With the increasing adoption of lean manufacturing, which focuses on minimizing production inefficiencies and waste, manufacturing ERP software has become critical.
Manufacturing ERP enables companies to increase visibility into key business processes, including production, inventory, and supply chain management, which is required for continuous operational improvement. Due to enhanced business transparency, manufacturing ERP systems help manage these processes more intelligently to deliver high-quality products at the lowest cost possible.
This article highlights how a manufacturing ERP system can help your lean manufacturing company work better.
Streamlined production planning and management
The concept of lean manufacturing requires companies to optimize processes related to production planning and management, and a manufacturing ERP system can help a business in this regard. In particular, an ERP system can assist a lean manufacturing company in building realistic and accurate production schedules and plans.
For instance, ERP can automate manual production planning and management processes to optimize their accuracy and speed. It can automatically generate a manufacturing bill of materials (MBOM) based on the technical specifications uploaded by employees. Such a system can also automatically create a production plan based on a product’s CAD or CAM model and allocate necessary production resources (raw material, machinery, etc.) based on real-time inventory and equipment maintenance data.
An ERP system that features a digital Kanban board functionality helps employees visualize the production flow to track and manage production more intelligently. They can review task statuses to identify potential performance bottlenecks and issues quickly and resolve them promptly before they escalate. An employee can also rearrange the Kanban cards and alter task priority to optimize the production process (for example, if there is a need to adjust the workload between days or weeks).
Inventory tracking and control
A company aiming to minimize manufacturing waste should strive to reduce excess inventory in order to cut storage costs. A robust manufacturing ERP platform can help a company achieve this goal by providing comprehensive inventory management functionalities.
Specifically, an ERP system can gather inventory-related data from multiple sources, be it accounting, finance, or supply chain management software, even in real-time. After processing this data, an ERP system can provide employees with real-time insights into a company’s stock level, which can help them efficiently identify excess inventory.
In addition, ERP software can help manufacturers forecast inventory demand based on historical sales data and work orders in progress. By accurately forecasting inventory demand, manufacturers can make more intelligent procurement decisions to maintain optimal inventory levels and minimize inventory carrying costs.
Enhanced product quality assurance and management
Releasing a defective product can lead to product recalls, reputational risks, and customer churn, so keeping product quality high is essential. In lean manufacturing, maintaining great product quality is particularly important, as it helps companies reduce waste related to corrections and repairs of defective products.
In short, a manufacturer can use such a system to generate, configure, and manage quality control plans. In addition, a company can use its ERP system to manage and schedule quality inspections at different manufacturing stages (from material procurement and storage to production and delivery). ERP can also capture quality-related data from manufacturing inspection software or testing devices and provide it to employees in a convenient format to facilitate quality checks.
Optimized supply chain management
Among other things, a lean manufacturing company should aim to reduce the time it takes to deliver products to customers, which is why improving supply chain management is crucial.
An ERP system can enable a manufacturer to track the movement of raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods throughout the supply chain, significantly improving process visibility. Employees can also use an ERP system to manage various supply chain processes, including sourcing, production, and distribution, and optimize them continuously.
In addition, it can help a company manage suppliers more effectively by centralizing supplier data and providing features such as automated purchase order generation or invoice reconciliation. An ERP system can also help a manufacturer track supplier performance metrics, including on-time delivery, order accuracy, and lead time, to ensure that they deliver inventory and products to the right locations timely.
Final thoughts
The concept of lean manufacturing, which aims to continually improve production efficiency and reduce costs, is becoming increasingly common. If your company wants to embrace the benefits of lean manufacturing, consider adopting a comprehensive manufacturing ERP platform.
A robust manufacturing ERP system can help you optimize key manufacturing processes (including those related to production, inventory, quality, and supply chain management) and thus streamline overall business performance. However, choosing the right ERP software can be challenging, given the number of solutions on the market. An experienced ERP consultant can help you define the right one and implement it properly.
