Build a Competitive Advantage with an ERP for Manufacturing

To succeed in today’s tough business climate, there’s a genuine need for manufacturers to develop and maintain a distinct and sustainable advantage over their competitors. Your processes need to be efficient and profitable, and your product second to none. Hardly a challenge at all then! In all seriousness, manufacturers need tools to manage the complex variables they deal with daily, such as supply chain management, purchasing, costing, stock, production and quality, to name a few. It really is no surprise that, for manufacturers, an ERP system is now as essential as the machines used on the shop floor.

Industry expertise is critical

 
So what difference does ERP software make for manufacturers? Firstly, it’s important to have the right ERP provider. Many ERP systems have their roots in financial software and have developed other modules, like production, quality and warehouse management, almost as an afterthought. They may not have the in-depth functionality that a true manufacturing ERP system offers. And what about the team behind the system itself? Do they have a true understanding of manufacturing businesses like yours? How well do they comprehend the industry and the challenges presented? Can they make recommendations to streamline and improve your key business processes? Can they teach your team how to create the greatest efficiencies from their new system? Our customers know that when they come to E-Max for help, our experienced product specialists, many of whom have an engineering background, provide practical solutions to improve operational processes. If you’re looking for an ERP for manufacturing, it makes sense to find a provider that specialises in this area.

ERP provides an end to end solution

 
Whether you are a custom manufacturer, Make-to-Order or even Engineer-to-Order manufacturer, an ERP system will make your processes more efficient and profitable.  Let’s start with getting the initial design for a job. ERP software, like E-Max ERP, that has been designed specifically for manufacturing, can pull data from a CAD file and will enable you to generate a quick, accurate quote for that job, and a delivery estimate. ERP systems like ours use powerful scheduling functionality and historical data in the software to produce a quote and timescale and give clear visibility of the estimated costs and profitability.

Once confirmation of the order is received, a sales order is raised (a single click in E-Max ERP), triggering an efficient automated process though which materials and parts for the job are ordered or reserved in the warehouse. Using routing information, labour, machines and tools can also be allocated. As the job goes through the production process, a true ERP for manufacturing will track the job in real time, and share this information across the entire company. If your sales team receives an enquiry as to the progress of a job, that information is available to them instantly. Even if a customer makes changes to a job whilst in production, the system is updated instantly to adapt for this, making you a very flexible supplier. Happy customers rock! Because the need for manual amendments is removed, there is less risk of manual error which can be a frequent occurrence in last minute changes or complex revisions. You can see the results of these changes and their implications immediately.

All of the above data is simultaneously fed into the financial end of your ERP, so you can measure estimated costs against actual costs and make sure you remain profitable. With real time reporting and visibility of your data, you can make better informed decisions when you need to and constantly monitor and review your processes to continuously optimise them.

Not only is the entire end to end process shortened and made more efficient through ERP but it frees up your employees’ time to do more valuable tasks – or simply more in less time! Gone are the days of time-consuming tasks like costs being tracked manually through spreadsheets or complex bills of materials built from scratch. All the data in an ERP system is saved so it can be used again for future activities.

ERP for manufacturing really is a necessity

 
Returning to where we started – manufacturers nowadays must have efficient and profitable processes and products that are second to none. Implementing an ERP for manufacturing processes and the operational activities around these is a pre-requisite for success and enables you to build the competitive advantage that’s so important today.

At E-Max, we’ve been designing and developing ERP and MRP systems for manufacturers and engineers for 25 years. To find out more on how E-Max can help your business become more efficient and profitable, speak to our experienced consultants on 0808 109 2035, drop us a message or take a look at our website. We can also run you through E-Max ERP in action with a customised demo at a time of your choosing.