You are a mid-size manufacturing company aiming to reduce costs, boost productivity and cut waste. Your organisation has recognised that efficiency is gained through manufacturing ERP software. Still, it can be confusing knowing what to look for when selecting an ERP system suited for manufacturing.
Thankfully, there’s a checklist that you can work on to make sure your system is fully integrated and automates all those manual processes that are susceptible to human error.
What is manufacturing software?
A manufacturing ERP software system provides businesses with control over manufacturing and business operations. It provides data to determine what components need to be brought in, and when these activities need to happen to meet demand.
In the early days of manufacturing software, manufacturing software only offered basic inventory management tools. However, more recently, ERP systems for manufacturing have enabled users to employ sophisticated inter-branch logistics and sales forecasting data to allow businesses to run more profitably.
Choosing a suitable manufacturing vendor for your business
Manufacturing software brings great benefits to the business, which is why there are numerous offerings for a company to pick from. When your company is hunting for cloud-based manufacturing software, selecting software that accommodates budget, business size and business needs is vital to ensure that your business invests in the best manufacturing software partner.
When selecting the most suitable solution, ensuring you have the best provider is vital as the investment will involve a sizeable investment of time and money. That means the underlying technology — the foundation the system is built on — must be stable, standard and well-supported.
The manufacturing software selection process allows businesses to avoid errors and to scale profits over time. Therefore, the following steps should be taken when selecting a suitable ERP software system:
Automation
Automation is a vital feature to consider when selecting an ERP solution. The ability to automate enables a team to deliver high-quality software in a short period of time. Automation therefore boosts productivity, eliminates bottlenecks and reduces wasted time.
Reporting and analytics
Data gives businesses direction as it highlights areas of improvement to realign priorities. Analytics allow leaders in an organisation to identify trends and patterns to strategise accordingly. In addition, they can test and measure operational changes in real-time and share those results instantaneously.
Production management
Production management is the process of managing production inputs (raw materials, capital and labour) to produce a finished product to take to market. Improved production management helps companies consistent excellence in their operations and product range, not only in terms of increased capacity and scale, but also in terms in improving customer satisfaction and brand perception in your marketplace.
Scalability
As your business grows, you want an ERP that expands alongside it. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose a scalable solution for growing businesses and one that will serve as a compatible, secure digital platform for integrating third party and ecommerce solutions.
By following the tips in this blog, your business can find the manufacturing software that’s best suited for your business. Palladium ERP is a comprehensive manufacturing ERP system that offers a suite of features to help you run all areas of your business more profitably.
Start your journey to mastering your manufacturing operations today
