ERP: A central role in industrial performance

Today, consumer demand, globalisation, innovation and increased competition mean that manufacturing industries have to align themselves and become more competitive by increasing their industrial productivity. 

These companies now need to be able to respond effectively to constantly changing customer demand, regardless of the complexity of the products to be manufactured, while at the same time mastering the growing volumes of data flows. Whether it's a large group or a small one or a medium-sized industry, no player in the market has been spared! 

In this context, ERP is a data-driven management tool that integrates with business processes to optimise and accelerate them. To boost industrial performance, management software is an essential part of organisation for a manufacturing company. 

What challenges are manufacturers facing? 

The responsiveness of a company to the needs of its market or customers is not an option. This is essential if we are to remain competitive. Industrial companies face major organisational challenges. To ensure reliable manufacturing flows, produce orders on time and satisfy customers, companies must avoid any unforeseen events that could disrupt production. 

Faced with the internationalisation of markets and production sectors, as well as recent events (the development of telecommuting, supply disruptions, rising raw material prices, etc.) which are having an impact on the life of companies, they need to deploy an agile organisation to remain successful in an uncertain future. 

Many manufacturers rely on business tools to help them set up an optimised management system and maintain profitability. In the age of Industry 4.0, the only way to meet the productivity and performance challenges posed by market demands is to harness data effectively. In the face of these challenges, the strength of ERP lies in the ability of its process management system to help save time and increase production, while keeping costs under control. 

ERP integration: an effective solution for Industry 4.0 

A manufacturing company accumulates a certain volume of information from internal data (stocks, cash flow, supply costs, etc.) and external data (customer orders, supplier prices, etc.) which must be centralised in a single system to better manage the strategy of the company. An ERP solution is able to support a company's business on a global scale. 

For industrial planning 

With the integration of an ERP, the company benefits from a vision of production planning both in real time and in the longer term, so that it can anticipate future human and material resources. In terms of industrial planning, the ERP software ensures the feasibility of a new order according to the availability of resources, stock constraints and the current manufacturing activity. On the production side, a replenishment request or an alert in the event of unavailability of materials can be triggered live, enabling an effective response. 

To manage production environment 

Your technical data is at the heart of your industrial production activity. Many decisions related to production processes rely on this database. ERP is an effective tool to centralise and create technical data, with the aim of saving time and improving the reliability of data entry. 

Entered directly into the tool or taken from your CAD or PLM solutions, process plans and coded bills of materials are used by the ERP system to coordinate all actions seamlessly. By processing all the data from the purchasing, logistics, stock, and procurement departments, this management tool helps you to meet production deadlines by managing replenishment thresholds, stock levels, and supplier lead times. With the help of this data, manufacturers can optimise all their production processes by adjusting production planning and monitoring lead times, while keeping costs under control. 

For optimal cost monitoring 

An ERP system includes a powerful reporting solution that enables manufacturing industries to keep a close eye on the sources of profits and losses they encounter, with the aim of managing the profitability and performance of their production better. 

With a reporting tool, manufacturers can analyse purchasing volumes, monitor consumption, find out about actual production hours in the workshop, and assess supplier performance by period. Decisions are therefore made based on the interpretation of these metrics. Decision-makers can generate forecasts, anticipate potential obstacles, and adapt their strategy. 

What are the key ERP functions essential to industrial production? 

An ERP dedicated to manufacturing industries brings together a range of Essential functions to manage the entire production cycle (monitoring, control, production optimisation) and makes optimum use of the data. 

Supply Chain 

Using Net Requirements Calculation (NRC), the manufacturing industry knows the procurements needed to meet its requirements (in terms of purchasing and manufacturing) for every new sales order. In this case, the specific features of the supply chain let you to measure the impact of a delay from a supplier on the sales order, and to react effectively. 

The SIMP/PMP 

At Industrial planning, the Sales Industry Master Plan (SIMP) incorporates a long-term vision of sales opportunities and production volumes. The Production Master Plan (PMP) takes into account sales forecasts up to one year ahead. In both the medium and long term, these functions help you to work out different scenarios so that you can adjust industrial production in line with the company's interests. 

Scheduling 

The scheduling functions help you plan the workload while taking into account the capacity of the various workstations in the workshop. Scheduling also enables you to understand the sequence of manufacturing orders (MOs), integrate subcontracting logistics, and optimally manage human and machine resources for a production workshop. This feature is invaluable for announcing reliable delivery times. 

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) 

Implementing EDI ensures smooth, continuous communication throughout the supply chain. This tool allows reliable information to be passed on to collaborators (internal and external), ready to be used. It's the best way to be agile and proactive. 

Traceability 

An ERP helps you to trace products according to the requirements of your business sector. This functionality enables you to cater to a range of compliance requirements by tracing items, drawing up non-conformance sheets or tracking expiry dates for sensitive items, for example. 

Today, the integration of ERP software that is scalable and adaptable to the needs of a manufacturing company's sector of activity is essential if it has to respond to both consumer and market disruptions. Features specific to production, as well as mobility, interoperability and the level of innovation, are all criteria that need to be considered when choosing the future ERP software that will make manufacturing companies even more efficient.