ERP Manufacturing

Manufacturing ERP software

The history of manufacturing ERP really began with the advent of Inventory Management and Control systems in the 1960’s. This rudimentary system is the union of information technology and business processes meant to help businesses keep the appropriate level of stock in warehouses. Inventory management was able to pre-set inventory requirements, monitoring item usage, signal replenishment needs, reconcile inventory balances, and report inventory status.

In the 1970’s software applications for scheduling production processes (Materials Requirement Planning) became available. This software compiled schedules for operations and for the purchasing or raw materials according to the assembly schedule of the finished goods.

The next decade brought about MRP II. This software utilized newer applications for coordinating businesses processes such as: product planning, part purchasing, inventory control, and product distribution.

It wasn’t until the 1990’s that enterprise resource planning saw multi-module software made to improve the performance of the internal business processes. The modules could be used to support marketing, finance, accounting, and human resources, and in the best systems these modules will be closely integrated into a centralized system.

Today, the better manufacturing ERP software controls the stream of a business’ data and information allowing a company to get their product into the marketplace as fast as it is needed -and for lower cost. The software is also providing access to operational intelligence, enabling managers to make decisions based on real-time data. And the fact that the data is real-time will, of course, allow for these decisions to be continuously adjusted.  Manufacturing ERP software does not all function the same.  Because all these different manufacturing categories relate precisely to the production environment, the systems will vary based on the industry focus as well as on the production processes being utilized.

Businesses looking to purchase manufacturing erp software should note then that their project will not succeed without understanding their production operational flow and correctly matching it to a manufacturing ERP software package.  Proper manufacturing software functionality is critical for project success. Once a business has made the commitment to purchase manufacturing erp software, it needs to shop the different vendors to determine which of the many available solutions will best fit their needs.

Right now is actually a great time to buy. The economic recession has left fewer and fewer businesses with IT budgets that can afford ERP software. As a result, vendors have a backlog of unsold inventory, and they have seen themselves forced to lower their prices.

Written by :

Amy Cruz