Manufacturers face a complex decision when looking to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.  That’s why companies with active selection projects seek to simplify the process with the upcoming February 2012 Vendor Shootout™ for ERP.

As you prepare to attend the event, Plex Systems offers these five tips when selecting an ERP system:

1)    Know the Need.  Establish a cross-functional team that clearly articulates processes the system will address, the timeline for ERP implementation, and cost requirements. Clearly define how the business will run in the future, and match that vision to what the ERP system can deliver.
2)    Fit the Functions.  Make sure the ERP system provides the critical functions needed to run the specific business and unique requirements. In addition, consider the skill levels of the people on the shop floor, the IT department, throughout the organization – as well as the IT infrastructure. Give key team members a chance to set requirements, and participate in a system demo.
3)    Consider Integration.  A truly integrated solution improves the complete manufacturing process, through design, launch, production, shipment, and service –  all business areas including sales, engineering, quality management, production, scheduling, shop floor control, bar coding, part traceability, warranty tracking, shipping and receiving, EDI, human resources, tooling, and more.
4)    Enabling Lean.  Look for a real-time solution that lets a company easily see operations with a greater degree of clarity, improving the ability to identify continuous improvement opportunities. A solution should facilitate root cause analysis and corrective action, including a formalized process for issues notification and problem resolution reporting.
5)    Quality.  Organizations requiring robust traceability and quality control functions must search for a full suite of Quality Management tools. ERP systems must be designed to provide real, measurable benefit to the manufacturing effort in the form of increased process repeatability, reduced variation, increased production throughput and reduced defects.

Learn More
Access a white paper from Plex Online Cloud ERP which offers additional considerations to keep in mind during your ERP selection process.

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While many believe ERP to be out of reach of SMBs, a well-managed ERP implementation can be a continuing source of cost savings and operational improvements which help companies grow and thrive. Even small companies can document the business benefits of ERP, not only in terms of quantifiable cost savings and schedule improvements, but also in terms of standardizing, streamlining, and accelerating business processes.

Download this white paper from Aberdeen Group.

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Nothing jeopardizes the health of a manufacturing enterprise more than quality problems, warranty issues, safety incidents, customer quarantines and large scale production recalls.

When these problems occur, most manufacturers shut down production, recall parts over a long span of time, and hold the manufacturer financially responsible.  It’s bad news for everybody.

Key to Survival

The key to surviving in today’s tough environment is to implement an accurate traceability system that tracks individual containers and/or pieces as they flow through the manufacturing process. This lets the enterprise isolate problems with pinpoint precision, using updated and detailed historical information related to production, inspection, genealogy, and usage.

Traceability is defined as the capability for tracing goods backward along the supply chain and forward along the distribution chain based on identifying characteristics

For companies that require true traceability, such as automotive, aerospace/defense, and food processors, effective traceability is critical in today’s competitive landscape.

What to Look For

For those manufacturers attending the Vendor Shootout™ for ERP, be sure to look for the following ERP features and functions.

• Serialized container and individual part tracking.
• Built-in barcode printing and scanning, RFID, and Direct Part Marking.
• Detailed container-to-container traceability both upstream and downstream from any point in the process and/or shipped parts.
  • Upstream Trace: Lets workers easily find every component or material that went into a container or assembled part.
  • Downstream Trace: Helps workers track the location and status of every container or part made from a certain source container or part.
  • Traceability Tree: Provides a graphical representation of traceability, showing the flow of material from one container to the next.
  • Cross-Company Trace: Provides the ability to view upstream and downstream traceability of your customers and suppliers.

 
Free Resource

Download a free white paper on traceability from Plex Online Cloud ERP for further details.

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We read with interest the recent Industry Week guest post offering 10 survival tips aimed at helping manufactures navigate through business challenges.

The Plex Systems team would agree that rising cost pressures and intense global competition challenge the overall health of many manufacturers – especially as we continue to grapple with the fallout of the financial meltdown.

2012 Road Map

The article makes the case that pressures to innovate and lower costs are immense.

The survival tips offer a good road map for manufacturers to follow in the year ahead.

6 Cloud Considerations

While each survival tip cited in the article is important, the following six considerations are of special interest to those manufacturers using Plex Online Cloud ERP.

In each case, we can point to a Plex Online customer putting the approach into practices

1) Maintain focus – As the Industry week article notes, smart manufacturers “keep their eye on the ball” and stick to what they do best – producing quality products in the most efficient way possible.  A tier one automotive supplier embraces this approach.  By using Cloud ERP, the company is no longer burdened with maintaining, upgrading and supporting complex IT systems.  The company cut monthly operating costs by one-third and IT staff can focus on more strategic work.

2) Maximize productivity, increase speed  – This tip is all about ramping up production without sending labor costs skyward.  A metal fabricator provides an example of this approach. Since implementing a smarter approach to ERP tracking, the company reduced raw materials and work- in-process inventory costs, and improved our inventory turns by 50 percent. In fact, overall productivity increased to levels that beat the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) index.

3) Pay attention to your supply chain – Effective supply chain management is a crucial consideration in today’s ever-increasing complex manufacturing environment.  One automotive supplier puts effective supply chain management into practice.   The company replaced multiple systems once used to manage a global enterprise of 2,500 suppliers, and is no longer dependent on stand-alone spreadsheets and documents.

4) Improve quality – The Industry Week article makes the point that successful manufacturers whittle down defects and consistently focus on company-wide quality improvement programs.  A North American-based automotive component manufacturer reflects this focus, since they now ensure that products are released for shipment only after customer requirements are validated. Outside quality control inspectors were replaced by an automated vision system, resulting in a more efficient, less costly process.

5) Diversify your customer base – A thriving manufacturer is able to enter and serve new markets efficiently and cost-effectively.  The Industry Week article cites auto suppliers, in particular, who have segmented within their industry or gone outside of it.   A plastics supplier successfully expanded into new segments after improving their entire production process.

6) Embrace globalization – As the Industry Week article notes, acquisitions, consolidations and diversification can help suppliers achieve economies of scale. But can their internal systems handle such change?  Today’s manufacturer demands a sophisticated solution to track inventory, production, and scheduling across multiple locations in different time zones and on different continents.  Cloud ERP offers this functionality.

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We invite you to join the discussion today!

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http://www.ultraconsultants.com/abas-erp-industry-best-kept-secret/

With all our recent coverage, and our through the roof customer satisfaction rates, we won’t be a “secret” for too much longer!

Have a great day,

Joe Vecchio, abas-USA

21240 Ridgetop Circle  |  Sterling, Virginia 20166  |  703.444.2500  |  www.abas-usa.com

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The investigation found that there were five factors driving decisions to buy JD Edwards EnterpriseOne: functionality, reporting, staff availability, partner and vendor support, and references.

Read the full article here.

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ERP software is a technology product and IT will play an important role in supporting the chosen ERP product.  IT needs to be involved in the process to make sure that the underlying technology is sound and consistent with the overall business technology strategy.  As keeper of the company systems and data, IT often has a strong understanding of operations within each part of the organization and a broad understanding of how different parts of the overall organization work together.  This knowledge can make IT a critical part of the selection and implementation process.

But ERP software is a business tool that will be used by end users and business managers on a daily basis.  In order to insure acceptance and ownership of the new ERP system, business users need to take ownership of the selection process and accept a leading role in the implementation.  A high value ERP implementation should be about more than just processing transactions—it should be about how the ERP system and its implementation support higher level business goals.  For example, every ERP system can handle the procurement and receiving (transactions).  But which systems can automate inbound inspection processes to minimize inventory handling and provide insight into vendor performance to help drive down inventory costs and maximize purchasing discounts (business goals)?  IT is accountable for making sure the system accepts the transactions, but business leaders are held accountable for business performance.  Implementing your ERP system to achieve business goals will insure that you get the most value from your investment.

1. You can’t spare your best people
   1. They know your business best
   2. Plan on back filling
   3. Create superstars
2. Everyone should be involved
   1. Implementation teams are not a democracy
   2. Small, focused teams are more successful
3. You can implement in a bubble
   1. Publicize progress
   2. Celebrate early success
   3. Help end users transition
   4. Don’t go it alone
4. You will document and train later
   1. How well have you done this in the past?
   2. Training is the key to continued value
   3. Do it while you are thinking about it and reduce the effort
5. You can ignore business reality
   1. Be pragmatic about the business drivers of the project
   2. Don’t over reach or over sell
   3. Plan for competing priorities
   4. Design a project that works

Be sure to subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed so that you don’t miss the rest of this blog series.

If you missed any of the previous Myths, you can check them out here:

ERP Implementation Myth Number 1:  One size fits all

ERP Implementation Myth Number 2:  Your current system defines your needs

ERP Implementation Myth Number 3: You will have a no modification policy

ERP Implementation Myth Number 4: All functionality is created equal

Richard Garraputa, VP Sales and Marketing,  brij Image and Information

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As the Dallas Vendor Shoot Out approaches this week, those manufacturers in attendance will help move their teams closer to an ERP selection.

It’s clear that the selection a company makes regarding an ERP provider is a decision the organization will live with for a long time.

It is a partnership that will proceed through business process changes for many years to come.

Participating in the Vendor Shootout is an effective way for selection teams to evaluate their options, and see a side-by-side comparison of solutions’ features and functions.

ERP Strategy
We’ve found over the years that an organization is wise to take the time to set and implement an overall ERP selection strategy – not just during selection and implementation, but for the duration of the project.

To that end, a new research report reveals that an effective ERP strategy is not just for implementing an ERP solution. It is a critical success factor in operating ERP at peak efficiency.

The research shows that high performing manufacturers continuously monitor and measure not only their business operations, but also ERP system performance and alignment with business.

See the Research

Download the complimentary report for a look at the importance of an ongoing ERP strategy. Included is a real-life case study showing how one manufacturer achieves a significant ROI with an effective ERP strategy.

The paper concludes with the required actions needed to define, monitor, support and apply effective ERP strategy across the enterprise.

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Despite how much fun it may be to sit through hour after hour, day after day of software demonstrations, work piles up on your desk and your email inbox grows ever bigger.  You have better things to do.  But making the right decision in choosing the primary tool you will be using to run your business is a critical decision worthy of your investment in time.  How do you balance competing demands for your time?

The answer to this question is simple: Do it like you do everything else, by prioritizing.  Ask yourself and your team what business functions drive your operations.  Try to understand where you have the most opportunity to drive value from a new system.  Some companies are very sales driven and need a system that can enable sales and customer service to maximize interactions with customers.  Others are cost driven and need to seek ways to reduce inventory or cut inefficiencies.  Know what gets the job done and what drives your business.

Prioritizing your business requirements not only save you time, it helps your software vendors focus their discovery and demonstration efforts on the areas of your business that mean the most to you.  This insures that your vendors show you the functionality to run critical areas of your business with the level of detail you need to see to feel confident in your selection decision.  It also means that you will be less likely to be ‘wow-ed’ by flashy demo techniques and dazzling technology.  Once the selection  process is made, the priorities you identified in the process will help you streamline your implementation by allowing you to accept pre-configured or best practice functionality for lower priority areas and focus your time and efforts on higher priority ones.

Be sure to subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed so that you don’t miss ERP Implementation Myth Number 4:  “This is an IT project”.

If you missed Myths #1, #2 or #3 check them out here:

ERP Implementation Myth Number 1:  One size fits all

ERP Implementation Myth Number 2:  Your current system defines your needs

ERP Implementation Myth Number 3: You will have a no modification policy

Richard Garraputa, VP Sales and Marketing,  brij Image and Information