Manufacturing ERP Guide - SMC

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Manufacturing ERP Guide

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At SMC, we’ve partnered with organisations across all industry sectors, from mid-market to large enterprises or small businesses scaling up. We’re proud to play a part in helping your business select the best ERP for manufacturing and successfully implement it to maximise your ROI.

Download our manufacturing ERP guide to understand your vendor options and compare manufacturing ERP solutions for your business’s digital transformation. If you have any questions, contact our team, who would be happy to help.

ERP for Manufacturing: Factors you need to consider for your business

To decide on the best ERP for manufacturing for your business, you must first identify the mode of manufacturing that your business uses and your production method. Let’s take a closer look at your options to consider:

Discrete vs. process manufacturing

Does your business manufacture products with components easily broken down into parts? If so, the best ERP for manufacturing for your organisation requires stronger Bill-Of-Material management, production routing and work-in-progress reporting capabilities. Bill-of-material management is a comprehensive list of all the essential parts and materials to build a product and helps reduce waste, streamline production and ensure all necessary parts are available.

If you manufacture finished products using formulas and recipes that combine or transform the raw materials to the final product that cannot be broken down post-production, the best ERP for manufacturing you need requires a stronger percentage and ingredient formulation management, batch processing and control and ‘what if’ functionality.

Production method

Another important factor to consider the best ERP for manufacturing for your business is the method of production your organisation uses, whether unique, lean, flow or batch job production:

  • Lean job production — Lean job production emphasises the standard bill of material management, procurement and inventory management to ensure your business can produce on-demand standard products as close to the time of order as possible.
  • Unique job production — Unique job production places more significance on change request functionality, order tracking and work-in-progress reporting to ensure the product meets the required customer specifications.
  • Flow production — Does your organisation produce identical, standardised finished products using a set assembly flow to build a product through segregated stages? If so, the best ERP for manufacturing for your business will incorporate workstation reporting, routing management and control to ensure quality processing along each production phase. Additional functionality includes bill of material, product setup and inventory management to ensure all components are available to complete production targets.
  • Batch production — If your business produces products in batches based on production runs or larger customer orders, the best ERP for manufacturing will allow for production planning, batch control, scheduling and resource planning to ensure the batches are completed to the desired quality before resources are redirected to the next batch run.

Stay ahead of the curve and invest in ERP for your manufacturing business

As Australian manufacturing has experienced technological advancements in the past couple of decades, digital technologies, like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, continue to pave the way for today’s manufacturers to streamline their business operations and promote their business growth.

By investing in the best ERP for manufacturing for your business, your organisation can get ahead of the curve by generating accurate pricing, planning and accounting for total manufacturing costs and meet future challenges.

There are several benefits of investing in ERP for manufacturing:

  1. Streamlined operations

In the competitive world of manufacturing, efficiency is essential. A robust ERP system integrates and automates critical processes like inventory management, production planning and order processing. You can efficiently track and manage inventory levels, reducing carrying costs and preventing stockouts or overstock situations.

By optimising production schedules, you can ensure timely delivery while minimising production costs and resource wastage. This leads to streamlined operations, reduced lead times and overall improved customer satisfaction.

  1. Data-driven decision-making

Allow your business to gain a significant advantage by leveraging the power of data. The best ERP for manufacturing will collect and analyse data from various departments, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making. Its actionable AI insights and predictive analytics allow you to identify trends, forecast demand and allocate resources effectively to optimise your manufacturing processes.

  1. Cost reduction

The best ERP for the manufacturing industry will help control expenses by optimising resource utilisation, reducing waste and minimising downtime.

  1. Improved quality control

Ensuring the quality of your raw materials is a non-negotiable aspect of manufacturing. ERP systems enable real-time monitoring of production processes, helping you maintain consistent product quality. You can quickly identify any product defects and any deviations or issues are addressed and resolved, reducing defects and customer complaints.

Discover more about ERP for Manufacturing

The industry in which your business operates will impact the best ERP for manufacturing for your business to decide on. Over the years, ERPs have taken on industry verticals, specialising and investing in functionality better suited to industries with experience and customers.

When considering the above factors to decide on the best ERP for manufacturing, you should be mindful that not every business easily fits into these categories. For instance, your organisation may manufacture both discrete and process products or use mixed-method approaches to production.

For this reason, we recommend your business complete a comprehensive analysis to gain deeper insight into the issues you wish to resolve with your ERP system. You’ll need to understand your organisation’s business and strategic process, data and people requirements to determine the best ERP for manufacturing for your business. At SMC, we consider gaining this understanding of your business as your Digital Transformation Blueprint.

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