing companies need raw supplies in order to continue production. With manufacturing ERP solutions, companies can keep track of the raw materials they have in stock which allows them to plan out their production processes and distribute the resources properly. A manufacturing ERP solution helps businesses make sure they only have the necessary amount of personnel on site, helping them to optimize their output and keep up with demand. 

One concern with administrators working from home is that the quality of products could deteriorate if left unchecked. Fortunately for those with manufacturing ERP solutions, administrators and other remote-working personnel can access quality checkpoints from anywhere. A manufacturing ERP solution ensures that customers receive the same grade of goods that they are used to and informs the company if the reduced number of workers on site are still able to keep up with quotas without sacrificing quality when using manufacturing ERP solutions. 

This pandemic has highlighted flaws with just-in-time inventory systems, and supply chains struggled to keep up with the sudden demand for some items and reduced demand for others; manufacturing ERP solutions offer answers to these issues. Inventory visibility is one part of a manufacturing ERP solution, as supply chains can know exactly what is available to them and plan accordingly. Manufacturing ERP solution systems also offer warehouse and transportation management tools that can further assist the supply chain in getting products from manufacturers to retailers.

These latest manufacturing ERP solutions have revolutionized manufacturing operations since a majority of manufacturers have already implemented these solutions while others are in the implementation process.  already or are in the process of implementing it. However, for a manufacturing ERP solution to truly work out for you, it needs to provide a consistently good user experience, seamless performance, and thorough capabilities. 

Like what you just read? At Wheelhouse, we are passionate about all things software, and our specialty is connecting software buyers to a solution that perfectly matches their needs.

Please visit our ERP software page for a complete list of all the manufacturing ERP solutions we have on offer.