ERP Manufacturing

Manufacturing Management Software

Manufacturing management software, in particular manufacturing management software applications designed to be run on an integrated ERP infrastructure, have undergone several advancements and evolutions over the past two and half decades. Before the streamlined modules for process, product and JIT manufacturing systems that we see on the market today, early manufacturing management software applications offered fewer functions and greater complexity, and the earliest modules sometimes required employee training which sometimes failed, leading to lower than expected returns for expensive ERP installations.

In the early 1990s, early manufacturing management software applications were designed to coordinate shop floor tasks and other functions like shipping, billing, and shift scheduling. These first systems were often called MRPs, or manufacturing resource planning systems. The first wave of this new technology designed to facilitate operations in the management sector met with only partial success, but later models were improved, and with these advanced came improvements in employee training and communication involved in the implementation process. Before long, the largest companies with the highest capacity for risk were expressing high demand for these manufacturing management software systems, and developers were responding by providing integrated software platforms that had business applications beyond the manufacturing sector. Once strictly for manufacturing management software, ERP infrastructures made their way into a wide variety of business sectors from processing and distribution, to university systems and even the military and other government offices.  

Before long, a point of market saturation had been reached at the high budget level, since ERP manufacturing management software systems, once installed, are designed to remain in place for decades or longer. Many of these systems are upgrade ready, but nevertheless, large providers found it beneficial to turn their attention downstream and focus on accommodating the rising demand at the mid-sized and small business levels in order to stay competitive. These smaller businesses cannot often afford to implement complete single or multi-tier server architectures, since doing so requires the maintenance of a system, which in turn requires a full time IT staff. In response to this concern, new business models like hosting solutions and software service providers have arisen. These solutions allow small business clients to use space on a shared server in a rental capacity. Clients can run manufacturing management software, and other applications for accounting, human resource management, payroll and customer relationship management on these collective servers, and they can also house databases secretly and allow shared access to authorized employees. These systems place vital back office management tools within reach of enterprises held back by restrictive technology budgets. They also competitive advantages to smaller and mid-sized businesses, and may mean the difference between success and failure for these small companies during a challenging business climate.

Written by :

kristine H