As your customers become more demanding, your business needs to look for agile manufacturing solutions that can provide the infrastructure they need to respond quickly and efficiently. Solutions should be able to provide functionality that provide for make-to-order, mixed-mode, make-to-stock, engineer-to-order, and configure–to-order manufacturers, including light assembly features for distribution businesses. The solution should be modular in design, allowing you to start with a complete solution or grow into your desired infrastructure over time.
Basic functionality should include:
- Job Management
- Lean Manufacturing
- Manufacturing Execution System (MES)
- Quality Assurance
- Advanced Quality Management
The use of Job Management is critical. You are using it now, but is it an all-inclusive process? Are all components of the process talking to each other? A strong Job Management process is a comprehensive production control solution designed specifically for the planning, routing, scheduling, costing, and tracking of products; including assembled, manufactured, and semi-finished products. Advanced Production deploys batching technology that enables users to group multiple parts or operations together for key production processes. Using a comprehensive Job Management application, users can more easily identify wasted processes and continuous improvement opportunities on the production floor for maximized profitability.
Some points to consider when reviewing internal processes:
- Measurement of Production Activity Against Lean Performance
- Manufacturing Without Work Orders (Kanban Flow)
- Support for Hybrid Approaches to Lean
If you are exploring new ways to drive your business to the top of your market and improve your bottom line, look to an ERP that can grow as you grow, has proven functionality to meet specific needs and uses best practice methodologies to achieve your internal goals.