Process manufacturing deals with using recipes and formulas to produce goods, as opposed to discrete manufacturing which is concerned with the assembly of parts to create unique items. The food and beverage industries are prime examples: they produce products that are made from following exact recipes, and many ingredients are combined to prepare them. Other example industries of process manufacturing include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and chemical formulating.
Recipes and formulas list ingredients with their respective quantities and units (litres, grams, etc.). This is different from a bill of materials that lists the number of units and parts needed to manufacture an automobile, for example. These amounts used in the recipe need to be scalable, i.e., from 1000 grams to 500 grams or 1500 grams.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can help process manufacturing by using a flexible unit of measure conversation engine. An ERP solution can assist in efficiently managing manufacturing of other types, plus running and integrating the operations of other types of businesses and organizations.
Benefits of implementing ERP into manufacturing environments
An enterprise resource planning system, the most efficient and flexible being cloud-based software, helps businesses digitally manage their core processes in real-time. Data is easy to collect, view, manage, analyze, and share using an ERP’s databases, applications, and tools.
Employees have remote access to updated information on inventory, orders, and reports. Resources like cash, materials, and capacities, can be tracked. Various departments like accounting, sales, and purchasing can access information from one another and more easily collaborate.
The benefits of manufacturing and distribution software in the realm of enterprise resource planning are many. As process manufacturing evolves, digital management software needs to as well. It needs to be responsive and intuitive, plus customizable to meet specific demands.
Increased efficiency leads to lowered cost of materials and ingredients, better planning power, while also meeting regulatory facility and product standards.
Sage leading the way in ERP software
Sage is a reputable ERP software provider and their suite of systems can be adopted and streamlined with the help of expert consultants like IWI Consulting Group. Some of the ways a Sage solution can help process manufactures are:
- Managing formulas and recipes, from packaging to high volume transactions, making processes more efficient.
- Minimizing the risk of product recalls.
- Providing forward and backward traceability of ingredients and end products.
- Managing customer relationships.
- Accessing data and business intelligence to improve operations.
It’s important to review your business’s needs and discuss how to best implement an enterprise resource planning system in your daily operations. Consultants can aid in assessing needs and matching an ERP system that is the best fit, plus tailor it to your necessary specifications. Customer service teams are also happy to provide ongoing support after adoption.
Conclusion
By implementing a state-of-the-art ERP system, like the variety of products offered by Sage, your process manufacturing business can reduce waste and cut costs while increasing output and results. Plus, go beyond the specific needs of manufacturing and achieve more with financial management, human resources, and customer relationship management with a range of ERP applications and tools.