Manufacturing ERP Systems

Manufacturing ERP systems, originally called MRPs or manufacturing resource planning systems, first came onto the business technology market in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These early manufacturing ERP systems consisted of large single or multi-tier server architectures and integrated software platforms that could run a wide variety of programs and applications. Multiple departments across the company with very different functions and software needs could now run streamlined applications from the central server using interfaces that offered the same look and feel. Manufacturing ERP systems also allowed different users across the company to share access to collective databases and make updates to shared data in real time. Even though these original manufacturing ERP systems were imperfect and cost prohibitive to all but the largest technology budgets and companies with the highest tolerance for risk, they still became very popular in a short time, even beyond the world of manufacturing.

Manufacturing ERP systems were able to revolutionize scheduling and coordinated activities on the shop floor, and they helped business managers handle complex operations including billing, shipping, warehousing, bi-directional lot tracking, recall management and other essential functions for both product and process manufacturing models. Over the next few years, some of the kinks and failures of the earliest manufacturing ERP systems were ironed out, and as the new millennium approached, demand for large manufacturing ERP systems began to grow to a fever pitch. Large organizations across diverse business sectors began to implement their own manufacturing ERP systems, including universities, global non-profit firms, and government offices.

Most of these firms were rushing to complete implementations because they were interested in upgrading their isolated, outmoded large software systems before the millennial transition could cause problems and productivity slowdowns. But by the time the transition had come and gone, manufacturing ERP system providers began to face a cooling of demand at the high budget level. At that time, manufacturing ERP systems, once implemented, were designed to last for decades or longer. So in order to stay competitive, established providers began to turn their attention downstream and adapt their products to meet the needs of smaller and mid-sized business clients that they could once afford to ignore.

In order to successfully compete for small business market share, ERP providers needed scale and customize back office modules designed to run on shared server architectures, like products for accounting, human resources, payroll, and customer relationship management. These large providers also needed to keep costs low enough to compete with the new options offered by hosting solutions, software service providers , and a wide variety of freeware and open source software that could handle back office business functions at little or no cost to small business owners.

Written by :

tracey boxer