Manufacturers New Year resolutions (& how to keep them!)

So the holiday season is over (sadly) and you’re back at your desk: refreshed, recharged and raring to go. This is the year that things will be different – this year you’ll reduce waste, save money, increase profitability, optimise productivity, sort out your inventory control, adopt new technologies and use the data you collect to improve operations. The list of manufacturers new year resolutions goes on and on and, whilst many of us start the year with the best of intentions, these are often swept away as your task list grows longer.

One quick fix to get you on the right path to achieving your goals is by implementing an effective ERP system. Here’s our take on 6 common manufacturers new year resolutions and where an ERP system can help you achieve them.

1) Reduce waste

We’re all conscious that the world has finite resources and doing what we can to reduce waste (with the added benefit of reducing costs) should be high on our agenda. Whether this be through identification and prioritisation of use of raw materials with a limited shelf life or by using excess parts of materials (such as bars, rolls of material, sheet metals, etc) which would previously have been disposed of due to an inability to easily identify these, we can limit the amount we dispose of. A quality ERP system can provide this functionality and highlight what materials should be used for specific jobs and in what order they should be used.

2) Optimise productivity

Set a goal to automate your processes as much as possible and free up your employees to do more meaningful activities. Doing repetitive tasks every day can reduce staff morale and increase human error. Tasks like monitoring inventory levels, inputting timesheet (or any other type of) data, and processing orders multiple times can be automated in an ERP system and allow you to deploy your team in other ways. A side benefit of this is often a more engaged workforce leads to an increase in employee retention, meaning less time and effort is spent sourcing and training new staff.

3) Increase customer satisfaction

Give your customers the quality product they want at a competitive price on time and your business will go from strength to strength. An ERP system will help ensure quality remains high, that you deliver on time and can assist in keeping production costs down.

4) Focus on the important things

So simple but often overlooked when considering manufacturers new year resolutions. With so much going on all around us every day, it is often easy to lose sight of what really matters within your organisation. We’ve all been guilty of focusing on the things that don’t make a difference and not giving enough attention to those that do. Using an ERP system with a customisable dashboard gives individuals the information they need instantly. Employees can self-select the KPIs that are their responsibility and remained focused on these without distraction.

5) Collect data and use it to improve your operations

Mark Twain famously noted that ‘Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection’ and we couldn’t agree more! Fostering a culture of continuous improvement is a key factor in manufacturing success. Gathering data in just one system (ie an ERP system) allows much easier data analysis (no spreadsheets allowed!) and significantly better reporting. With this data in hand, generally in real-time, issues such as production bottle necks, quality problems, inventory levels, etc, can be identified and action taken to resolve these.

6) Embrace new technologies

Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) have been given vast amounts of media coverage of the last couple of years with good reason. The use of sensors incorporated into machinery has given rise to huge amounts of data being produced and, whilst this data can be incredibly useful, the volume of it can be overwhelming. When managed through an ERP system, the data can be managed, with key real time reports produced whenever required.

Using an ERP system to help achieve these resolutions will also result in achieving another manufacturers new year resolution – increasing profitability. Reducing errors, a more productive workforce, an ability to identify and act on problems quickly and reducing waste will all support an increase in profitability as well as providing a solid base for your business to grow. Here’s to a happy and prosperous 2019!

To find out more about E-Max ERP and how it can help your business, take a look at our website, contact us on 0141 644 4424 or drop us an email. You can also book a free demo with us to see our manufacturing ERP system in action.

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