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Manufacturing

Many manufacturers are either too small to implement sophisticated manufacturing software or their manufacturing processes are simple enough to manage manually. As manufacturers grow, their accounting requirements tend to remain relatively unchanged while the need to automate plant floor operations tends to increase rapidly.

Managing Growth: Job shops and make-to-order manufacturers tend to remain relatively small and may never require full-blown enterprise business applications. However, many manufacturers are experiencing considerable growth.

Scalable Solutions: By selecting a scalable solution, companies can extend their investment for several years while avoiding unnecessary costs to re-implement a new solution. Some software publishers, such as Sage Software, provide migration tools to help manufactures move from prepackaged software to more sophisticated business system. These migration tools sometimes include:

• Data Migration – moves customers, vendors, items, and other relatively static data
• Transactional Data – moves historical data from entry-level systems to medium and large business applications
• Assisted Setup – built-in wizards to help companies get up and running fast
• Training Guides – a guide that states “Here’s how you used to perform this task and here’s how you will perform this task in your new application.”

Manufacturing Methodologies

No two manufacturers are alike even if they make the same product. However, there are some commonalities between manufactures in the way that they manage the manufacturing process. The following provides a high-level overview of some of the common functionality available in different types of manufacturing systems:

1) Light Manufacturing/Assembly: Typically, a bill of material and one-step production entry, whereby materials (and sometimes labor) are back flushed to production at standard costs, and quantities and finished goods are automatically posted to inventory. Ideal for value-added distributors and assemblers who do not need detailed, multi-step work orders, work-in-process tracking, or scheduling.

2) Made to Stock: Many traditional manufacturing systems are designed for companies with standard product lines such as bicycles, consumer electronics, and appliances. These systems are designed to use sophisticated sales forecasts to determine adequate stocking levels that meet customer demand. New product orders are fulfilled from existing stock and production orders are created to replenish finished goods inventory.

3) Make to Order:– there are many make-to-order (MTO) manufacturers. Functionality will vary depending on whether the company is a job shop <link to job ops>, assemble-to-order, configure-to-order or engineer-to-order manufacturer:

• Job Shop – Job shop software is highly specialized for industries such as aerospace, cabinet makers, system integrators, and many other companies that customize each order and must analyze actual costs versus expected costs.
• Assemble to Order – This software solution provides tools to help manufacturers maintain adequate stock of raw materials and components, which are later assembled when customer orders are received. Assemble to Order applications are therefore similar in many respects to light manufacturing systems with additional tools to analyze production lead times and track work in process.
• Configure to Order – The heart of a Configure to Order system is the product configuration. Configurators help manufacturers manage complex options and values that vary from item to item, and thus creates a “smart item number”.
• Engineer to Order – Engineer to Order manufacturers rely on computer-aided drafting (CAD) systems to design the products they manufacture. This software often provides an inquiry to view engineering designs directly from the application. Engineer to Order software also provides engineering change order (ECO) <link to ECO module in MAS 500 ? page) capabilities to track design changes for bill of materials.

4) Batch Process: Many manufactures make a product that is processed from batches, such as food, beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical companies. Typically, these business make products in batches from formulas or recipes as opposed to assembling products using a bill of material. Batch process applications have very specific manufacturing features that often include formula definition, batch sizing, quality control and laboratory management, material safety data sheets, and nutritional labeling.

5) Remanufacturing/Disassembly: Specialized manufacturing software is available for companies that disassemble or repair previously manufacturing products. Typically, these manufacturers receive a core <link to core processing page> which is then remanufactured into a resalable unit, sold at a lesser price. Core tracking needs to track the core bank for the customer, and the disassembly and reassembly process (cores can include transmissions, toner cartridges, and similar products).

Industries

There are many manufacturing systems available, and some are very specialized for particular industries. Some of the more common types of manufacturing industries are:

• Industrial and Automotive
• Consumer Packaged Goods
• High Technology and Electronics
• Textile and Apparel
• Lumber and Wood
• Printing and Publishing

SOFTWARE EVALUATON

Unfortunately, one-size software does not necessarily fit all solutions.

Typically, there are three phases of software growth for a distributor:

• Off-the shelf (usually less than $3,000)
• Configurable ($3,000 to $50,000)
• Customizable (usually greater than $50,000)

Off-the-shelf software can be purchased from your local retailer. It is generally installed and implemented without assistance and has limited flexibility. Peachtree is an example of off-the-shelf software.

Configurable software has much more robust customization and integration abilities, so it can be configured to the specific needs of a wholesale distributor. In general, it is implemented between 3 – 6 months. Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 is an example of configurable software.

Customizable software has much more robust customization and integration tools and normally takes between 6 and 12 months to implement. Sage MAS 500 is an example of a customizable software.

Manufacturing software is often specialized depending on the types of products being made. Sage Software along with ACI Consulting recommends the following ERP solutions for manufacturers:

• Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200
• Sage MAS 500
• Core Processing
• Job Ops Job Management Software
• Apparel Maestro
• O2 Batch Processing for Sage MAS 500
• Sage Batchmaster PFW

Please fill out our quick request form, email us at solutions@ACIconsulting.com, or call us at 1-866.ACI.INFO (224.4636)

For further information - download our Manufacturing Evaluation Guide (.pdf)