ERP Manufacturing Systems

 

ERP manufacturing systems have been a fixture of the business technology landscape in the high budget manufacturing sector for more than two decades. But recently, ERP manufacturing systems and integrated software applications have undergone a rapid series of product evolutions that are bringing them increasingly into the hands of smaller and mid-sized businesses. If you own or manage a small process or product manufacturing firm in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, or apparel industry, there's never been a better time to begin investigating ERP manufacturing systems to find out how they can help you move your business forward.

Product and process modules, as well as back office Statii software for accounting, human resource management, customer relationship management and payroll have never been more affordable and reliable. These products are also rapidly expanding in capability as they become more cost-effective. There are several factors that can help explain this recent shift in the market landscape, and may help to understand the capabilities of modern ERP software systems in a broader context. Before you begin your investigation, which may include research of product reviews, white papers, online demonstrations and a thorough needs analysis and diagnostic review of your existing software system, consider the growth of ERP manufacturing systems during the past several years.

 

 

The first early ERP manufacturing systems, called MRPs or manufacturing resource planning systems, were implemented in the manufacturing sector in the late 1980s. These systems were developed in response to specific demand from operations managers, who needed to find ways to control complex scheduling, billing, ordering and other activities on shop floors. At that point, most large firms were running their separate departments on individual software platforms that were unable to intersect. This caused productivity slowdowns, especially when task management required the input of more than one department. Once the first ERP manufacturing systems were in place, employees from across the organization could run standardized applications from a shared server infrastructure that was typically owned and maintained by the company.

 

Improve ERP System Performance

 

Whichever ERP system you are using, be it Kronos, PeopleSoft, Oracle, or Lawson, you know the value of that software and how important it is to the smooth operation of your company. And like any complex system, your Enterprise Resource Planning system needs continuous maintenance, upgrades, and evaluation to ensure it's doing its job right.

In this article, we will cover five general tips that you can use to not only ensure the system is running properly, but to make changes so that it runs better. We hope this guide will assist anyone who uses the Lawson software, but in particular, we hope this is valuable to the smaller business who may not have the budgetary resources to hire an employee or regular help. Anyone who uses this system relies on it just as much as any other, and this article should at least give you some ideas on how to proceed.

Tip 1 - Documentation

One of the first things any Lawson or ERP user can do to improve their install is to review and update the system's documentation. Often, this is a neglected area and while it might not seem that vital in relation to the everyday tasks of managing your business, in the long run it can be a very useful habit to get into. And conversely, not keeping up with the documentation can be a real pain when it comes time to install patches, modules or upgrades.

So if you are not properly documenting the system, it is wise to take some time and correct this. Ensure that all system documentation procedures are running properly, and that archived information is categorized properly. Ensure that your staff is using the documentation features at all times and understand them and how to use them. When it comes time to make any kind of change to the system, you will be glad your environment is up to date.

Tip 2 - Keep your ERP current

As any long time Lawson user will know, there is a never ending stream of new patches, upgrades and service packs to be installed. And they all come out at different times of the year and each has its own set of requirements and complexities. It is very important to stay current on these, however, for several reasons.

Tip 3 - Training

No matter if you have a full time Lawson System Administrator on staff, hire a third party consulting firm, or just have a qualified staff operating the system, there is a regular need for training. Just as with the need to keep current, this also means keeping the training current as well.

Generally, there are two options for Lawson, Kronos or other ERP system training. The first is the most common, which is to send the people who need the training to a remote location. Remote training is somewhat costly because it entails not only the price of the training, but hotels, airfare, food and so forth. It also means that key personnel are not on site to do their jobs, which means you lose time and productivity.

 

 

Material requirements planning (MRP) is a planning and control system for inventory, production, and scheduling. MRP converts the master schedule of production into a detailed schedule, so that you can purchase raw materials and components. Used mostly in the manufacturing and fabrication industries, this system is a push type of inventory control, meaning that organizations use forecasting to determine the customer demand for products.

 

 

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