As manufacturers change the way they do business by moving towards outsourcing and global sourcing or expanding into multiple modes of manufacturing like engineer-to-order,  new demands are being placed daily on the existing software. Striving to increase sales, earn profit, and move into a larger share of the market, many manufacturers have found they have outgrown the manufacturing solutions presently running their businesses have outdated features, lack of capacity, and other system constraints. Manufacturers want new and improved applications that will continue to be relevant in the twenty-first century. The key is to discover the best time to upgrade to a better, more feature-rich software system.

ERP Manufacturing

Manufacturing Software Solutions, Part II

First of all, it is important to ask a few tough questions. Questions such as: does the company have an expansion plan in place? Will more users have to be added to the system in the near future? Will the company soon start producing a higher volume of products, or more diverse ones? Will the company need more advanced functionality? If the answer to these questions is yes, then it is time to find out whether the current software can support the growth.  If that answer is no, then the manufacturer has discovered the best time to make a change.

According to leading industry analysts, comprehensive data integration – or lack thereof – is one of the major reasons companies finally agree to upgrade. Most manufacturing companies recognize the need to synchronize and centralize the information contained within the various disparate systems and databases that house production control data. Furthermore, they come to realize that they need to share that information with external business partners such as suppliers and distributors in real time. As a result, a new manufacturing software solution with a more robust data integration infrastructure is required.

Another common occurrence is that as manufacturing companies expand and increase output or else add new, different products to their portfolios, production workflows – and the list of materials and components required to support them – often become far more intricate and multi-faceted, then manufacturers find that the current manufacturing software solution cannot manage these increasingly complex production, purchasing, and inventory management activities.  The result is that the need to replace the software becomes urgent.

Written by :

Amy Cruz