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4 Important ERP Requirements for Manufacturers

4 Important ERP Requirements for Manufacturers

4 Important ERP Requirements for Manufacturers

When ERP systems first came into the market, manufacturers were among the first business of any kind to use them.  As manufacturers are typically looking to streamline the manufacturing process, an ERP solution can help automate their business processes, paperwork and data collection so they can focus on making the actual product. While it’s important to remember that each business will have unique ERP requirements, Tom Miller, writer for ERP Focus, reminds us that manufacturers of all kinds should look for these four requirements listed below.

Today, the ERP market is thriving with many possible manufacturing ERP modules to choose from. However, the process of searching, evaluating, purchasing, and deploying an ERP solution is not as simple as it once was. There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to ERP software. Solutions today come in a variety of different flavors, each features a particular set of capabilities, strengths, and drawbacks. Choosing the right vendor and solution is a complicated process—one that requires in-depth research and often comes down to more than just the solution and its technical capabilities.


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Manufacturers use ERP systems so they can invest more in the people who are making the product. The software takes the complexity of knowing when to order materials, forecasting demand and managing raw materials off the employees, allowing them to focus more on process management.

Agility

As market trends and customer demands change over time, so do company goals and needs. Manufacturers today must have the ability to react quickly to changes in supply and demand and continue to deliver products on time and profitably. This allows for changes to be made to any process and gives manufacturers the opportunity (and agility) to scale with any changes that they need to meet. By doing so, ERP software gives them the agility they need so processes can be easily customized to suit the requirements of the business. A manufacturer that can react to unexpected events with agility can satisfy unexpected customer demands and continue to supply their customers when supplies shortages develop.

Improve Customer Relationship

Your ERP system should help bring together data that better enables salespeople and marketing planners alike to better address customer needs, preferences and buying patterns. A CRM component allows you to do this by keeping track of all of your customer and sales data within your ERP solution. The insights you can gain from a CRM component helps optimize your marketing and sales efforts. It also helps to better manage invoicing activities, provide relevant and real-time information for the best prepared proposals and monitor the overall status of contracts to help you gain a better understanding and be kept informed at all times.

A big benefit from CRM is tracking the buyer histories of your customers. With this data in hand, you can suggest additional purchases through cross-selling or upselling, or try to sell them a relevant product/service when they’re otherwise not as likely to buy.

Integration

Your organization cannot rely on outdated or legacy IT systems. If it is, what issues are you facing ensuring these old systems continue to operate effectively without the employees currently responsible for them? As experienced workers start to see the end of their careers and think about retiring, manufacturers face the loss of the expertise and top talent necessary for running the business smoothly.

To combat this, identify any and all legacy systems in your manufacturing business and make sure they aren’t holding you back, maybe upgrade your existing ERP but if needed, replace it with a newer system. A modern manufacturing ERP system ensures all business processes and data from different business departments are integrated into one, so that you’re always getting accurate and relevant information.

Visible SCM

It’s becoming very important for manufacturers to have a complete picture of who their suppliers (both direct and indirect) are, for reputational and regulatory reasons. Being able to integrate your supply chain into your own IT systems will make your procurement activities more efficient and productive. If you don’t currently have a transparent supply chain management module in your ERP system, ask your supply chain managers how clear their partner visibility and communications are and provide reasons why you need to upgrade or replace it.


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