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Manufacturing ERP Software
Manufacturing ERP Software is a specialised enterprise resource planning solution that focuses on an organisation’s manufacturing processes. This industry-specific ERP system monitors every stage of discrete or process-based manufacturing, reducing resource costs and balancing production supply and demand along the way. Among manufacturers, ERP systems have been known to reduce operational costs by 22% and reduce the time it takes to make a key decision by 36%. Cloud-based manufacturing ERPs provide features that impact methodologies for both discrete and process manufacturers. These features are based on industry specifics such as Food and Beverage, Apparel, Industrial Equipment, and Automotive. They monitor up and down the supply chain and track human and robotic production, linking manufacturing to sales and returns. This ranges from temperatures and weights to measuring tolerances and pressures, ultimately removing guesswork from the workshop floor.
10 Best Manufacturing ERP Software Products
Infor CloudSuite
A cloud-based manufacturing ERP solution split into two products for food and beverage manufacturers and PLM discrete manufacturing. Designed for mid-size to enterprise organisations with key features including batch operations, lot management, and embedded LM and AI tools.
Manufacturing Industry Fit: Food, Beverage, Diary, Distribution, Chemical, Industrial, Apparel, Automotive, and Construction
Implementation Time: 3 months to 1 year
Used By: 1,000 + Customers
RamBase
A specialist system built low volume, high-value manufacturing and distribution processes. It offers a flexible, future-proof design with multiple integration tools and open APIs.
Manufacturing Industry Fit: Electronics, Metal, Industrial, Automotive, Wholesale Distribution, and Oil & gas
Implementation Time: 3 months to 9 months
Statii
A resource and requirements planning solution for small to medium make-to-order manufacturers (SMEs). Ideal for manufacturing organisations with fewer than 50 employees and multi-level bills of material workflows.
Manufacturing Industry Fit: Metal, Machining, Electronic, Automotive, Plastic and moulding, Wood, and Aerospace
Implementation Time: 7 days to 4 weeks
Flowlens MRP and ERP Software
A specialist manufacturing ERP/MRP system for manufacturing teams of 2 to 100 users. Built for original equipment and device manufacturers, it consolidates build-to-order processes and combines with service management and CRM solutions.
Manufacturing Industry Fit: Electrical, Industrial, Materials handling, Agricultural, and Scientific equipment
Implementation Time: 4 weeks to 3 months
IFS ERP
A manufacturing ERP built for large to enterprise-size organisations operating in complex, asset-intensive industries. Part of IFS Cloud, key features include supply chain management, automated workflows, and customisable reporting.
Manufacturing Industry Fit: Automotive, Chemicals, Food and beverage, High-tech, Industrial Manufacturing, Life sciences
Implementation Time: 3 months to 9 months
Used By: 10,000+ Customers
EFACS by Exel Computer Systems
A highly customisable cloud-based and on-premise product built for mid-market manufacturers. Key features such as automated workflows and scheduling help increase visibility and traceability.
Manufacturing Industry Fit: Aerospace, Automotive, Electronics, Engineering, and Food and beverage
Implementation Time: 3 months to 9 months
Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP
A cloud-based and on-premise solution delivering ERP, CRM, and BI applications for manufacturers. Built with supply chain, finance, and warehouse features to address manufacturing types such as job shop, make-to-order, make-to-stock, and more.
Implementation Time: 3 months to 1 year
Used By: 40,000+ Customers
Oracle NetSuite ERP
An AI-powered ERP solution suitable for small, mid-market, and large manufacturing organisations. It encompasses financial, CRM, inventory management, dynamic replenishment, and e-commerce applications.
Implementation Time: 24 hours to 4 weeks
Used By: 40,000+ Customers
SAP Business One
Built for small and mid-sized companies, this product is an affordable ERP solution for manufacturers to consolidate supply chain, reporting, financials, and distribution processes. It is a flexible cloud-based system that can be used anywhere, anytime on a mobile device.
Implementation Time: 3 weeks to 3 months
Used By: 70,000+ Customers
Epicor Kinetic
A Manufacturing ERP Software that utilises business intelligence and real-time reporting capabilities. It offers cloud, on-premise, and hybrid solutions with a focus on smart manufacturing processes.
Manufacturing Industry Fit: Aerospace, Construction, Electronics, Metals, Furniture, Industrial, and Medical
Implementation Time: 3 months to 18 months
Used By: 20,000+ Customers
Supported Production Methodologies For ERP Manufacturing Solutions
There are four main types of manufacturing processes; discrete, process (batch or continuous), repetitive, and job shop. Below this, is a sub-level that contains multiple variants of production methodologies – each supported by the features of an ERP manufacturing solution in their own unique way.
Supported manufacturing production methods include:
- Lean manufacturing
- Remanufacturing
- Make to stock (MTS)
- Make to order (MTO)
- Just in time manufacturing
- Assemble to order (ATO)
- Engineer to order (ETO)
Why Leading Manufacturing Teams Choose an ERP
The four leading use cases for ERP adoption among manufacturing companies are to:
- Replace outdated software systems or manual processes
- Consolidate multiple and disparate applications from various departments
- Take advantage of the latest analytics and AI tools
- Oversee the entire process (from inventory management to production planning) in one shared system
Since the progress of MRP systems (Manufacturing Resource Planning), manufacturers are the number one users of ERP Software. Today, 47% of manufacturers are looking to implement an enterprise resource planning system. That’s more than both the Distribution (18%) and Services (12%) sectors combined.
Although there is debate as to whether businesses should opt for a more out-of-the-box ERP to safeguard against complex mishaps (take the Nike i2 malfunction in 2000, for example), successful implementation of Manufacturing ERP Software can deliver immediate benefits:
- Increased efficiency as manufacturing runs smoothly, issues are dealt with faster, and the supply chain is optimised
- Improved visibility as leadership and departments can gain insights across all areas of production and the business, typically in real-time
- Support for on-time delivery systems that improve business competitiveness
- Improved product quality which reduces returns, product failures, and increases customer satisfaction
- Reduced costs with tighter control and flexibility over the bill of materials
- Improved collaboration across the business, encouraging product innovation, production creativity, and faster problem resolution
One example of manufacturing ERP success is Wisconsin Plastics. The Plastic Injection Moulding Service decreased the overall total raw material inventory by 17.5%. This is thanks to a just-in-time replenishment program made possible by the accurate inventory count provided by its real-time ERP system.
Unique ERP Features For Manufacturers
ERP systems have three types of features:
- Packaged features found in all ERP systems
- Features that appeal more to a specific function (like manufacturing)
- Industry-specific features found in specialised solutions
Packaged ERP Features
- Accounting
- Financial management
- Human resources management (HRM)
- Project management
- ERP integrations
- Customer relationship management (CRM)
- Marketing
- Business intelligence
- Sales
Packaged Features Used By Manufacturers
- Supply chain management
- Order processing
- Real-time data analysis and reporting
- Automation and AI
- Manufacturing/Materials resource planning (MRP)
- Purchasing
- Inventory management
- Commerce integration
- POS integration
Industry-specific Manufacturing ERP Features
- Quality control
- Order fulfilment
- Buying and procurement
- IoT tracking
- Formula/Recipe management
- Batch processing
- Route management
- Product Configuration
- Product lifecycle management (PLM)
- CAD integration
- Bill of material management
- Planning and scheduling
- Engineering Change Order (ECO)
Are You Ready For a Specialised ERP Manufacturing System?
As businesses evolve and grow, their needs change. Many manufacturers may have already adopted an ERP for back-office tasks, but now find the need for Manufacturing ERP Software to deliver broader insights and performance benefits.
The best answer to the question is always yesterday, with today a close second. When it comes to knowing when best to implement a manufacturing ERP, a three-colour-coded system is used; red, amber, and green.
Colour | Status | Reasons |
|---|
Red | You need a manufacturing ERP, yesterday | - Your teams have limited visibility into data and manufacturing/performance issues take too long to fix
- You lack the data needed to create coherent and useful reports
- The business still relies on manual or piecemeal digital services
- Your business loses money from poor inventory management and production systems
|
Amber | You should start planning, today | - Your business is expanding or acquiring other companies creating a complex data landscape
- Your manufacturing rivals are in the news for adopting modern ERP and AI solutions
|
Green | You’re ready | |
Find the Best Manufacturing ERP Solution That Matches Your Requirements
Implementation Challenges to Acknowledge
Although 67% of distributors and manufacturers that implemented an ERP system described it as successful, some factors can challenge the success of an ERP implementation. These challenges include:
- High start-up costs
- Complex integration with existing systems and processes
- Time required for completion (almost 75% of all ERP implementation processes fail due to delays and costs)
- Training required for employees
- Employee resistance
FAQs
What Manufacturing Industries Benefit From Enterprise Resource Planning?
- Food & Beverage (Process)
- Apparel and Textiles/Clothing(Discrete)
- Chemicals (Process)
- Industrial Equipment (Discrete)
- Consumer Electronics (Discrete)
- Aerospace and Defence
- Automotive (Discrete)
- Pharmaceutical (Process)
- Oil and Gas (Process)
- Furniture (Discrete)
What’s the Difference Between MRP, MRO, and ERP?
Before ERP emerged as a common business practice, there was MRP (Material Requirements Planning and lately Manufacturing Resource Planning [aka MRP II]).
You can consider MRPs a subset of ERP, focused solely on the inventory, materials of manufacturing, and the build processes involved. With a manufacturing resource planning system in place, businesses know where their components or materials are, but need broader insights into productivity and value, ERP widens visibility and speeds up the information flow.
A modern ERP also supports the delivery of Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services, ensuring that manufacturing hardware systems run most efficiently and that there is a minimum of disruption when a problem arises.
Modern ERPs support predictive maintenance features of factory machinery that deliver performance and fault information live, rather than grinding to a halt at the most inconvenient of times. With a modern manufacturing ERP supporting, boosting or supplanting these older technologies, manufacturers will be up-to-date and better informed about live operations.
