9 Ways an ERP Improves Operations

June 30, 2023

Running a manufactory is complicated business. From quotes to cash and planning to shipping, a modern shop runs more like a group of smaller companies forced into one. The problem here starts when you realize that each business unit has its own needs and processes to take that will generate the highest possible output for the lowest cost. In the past, this has meant that to better the service that one business unit provides to the next, you needed a lot of paper with a lot of sheets and approvals.

Nowadays, what you need instead are intelligent software applications to improve the operations of one team and, hopefully, how it communicates with the others. And this is where the problem starts.

Complex Problems

As mentioned, to run your facilities, you probably have a bundle of apps to cover the different services and features that you need. When you have multiple apps running for your different business units, the problems quickly start to show when a team has to deal with two or more apps and trying to communicate their output with the next app. Having too many apps can be overwhelming, confusing, and inefficient. These software issues are often an unseen cost on your account books.

To sum it up, you could be losing time and money from exceed apps in the shape of:

• Lost wages
• Lost material
• Lost customer orders
• Lost clients

And here is a problem that you may have not considered before: Another known issue that arises from overly complex software solutions is that for some, they avoid expanding because they don’t want to deal with the added cost or headache from both trying to implement a new solution, or hiring/ training someone to perform the new role. After all, when growing costs more than staying put, sometimes the better option is to stay put.

Simple Solutions

The solution is to look for a way to run your manufactory with the minimal number of added applications, along with the added IT bloat and interconnection issues that come with all those separate software bundles.

Currently, the best solution on the market is an ERP + MES that is built for manufacturing. One application with one database that can instantly communicate with everything and everyone. An ERP +MES, or ERPII can help your business by:

• Simplifying – By using one single system, you decrease the complexity of dealing with multiple software tools because you only need to use the one. With your staff no longer cycling between their apps, they have a simpler and better experience to complete a task.
• Creating consistency – You will also enjoy a consistent user interface that makes transitioning between tasks seamless between your business units. This can reduce cognitive load, increase user satisfaction, and improve retention rates.
• Automating – An ERP built for manufacturing can help automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks while improving the way complex tasks, like planning or quality are handled.
• Cutting costs – Another benefit of a single software system that can do more of what you need is that it will cut costs, not just in the number of licenses you need, but also the costs to have your IT department download, install, update, and manage multiple applications and access. This means less requires storage space and data usage. Finally, by having the whole team used to a certain software, training staff for new roles is now done in a familiar setting, thus cutting time to adapt to the needed tools.
• Enhancing data – By having all your data on a single source, you can greatly enhance your data and analytics. This will net you better insights into the current state of your shop, thus improving your decision making. You can also leverage your data to provide more personalized and relevant services to your customers to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, by having all your data in one location, you are also improving the data quality, since with less required user entries, there will be less errors in your data.
• Optimize scheduling –With better knowledge of all your due dates, inventory, planned outages, cycle times, and available staff, your planning and scheduling are easily optimized while taking up less labour hours to calculate. By optimizing your schedules, you can reduce unnecessary overtime, avoid underutilization or overstaffing, and increase customer satisfaction.
• Improving communication – An ERP that includes ways to communicate with your staff, vendors, and clients (like SMS, email, or EDI) will improve the way you communicate. An ERP system can provide real-time updates on job status, location, ETA, feedback, and more. An app can also enable instant messaging, voice calls, video calls, and file sharing. By improving communication, you can reduce misunderstandings, delays, cancellations, and complaints.
• Increase efficiency – An ERP helps you increase the efficiency of your workers by providing them with the tools and information they need to perform their jobs. With a central location for training materials, manuals, checklists, forms, and more, your staff can always get access to the information they need to be better at their job. An app can also help them collect data, capture photos or videos, scan barcodes or QR codes, and process payments. By increasing efficiency, you can reduce waste, errors, rework, and customer churn.
• Improved scaling – Finally, a better ERP gives you the tools you need to expand confidently with little concern for any added costs, since they are none. With all your data already in the system and your staff all familiar with the software, upskilling a team member or cross-training a person is no longer seen as a concerning issue but just another day at the office.

Conclusion

As you can see, an ERPII saves you on labor and other costs by streamlining your operations and enhancing your service delivery. These actions will help you grow your business by attracting new customers, retaining existing ones, and increasing referrals. An ERP is a powerful tool for any business that wants to reduce costs and increase profits.

Of course, using a single app with multiple functionalities also has some challenges and drawbacks. For example, it can be difficult to balance the quality and quantity of functionalities within one app. Too many functionalities can make the app bloated, complex, or confusing. Too few functionalities can make the app irrelevant, boring, or uncompetitive. It can also be challenging to ensure the security and privacy of user data across different functionalities.

This is why OnRamp Solutions has partnered with our clients to design manufacturing ERP that is a single system, with no added plug-ins, 3^rd party apps, or endless spreadsheets while minimizing clutter. All of the screens, reports, and dashboards in OnRamp ERP are set up to be visible based on staff role to decrease complexity while maintaining the single point of truth.

By using a single system that is designed for the small to mid-sized manufacturer and finisher, OnRamp ERP can be your one solution to a host of problems for one simple price.

In conclusion, using an ERPII system with multiple functionalities can offer many advantages over using multiple separate apps. It can simplify the user experience, save time and resources, and enhance data and analytics.

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